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Tag Archives: Audinate

Audinate Announces Transferable DVS License

Audinate Announces Transferable DVS License

Portland, OR (May 17, 2023)—Audinate has introduced a brand new transferable license for its Dante Virtual Soundcard (DVS) audio interface software program, permitting customers to maneuver a license from one pc to a different.

The new transferable license choice is on the market for brand spanking new purchases and can be provided as an improve to current DVS single machine licenses. The value of a Dante Virtual Soundcard transferable license is $79.99, whereas the price of a non-transferable single machine license is $49.99. Single machine licenses could also be upgraded to transferable for $30 every.

Dante Connect to Help Power Cloud Audio Production

Previously, DVS installations have been locked to a single pc as per the license settlement. The new transferable license choice for DVS permits a person to beat that restrict and transfer a license from one pc to a different as wanted. This is particularly helpful when buying new computer systems, utilizing disk photographs to deploy machines, or if a restore causes important {hardware} adjustments to a pc.

Dante Virtual Soundcard runs on Windows and macOS computer systems and offers an audio interface to purposes for as much as 64 Dante-enabled channels on the related community. DVS is utilized in recording and stay occasions, ingesting and delivering 100% lossless audio with minimal latency.

Seen on the Scene at NAB 2023, Part 2

Las Vegas, NV (April 19, 2023)—This yr’s NAB Show has been rocking and rolling ever because it opened its doorways on Sunday morning. The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) introduced that this yr’s Centennial Edition of the present has a preliminary registered attendance of 65,013 who’re onsite to go to the 1,208 exhibitors contained in the Las Vegas Convention Center.

While there’s 1000’s of attendees right here to see the newest and biggest in manufacturing, from broadcast to content material creation, there’s certainly one thing for everybody whose line of labor entails the manufacturing of high-quality audio, video, content material and extra. Here’s simply a number of the audio choices we’ve been recognizing on the present flooring this week—be sure to don’t go up Part One!

Rode rodecaster duo, streamer x, wireless me, wireless go II case
Røde unleashed its largest group of recent merchandise within the firm’s historical past—so many who solely a handful are on this photograph. Clockwise from the highest left is the brand new Rødecaster Duo all-in-one audio manufacturing answer, offering the entire options of the Rødecaster II in a extra compact kind issue with fewer audio inputs. Next to it’s the Streamer X, a livestream-centric answer that adapts a number of the Rødecaster’s most relevant options to streaming wants. Below that could be a set of Wireless ME wearable microphones for content material creators, and to the left is the brand new Wireless GO II charging case for Wireless GO mics; it holds transmitters and the receiver, and facilitates three full recharges for as much as 30 hours of steady use.

 

Pliant is launching the latest addition to its CrewCom line—the CCU-08 Control Unit, which provides eight 4-wire intercom connections and supports up to 82 Radio Pcks across all RD bands. Up to four Control Units can be combined into a single system, with its Sync port allowing different systems to work together in the same area without RF conflicts.
Pliant is launching the newest addition to its CrewCom line—the CCU-08 Control Unit, which offers eight 4-wire intercom connections and helps as much as 82 Radio Pcks throughout all RD bands. Up to 4 Control Units may be mixed right into a single system, with its Sync port permitting completely different methods to work collectively in the identical space with out RF conflicts.

 

Waves is on-hand at the Audinate booth, because its Waves Cloud MX Audio Mixer is now Dante-compatible via Audinate’s Dante Connect, offering advanced audio processing and mixing for cloud-based broadcast productions. The cloud-based solution allows up to 256 channels of audio to be captured at remote locations and then mixed, processed, and delivered from anywhere in the world. Accordingly, it’s aimed at broadcasters looking to reduce costs and complexity, allowing minimal equipment on site to send audio out for production.
Waves is on-hand on the Audinate sales space, as a result of its Waves Cloud MX Audio Mixer is now Dante-compatible through Audinate’s Dante Connect, providing superior audio processing and mixing for cloud-based broadcast productions. The cloud-based answer permits as much as 256 channels of audio to be captured at distant places after which blended, processed, and delivered from wherever on the planet. Accordingly, it’s geared toward broadcasters trying to cut back prices and complexity, permitting minimal tools on-site to ship audio out for manufacturing.

 

In the sizable Sony booth, the company is launching the DWT-P30 Digital Wireless Transmitter. As a wideband transmitter, it covers UHF 14-38 in one unit (470-618 MHz), and offers 5,384 selectable channels in 25 KHz steps. Intended for ENG stand-up and digital boom pole applications, it provides +48v phantom power, has four Sony codecs, uses AES 256-bit encryption (one to one or within a group), has an OLED display and more.
In the sizable Sony sales space, the corporate is launching the DWT-P30 Digital Wireless Transmitter. As a wideband transmitter, it covers UHF 14-38 in a single unit (470-618 MHz), and gives 5,384 selectable channels in 25 KHz steps. Intended for ENG stand-up and digital growth pole functions, it offers +48v phantom energy, has 4 Sony codecs, makes use of AES 256-bit encryption (one-to-one or inside a bunch), has an OLED show and extra.

 

Also at the Sony booth is the recently released C-8 uni-directional condenser mic, designed to have a rich mid-low frequency range. It has a low-cut filter, -10 dB pad switch, dual-diaphragm configuration and is constructed with noise elimination in mind.
Also on the Sony sales space is the just lately launched C-8 uni-directional condenser mic, designed to have a wealthy mid-low frequency vary. It has a low-cut filter, -10 dB pad change, dual-diaphragm configuration and is constructed with noise elimination in thoughts.

 

at nab 2023, Hollyland has its new Lark C1 wireless lavalier microphone set for iOS devices. The Lark C1 wireless lavalier microphone comes with a MFi-certified RX lightning interface that plugs into your device, making it literally ‘plug and play.’ That connects to two Lark C1 lapel wireless mics that recharge in the case and have a 200-meter range, as well as onboard noise cancelling.
Hollyland has a batch of recent creations on-hand for conventional professionals and content material creators, and aimed on the latter group is its new Lark C1 wi-fi lavalier microphone set for iOS units. The Lark C1 wi-fi lavalier microphone comes with an MFi-certified RX lightning interface that plugs into your system, making it actually ‘plug and play.’ That connects to 2 Lark C1 lapel wi-fi mics that recharge within the case and have a 200-meter vary, in addition to onboard noise canceling.

 

The power of audio is readily apparent around the NAB 2023 floor, even at booths that have nothing to do with audio. Everywhere you go, there’s musicians plying their trade, whether its string quartets performing in TV camera booths so that cameras can be tested focusing on real people, or this quartet at the booth of lighting and camera lens specialists ARRI, making passers-by stop to hear note-for-note renditions of 1980s hard rock.
The energy of audio is instantly obvious across the NAB Show flooring, even at cubicles that don’t have anything to do with audio. Everywhere you go, there are musicians plying their commerce, whether or not it’s string quartets performing in TV digicam cubicles in order that cameras may be examined specializing in actual folks, or this quartet on the sales space of lighting and digicam lens specialists ARRI, making passers-by cease to listen to wailing guitar solos on some actually heavy Eighties arduous rock covers.

Dante Connect to Help Power Cloud Audio Production

dante

Portland, OR (April 17, 2023)—Audinate has introduced the supply of Dante Connect, a collection of software program functions that facilitate cloud-based broadcast manufacturing providing the use and synchronization of Dante audio with connectivity to centralized manufacturing instruments operating on cloud cases.

Dante Connect will get Dante audio into the cloud so mixing engineers, operators and broadcast A1s can use it with manufacturing and modifying suites accessed from just about wherever. It transports audio to and from manufacturing software program operating in cloud-based digital machines (VMs) that may be accessed wherever with an web connection.

Audinate Dante Studio 2.0, Subscription Pricing Debut

According to the developer, which is exhibiting on the 2023 NAB Show, Dante Connect’s options embrace the power of native Dante units join on to cloud providers, 256 channels of audio per VM and sizable enlargement of capabilities. Dante Connect extends throughout a number of cases and areas for worldwide protection and presents distant monitoring, permitting producers to test on audio over a webRTC connection with out threat of interruption to supply channels.

As a part of the brand new providing’s roll-out, Audinate has additionally. now introduced that it’s an Amazon Web Services Validated Partner and has accomplished the Foundational Technical Review (FTR) for Amazon Web Services.

Capturing Chris Young’s Live Sound On Tour

Country star Chris Young kicked off the year with a sold-out run that included the 10,000-seat Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. PHOTO: Paris Visone
Country star Chris Young kicked off the 12 months with a sold-out run that included the ten,000-seat Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. PHOTO: Paris Visone.

Nashville, TN (March 20, 2023)—Chris Young has by no means been one to take a seat nonetheless; since bursting onto the charts in 2006, the singer/songwriter has amassed a truckload of number-one Country singles and a fervid following that catches him each time he goes on tour. In January this 12 months, the Grand Ole Opry member dropped two new singles, “Looking For You” and “All Dogs Go To Heaven,” to tease his upcoming ninth album, and to underline their launch, he headed out on the highway for 4 exhibits as properly—a preamble to a giant 12 months forward that may embrace a string of spring dates, festivals over the summer season after which a full-on enviornment tour within the fall.

The concert events additionally served as a chance to shake issues up a bit bit. While the nation star and his band nonetheless knocked out the hits, in addition they road-tested a brand new setlist, the brand new songs—and a brand new home engineer, too, with Erik Rogers taking up the FOH combine place. While Rogers spent the previous couple of years mixing heavy acts like Godsmack, Avatar, Breaking Benjamin and Falling in Reverse, he welcomed the possibility to dive into nation once more: “I blended a rustic artist, Dustin Lynch, for fairly some time, and again in 2017, one of many acts we opened for was Chris Young. The tour supervisor, Bill Cracknell, remembered me; we had a cellphone name a number of weeks in the past and right here I’m.”

The quick Winter run of sold-out on line casino arenas gave everybody on and off-stage time to work collectively and guarantee the whole lot was on-target earlier than the larger treks later within the 12 months. “The band has been collectively for a very long time, but it surely’s a predominantly new crew,” Rogers defined. “Everybody is aware of what they’re doing, however now we now have to do it collectively and current it to a roomful of strangers each night time as if we’ve been doing it collectively for 20 years! We did every week of rehearsals in Nashville, had 4 exhibits to dial it in and we’re already a well-oiled machine.”

The exhibits weren’t a warm-up, nevertheless—they ran pink sizzling from the beginning, with each the artist and audiences leaning into it. “Even the brand new songs that had been simply launched, the viewers already is aware of each phrase,” Rogers marveled, “after which you’ve the massive hits the place not solely do they know each phrase, however they scream them! It’s cool to have an viewers that engaged.”

While some mixers may pound the amount to get the combination over the group, Rogers prefers to maintain the SPLs civil. “I let the followers get it out of their system,” he chuckled. “Our present stays proper round 100 dBA averaged over 90 minutes. Of course, there are louder and quieter spots, they usually contribute to that—I measured the viewers the opposite day at 106!”

Hitting the road with Chris Young, FOH engineer Erik Rogers has been mixing on a Yamaha Rivage PM10 console for the first time. PHOTO: Paris Visone
Hitting the highway with Chris Young, FOH engineer Erik Rogers has been mixing on a Yamaha Rivage PM10 console for the primary time. PHOTO: Paris Visone.

Both the home and monitor positions are centered round Yamaha Rivage PM10 consoles, supplied by Young’s longtime audio firm of alternative, Sound Image Nashville. Rogers and John Weaver—Young’s monitor engineer since March, 2020—every get 56 inputs coming from the stage; whereas the 2 PM10s are impartial methods, they’re additionally networked along with one taking the opposite’s outputs, and all talkback and chat loops run by means of fiber solely.

Joining the Chris Young camp marks the primary time Rogers has labored with a Rivage desk, barring one night time filling in on a Bush tour 5 years in the past. “While there’s a studying curve, that’s the case with any console,” he identified. “My expertise thus far is that it sounds nice, operates properly, and when you wrap your head round the way you patch, assign DSP for plug-ins and issues like that, it’s identical to some other desk, besides that it sounds actually, actually good. I do know colleagues that take the Rivage out with Shinedown, Luke Bryan and Garth Brooks, they usually all swear by these desks; after utilizing it for 4 exhibits, I can see why.

“One factor I’ve discovered concerning the Yamaha is to belief the desk,” Rogers added. “I attempted to make use of some outboard plug-ins, they usually don’t sound nearly as good. To me, time-aligning the whole lot to exit of the console and again in wasn’t definitely worth the work to make it sound correct, as a result of the whole lot on the desk—the Rupert Neve Designs SILK processing, the Portico plug-ins and the opposite Yamaha options in there? You can’t beat ’em. They sound actually good, so I’m simply utilizing the desk.”

That mentioned, there have been a handful of Waves plug-ins used for combine buss processing, hosted externally on a Mac Studio operating Audioström Live Professor software program and Audinate’s Dante Virtual Soundcard. “The cool factor about Live Professor is that it could run any plug-in native with out a server,” he defined, “so you’ll be able to have Sonnox, Brainworx, Waves, all of those a number of producers’ plug-ins on the identical platform.”

Cover Story: Kenny Chesney—Taking Here and Now to Another Level

With the crew altering however the band staying the identical, the miking for the seven musicians onstage and their guitars’ ISO cupboards has remained the identical as properly. “Chris owns all of his mics, and it’s a smorgasbord—Beyerdynamic, Telefunken, Sennheiser; there’s a bit one thing off the buffet for everyone up there proper now,” mentioned Rogers. “I’ve began engaged on mic placement and doing a little fine-tuning, however I’m conserving in thoughts that these guys are very pleased with their in-ear mixes. Any adjustments should be achieved in live performance with John, our monitor engineer, as a result of issues that I would transfer for nuance at front-of-house might trigger drastic adjustments for in-ears and make life very tough for the folks onstage.”

In the previous, the band’s monitor mixes had been dealt with with a mixture of sidefills and JH Audio JH11 in-ear screens, however that’s altering for 2023, mentioned Weaver: “Chris Young is transferring from utilizing sidefills and just one in-ear monitor, to utilizing each in-ears all by means of the present, with no sidefills in sight. The Rivage PM10’s EQ and the Portico 5043 compressor with the dynamic EQ actually helped with getting the readability we would have liked of their in-ears to attain this large change.”

While the autumn tour will carry full manufacturing, the fast on line casino enviornment run picked up native stacks and racks, so audiences had been handled to line arrays from L-Acoustics, Meyer Sound, RCF and Electro-Voice. Regardless of the P.A., at each cease, followers heard Young and his band clean up his setlist staples whereas additionally including some new soon-to-be favorites, leading to concert events that stored issues feeling new but additionally acquainted. With that in thoughts, Rogers stored the mixes true to what was coming off the stage—not replicating the report, however not heading into the nice unknown both.

“In dialog with the artist and administration, they needed one thing that felt stay and uncooked,” mentioned Rogers, “however once you’re mixing an artist that’s bought dozens of plaques on their wall for large hits, you’ve bought to maintain the tonality of the track comparatively near the unique intent, so that each one these hits sound like what folks have been listening to for 17 years. When you’ve a fan base that loyal, you don’t wish to instantly change the whole lot. There are parts and melodies which can be essential, and we take note of these issues. But then there’s additionally the massive nearer, ‘Aw Naw,’ which begins off as a rustic track and finally ends up with a giant rock’n’roll jam for the tip of the night time. That’s nowhere on the report—that’s the sound of a band having a whole lot of enjoyable!”

Audinate Dante Studio 2.0, Subscription Pricing Debut

Audinate Dante Studio 2.0
Audinate Dante Studio 2.0

Portland, OR (March 14, 2023)—Audinate has launched V2.0 of its Dante Studio software program suite and moreover launched new subscription pricing.

V2.0 is comprised of Dante RX, Dante TX, and Dante Video Viewer which brings Dante AV video immediately right into a PC from Dante AV Ultra or Dante AV-H cameras, encoders, or different computer systems operating Dante Studio on the community, with no extra {hardware} wanted.

Dante Studio is a part of the Dante AV household of AV-over-IP options and shares the well-known and trusted Dante management and administration platform. Dante Controller handles all gadget routing, naming and configuration for audio and video gadgets, permitting operators to manage the whole AV community by way of a single interface. With Dante Domain Manager all audio and video endpoints might be secured with person entry management, actively monitored, and remotely accessed to simplify system upkeep and help.

New options in 2.0 embody the addition of Dante AV-H (H.264/AVC codec) help in Dante Video RX and Dante Video Viewer; Dante Video TX can now ship video flows to Dante AV Ultra gadgets; new Dante Domain Manager help; and customers can now buy Dante Studio by way of a month-to-month subscription.

Audinate Dante Domain Manager Adds Dante Video Support

With Dante Video RX, computer systems can obtain a video sign immediately from Dante AV Ultra or Dante AV-H transmitters, cameras, or different computer systems operating Dante Studio on their community. Dante Video RX presents video streams as a webcam or video supply to functions that help the DirectShow interface. Dante Video RX facilitates a wide range of networked video use instances, starting from the video manufacturing and broadcast markets to company and better schooling.

Meanwhile, Dante Video Viewer is a standalone software that enables customers to see and monitor a Dante video stream from a Dante AV Ultra or Dante AV-H-enabled gadget or laptop sharing its display screen with Dante Video TX on the Dante community in real-time.

Dante Video TX now permits customers to seize a show linked to a PC and transmit the captured video over the Dante Network. Users can then ship this video stream to Dante AV Ultra receivers or one other occasion of Dante Studio utilizing both Dante Video RX to deliver the video into functions or Video Viewer to view the video in a standalone app.

Dante Studio is accessible as a 7-day free trial or subscription for $9.95 a month

Making Audio Movie Magic a Reality

The Synchron Stage control room.
The Synchron Stage management room.

Originally in-built 1941 as a part of “Film City Vienna,” Synchron Stage Vienna was one of many world’s premier recording studios for recording movie scores with giant orchestras. The Vienna Symphonic Library (VSL), a developer of orchestral pattern libraries and music manufacturing software program, bought and renovated your entire constructing over the following two years, returning it to the unique objective of orchestral recordings. Today, Synchron Stage Vienna covers an space of greater than 21,000 sq. toes (2,000 sq. meters), providing ample house for a number of studios, management rooms, instrument storage, and regeneration areas for artists. The return to its former standing as a go-to orchestral scoring stage for the trendy period was made attainable partly by Audinate’s Dante audio protocol.

During the renovation, VSL recognized a must playback and report as much as 144 channels in numerous pattern charges from 48-192 kHz on a number of digital audio workstations concurrently. The recordings wanted to be made utilizing the lowest-possible latency with minimal setup time to have the ability to report a number of classes in a single day. System designer Walters Storyk Design Group (WSDG) and integrator TSAMM have been introduced in to offer the technical answer for VSL’s audio necessities.

“A MADI-based system serving round 500 channels at 192 kHz would introduce too many routing points and potential factors of error,” stated Mario Reithofer, director, TSAMM. “We had discussions with a variety of producers providing AOiP merchandise earlier than we discovered one which was capable of accommodate VSL’s requirement. It additionally occurred to be a Dante-enable product which was excellent for our wants.”

Audinate Dante Domain Manager Adds Dante Video Support

Two management rooms are linked to the massive 5,800-square-foot (540-square-meter) Main Hall and smaller Stage B, in addition to a number of screening and enhancing rooms. Both management rooms function a number of DAWs interconnected through Dante, leading to as much as six totally different sampling charges traversing the audio community at any given time. Extensive testing was carried out to make sure the bottom system latency may very well be achieved, clocking in at 0.7 milliseconds. That low latency was particularly vital for representatives of movie manufacturing corporations and composers who attend stay recording classes remotely at Synchron Stage Vienna to accommodate their recording schedules.

“Synchron Stage Vienna is a gorgeous architectural house befitting its standing as a number one scoring stage,” stated Bernd Mazagg, technical director and chief recording engineer, VSL. “With Dante’s low latency and large variety of supported endpoints, it was the apparent selection for connecting all of the rooms and tools collectively.”

This story initially ran at AV Network.

ATK/Clair Takes On Super Bowl Audio Networking

ATK Audiotek’s front-of-house setup at the 2023 Super Bowl, featuring Focusrite RedNet interfaces
ATK Audiotek’s front-of-house setup on the 2023 Super Bowl, that includes Focusrite RedNet interfaces.

Phoenix, AZ (February 21, 2023)—Last week when the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles confronted one another for Super Bowl LVII, it resulted in some of the thrilling video games within the occasion’s historical past. Thousands at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona thrilled to the neck-and-neck contest, however much more—greater than 208 million—watched the sport and Rihanna’s well-received half-time present at house. Ensuring that each one stakeholders had audio was a large Dante networked digital audio infrastructure constructed by ATK Audiotek (a Clair Global firm), the live-sound supplier for the Super Bowl for the previous 25 consecutive years. Key to preserving that community up and operating in a high-pressure state of affairs had been a number of Focusrite RedNet Dante-networked audio converters and interfaces.

“This is our eighth yr utilizing Focusrite RedNet with our Dante Audio-over IP community on the Super Bowl,” mentioned Kirk Powell, Engineer-in-Charge for ATK/Clair at Super Bowl LVII. “We began with a reasonably small-scale Focusrite setup, but it surely’s grown over time into the large deployment that you just see in the present day. This yr, we’re answerable for all audio within the stadium, together with the halftime present, so that could be a fairly hefty endeavor.”

Mix Immersive Music Production Nashville Announced for May!

ATK Audiotek’s Focusrite gear setup for Super Bowl LVII included 20 RedNet D16R 16-channel AES3 I/O’s; 24 RedNet A16R 16-channel analog I/O interfaces; and 24 RedNet D64R 64-channel MADI bridges. Additionally, ATK/Clair used the stadium’s home P.A. system however augmented it with quite a few further audio system from L-Acoustics. “Being an indoor venue, State Farm Stadium has plenty of reflective surfaces,” notes Powell. “The problem is to maintain intelligibility up and hold reflections down.”

Focusrite Group Acquires Sonnox

At Super Bowl LVII, A16R items had been used to attach with varied interfaces operated by the venue and different entities, and D16R items had been used to interface with amplifiers. RedNet D64R MADI bridges had been deployed to interface with consoles and broadcast vehicles. While FOH and stage screens may share a clock, Powell explains, “the manufacturing tracks are on a special clock, as a result of they’re not used all day lengthy. The D64R permits me to interrupt the clock between my system and the manufacturing tracks as a result of they’re completed after halftime. They begin to pack up, and I don’t need to be on their clock and have them shut down.”

ATK/Clair constructs a dry-run setup at its house base in Valencia, California, within the weeks main as much as the massive recreation: “We arrange the entire community within the workplace, getting all of the Dante routing completed and double- and triple-checking all the pieces to reduce on-site setup and search for any points that want troubleshooting. It typically seems like overkill, however we don’t need to depart something as much as likelihood when gameday comes. Looking at our staging space for the system, you see a sea of crimson rack-mounted items! [laughs] We’re capable of get to State Farm Stadium, arrange and go. Because we do our in depth prep work, there are only a few surprises.”

Allen & Heath Expands Dante I/O Capabilities

Allen & Heath's DT164-W and DT168 I/O shown with laptop running the new DT Preamp Control App.
Allen & Heath’s DT164-W and DT168 I/O shown with laptop running the new DT Preamp Control App.

New York, NY (March 8, 2021)—Allen & Heath’s new DT Preamp Control app now allows the company’s Dante I/O expanders to be used within any Dante audio network, not just ones involving Allen & Heath mixing systems.

The free application, compatible with Windows and macOS, allows control of multiple DT168 and DT164-W expanders connected to Dante-equipped third-party digital mixers and sound management systems, allowing their use in a variety of systems in live, broadcast, install and studio applications.

Worshiping Together While Apart

The portable DT168 with carry handle and the wall-mount DT164-W are intended for use in distributed networks where high-channel-count Dante or AES67 I/O is required. The IEC armored cable or DC power options for the DT164-W also allow it to be used for in-wall mounting and stage pockets in permanent installations.

“Since the launch of these products, we have received numerous requests for extending their use beyond Allen & Heath mixing systems,” says Martijn Verkerk, technical marketing manager at Allen & Heath. “Houses of worship, university campuses, and arenas have all showed an interest in deploying our Dante solutions alongside their existing audio system, and DT Preamp Control enables that.”

Allen & Heath • https://www.allen-heath.com

Audio OP-ED: Socially Distanced Studio Production

In 2020, the Farm Studios in British Columbia used Audinate’s Dante networking protocol to facilitate socially distanced recording sessions with musicians in different spaces, including outdoors.
In 2020, the Farm Studios in British Columbia used Audinate’s Dante networking protocol to facilitate socially distanced recording sessions with musicians in different spaces, including outdoors.

The current worldwide pandemic has sent musicians and audio experts scrambling to devise solutions to challenges created by social distancing. Recording music is normally an intimate undertaking with others, but that intimacy now directly contradicts safety guidelines. Thus, studios are asked to answer the question: “how can we work together while staying safe?”

Not long ago, this would have been a difficult question to answer. Studio level audio meant not only top-notch gear, but also thousands of feet of heavy, specialized audio cables. Moving or extending such systems risked compromises in performance and reliability – and came at no small cost.

Fortunately, our current challenge occurred at a time during when the audio world has already been transformed by technologies that provide a foundation for long distance, low latency, bit-perfect, multi-channel signal distribution. The question instantly becomes: How can facilities use audio networking to provide the creative environment musicians need while maintaining safety guidelines?

Every Room A Place to Record

If a performer can stay behind closed doors, then it’s easy for that person to be safe. With audio networking, this possibility becomes far easier than in the past. Studio operations have created workflows that allow performers to remain isolated in separate rooms of a large facility or house, yet all be connected. Rather than installing hundreds of heavy, dedicated, single-purpose audio cables through the location, a simple IP network is put in place with Ethernet jacks in each room—just like in any modern office. Microphones, preamplifiers, signal sources and processors can be connected to the control room from wherever they need to be, with absolutely no compromises in signal quality.

With the correct audio-over-IP system in place, sub 10 ms latency can be achieved. This allows performers to remain safely distanced while being able to hear and collaborate with others, something that would have been extremely difficult and expensive to accomplish with legacy audio technology.

Outside is not Out of Bounds

Imagining a network inside a house or building is not difficult, but people may or may not realize that extending networks beyond a single structure is nearly just as simple. While the notion of running microphone cables over several hundred feet or more is rightly cause for concern due to signal degradation and noise, IP networks can easily do runs of 300 feet (100 m) between switches with no issues whatsoever. The use of optical fiber, now an inexpensive option, extends this reach into miles or kilometers. This allows studios to embrace stand-alone recording spaces that enjoy full connectivity to the control room with no compromises in audio quality or latency. This means multiple structures on site—or even outdoor recording—can be added to a socially distanced setup.

A Very Socially Distanced Recording Method

Bringing it Home: Mobile Recording

Another idea brought forward by the pandemic is that of mobile production. If people are already safe at home, then bring the microphones and connections to them. This is another area in which legacy analog workflows were cumbersome at best, with audio equipment taking over the living space. Networking allows a mobile studio to connect everything one needs using a single, slender Ethernet cable. A truck serving as a control room can bring services everywhere without jeopardizing anyone’s health or compromising on audio quality.

Networking in the Long Run

The benefits of networking that have been realized during this stressful time are unlikely to fade even once the health crisis has passed. The paradigm of earlier recording studios as monolithic installations will transition towards lighter, more responsive systems that can accommodate multiple spaces and locations that serve performers while delivering world-class audio. The future for those who know how to help musicians deliver their messages to the world looks bright.

Brad Price is senior product marketing manager at Audinate.

LemonTree Networks with RedNet

A second LemonTree Studios has opened in L.A. with 12 control rooms and a live room, all networked with Dante and Focusrite RedNet interfaces.
A second LemonTree Studios has opened in L.A. with 12 control rooms and a live room, all networked with Dante and Focusrite RedNet interfaces.

Los Angeles, CA (September 28, 2020)—When Erik Nilsson opened a second LemonTree Studios in the L.A. area, he included a live room that any tenant can tap into through the facility’s Dante network and Focusrite RedNet audio interfaces.

Nilsson’s goal with his original facility was to offer fellow songwriters, producers and mixers reasonably priced yet well-constructed, acoustically treated rooms into which they could move their own equipment. He also hoped to build a room for himself.

But LemonTree Studios was so successful that Nilsson, who is originally from Minnesota and has been in L.A. for about 20 years, eventually rented every room, leaving no space for himself. So he opened another facility in the city’s Highland Park district. Working with Vintage King’s audio consultant, product specialist and system integrator Frank Verschuuren, Nilsson networked the 13 rental rooms — each with double-wall construction and floated from adjacent rooms — to a 400-sq.-ft. shared live space.

Focusrite Experiences Record Growth

“I was brought in at an early stage when Erik was trying to integrate one live room with about 12 studio control rooms,” says Verschuuren. “We were trying to figure out the best and easiest way of integrating the one live room with all the other rooms, and the Dante workflow came up. With that in mind, I designed work and signal flow of the system.

“We came up with the idea of setting up a ‘floater’ Focusrite Red4 Pre that the various rooms could use as their mainframe I/O on their recording system. All that was necessary was to plug the Red 4Pre into a network port in the room to connect to the live room. With a preset file for Dante routing and RedNet Control, it made it an easy, almost plug-and-play scenario for anyone to use.”

“You can record up to 32 Focusrite channels from the live room using our floating Red 4Pre in any studio,” Nilsson elaborates. “Or you can reamp in the live room with the Red 4Pre from any studio to the Red 8Pre line out/mic in. Or track on the local iMac or a personal laptop with the Red 8Pre and RedNet in the live room. Or use any lunchbox or vintage front-end by using line-in on the Red 8Pre in the live room while recording from your studio with the Red 4Pre.”

There has been no shortage of talent working in LemonTree’s rooms. Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber and Skrillex have all worked on projects at one location or the other, and tenants include some of the talent behind artists such as Rihanna, Ariana Grande, Camila Cabello, Post Malone, Katy Perry, Mark Ronson, Kylie Minogue, Charli XCX, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Duran Duran, Jennifer Lopez, Mark Anthony and numerous others. Additionally, Adam Harr’s Blue Oak Mastering room is located at the Highland Park location.

Focusrite • pro.focusrite.com

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