It’s a brilliant April afternoon in Georgetown, Connecticut as I pull up outdoors the outdated stone church. The car parking zone is empty apart from a white van, out of which hops Anthony Coscia, an amiable man in a grey fleece vest and matching Grateful Dead “Stealie” ballcap. “Got a jacket with you?” he says. I nod. “You’ll need to put it on; it will get fairly chilly in there.” The former church has no warmth—or operating water, as evidenced by the transportable rest room outdoors—however it does have what some Dead followers contemplate to be The Holy Grail.
He leads me into the gloomy, dank edifice; we flip the nook into the principle room, and there it stands on the again: Coscia’s hovering, 30-foot-tall, half-scale reproduction of the Grateful Dead’s legendary Wall of Sound.
AUDIO EXCESS
The unique Wall of Sound P.A. was a profitable failure that grew to become the stuff of legend amongst Deadheads. A colossal system that was one thing of a precursor to the fashionable line array, it was envisioned in 1972 by audio engineer/prolific LSD chemist Owsley “Bear” Stanley and created with Dan Healy, Mark Rizene, Ron Wickersham, Rick Turner and John Curl. As the identify suggests, it was an precise bodily wall of audio system—a group of six separate P.A.s, ground-stacked inside scaffolding and positioned onstage behind the band to behave as a simultaneous home and monitor system. The devices had their very own devoted speaker columns throughout the wall, which resulted in low intermodulation distortion and inadvertently offered on-stage localization, as a result of every performer naturally stood in entrance of his personal column to listen to himself.
A complete of 11 channels fed the system: vocals, guitar, lead guitar, piano, three drum channels, and 4 bass channels—one for every string, separated by a quadraphonic encoder. Vocals had been summed to a mono channel, and the problems of vocal mic suggestions and stage bleed had been solved by putting two out-of-phase condenser mics at every mic place; one was sung into whereas the opposite captured stage ambiance, so summing them collectively canceled out every part however the vocal.
The Grateful Dead’s ultimate model of the system, standing roughly 98 toes throughout and 36 toes excessive, traveled in 4 semis and required 21 individuals and a whole day to load-in. A complete of 586 JBL 15-, 12- and 5-inch audio system and 54 Electro-Voice tweeters had been housed in Hard Trucker-style birch plywood cupboards, all powered by 48 McIntosh MC-2300 amplifiers for a complete of 28,800 watts.
The system’s sheer bulk was in the end why the Wall got here down for good. The band first tried to carry out by a preliminary model in February, 1973, and blew out each tweeter in the course of the first music. Undeterred, the Dead started touring with the prodigious P.A. in March, 1974, solely to retire it seven months later when manufacturing prices spiraled uncontrolled attributable to a nationwide fuel disaster. Nonetheless, the Wall of Sound was preserved for eternity when the band filmed 5 reveals with it at San Francisco’s Winterland in October, 1974; that live performance footage grew to become the guts of 1977’s The Grateful Dead Movie.
LIVING THE DREAM
Anthony Coscia by no means heard the unique Wall of Sound (he was six years outdated on the time), however that hasn’t stopped the lifelong Dead fan from constructing his personal. The ensuing behemoth towers above us as we sit on folding chairs subsequent to a propane cannon heater blasting away within the dim, freezing church. We’ll wind up speaking for greater than an hour earlier than he fires up the Wall.
For most Dead followers, rebuilding the legendary P.A. can be a enjoyable, idle daydream at finest, so what would make somebody resolve to begin “residing the dream” and truly construct it, sinking a whole bunch of hours and hundreds of {dollars} into the mission?
Well, the very first thing to know is that Coscia has constructed a couple of Walls now, and whereas that may sound like a interest that’s spiraled uncontrolled, it’s something however. Much like a Dead present, the enjoyable is within the journey, however at its coronary heart, it’s nonetheless a money-making enterprise. Coscia’s background makes him uniquely certified to rebuild the Wall, too—having beforehand labored in development, he had a stable understanding of tips on how to construct it, and as a luthier catering to the Grateful Dead musician group, he’s tapped right into a community of typically well-heeled, well-connected Deadheads that is perhaps prepared to present the system a brand new residence.
“The final 5 years, I’ve been completely making guitars, shifting from a interest perspective to an expert, full-time factor,” says Coscia. “They’re particular to the Grateful Dead universe; I don’t make clones, however I do know my musicians and what they want, and I make Hard Trucker-style speaker cupboards for them as effectively. It obtained to the purpose the place I’d have 20 or 30 full-size cupboards within the store, so it grew to become, ‘Why don’t I simply maintain going and make the Wall of Sound?’ When I did the primary Wall, it was tiny—5 toes tall, eight toes broad. The costliest speaker was $2 and the most cost effective was 28 cents. My whole finances was in all probability $1,000.”
That first Wall, a 1/6-scale working reproduction with audio system starting from 2.5-inches right down to 7/8-inch fashions utilized in cell telephones, made the entrance web page of The Wall Street Journal in 2020. The notoriety led to constructing three 1⁄4-scale variations, every standing 14-by-10-feet—one for Coscia to indicate at occasions; one for a consumer; and one which was donated to HeadCount, a voter-registration nonprofit that bought it for $100,000.
Buoyed by their success, Coscia started to assume huge—or at the least greater—and commenced constructing his half-scale Wall of Sound, partially as a result of the 1/4-scale programs may solely present a touch of what the unique appeared like.
“At the top of this half-scale, I’ll know whether or not the entire thing actually has benefit,” he says. “One million individuals inform me ‘The finest live performance I ever noticed was a Wall of Sound present,’ however I don’t imagine they had been able to essentially know. Either A, they had been dosed at a Dead present, or B, they had been impressed by what it appears like, and it’s onerous to have an opinion based mostly on something actual in the event you’re busy going ‘Wow.’”
THE WALL OF SOUND’S SOUND
Coscia begins the system, and shortly the church is stuffed with the melodic strains of Grateful Dead tribute act Half Step as a multi-track of the band performs by the Wall. The localization works like a attraction, giving one thing of an immersive impact close to every instrument’s column. Meanwhile, throughout the room on the altar, the varied programs congeal cleanly to change into a delightful full band combine. Half Step on a half-scale Wall doesn’t sound half dangerous, it seems. So are the rumors true and the Wall of Sound was truly the best live performance system ever made? No—however you possibly can see why it in all probability was in 1974.
Surprisingly, Coscia agrees with that sentiment, and it might be why he needs his multi-ton nostalgia machine to be visually similar to the unique, however not beholden to the expertise that comprised it. Rather than use two out-of-phase mics to forestall mic bleed, he employs Optogate infrared microphone gates plugged on to the ends of the vocal mics. Rather than slavishly comply with the unique console-less sign paths of instrument-preamp-amplifier-speakers, all indicators go to a Midas M32 digital digital mixer alongside the best way in order that he can reassign speaker columns with out having to rewire every part. Rather than fear about amplifier speaker hundreds, he makes use of passive Zero-Ohm Multispeaker System items to energy a given column in parallel off a single amplifier with out utilizing transformers. If he had the time, information and a vast finances, he’d leap on the likelihood to include DSP and beam-steering to additional enhance the sound. In quick, Coscia has no downside using modern-day pro-audio advances to make his Wall extra versatile, simpler to make use of, probably higher sounding and undoubtedly extra marketable to a possible purchaser.
However, whereas recreating a Nineteen Seventies sound system, Coscia confronted a really 2020s downside: provide chain points. Finding components, expertise and audio system was a problem within the wake of the pandemic, and plenty of producers had been unable to ship product. Ultimately, he went with CVR Audio amplifiers, whereas his eight-inch audio system had been produced by Spanish producer Beyma, and the three- and six-inch audio system had been Italian-made FaitalPro fashions.
When all these audio system had been put in cupboards, they needed to be modified—to not have an effect on sound high quality, however to make sure they resembled those within the Dead’s Wall. Some baffles had been sponge-painted to appear to be the cork used on the unique’s JBL audio system, whereas a couple of mud caps had been painted silver to duplicate aluminum. The unique audio system had front-facing clips in order that they may very well be yanked out and changed mid-show if wanted; Coscia ordered 1,200 custom-made clips to placed on his cupboards purely for the aesthetics, however with solely 200 delivered to this point, he hasn’t put in them but.
That’s tremendous, as he faces a far higher problem for the time being. To borrow a Grateful Dead phrase that appears notably acceptable given our environment, Anthony Coscia is searching for a miracle.
UP AGAINST THE WALL
The half-scale Wall quickly moved into the church final fall due to a Dead fan who had simply purchased the constructing. It was a fortunate break for Coscia, who wanted the room to correctly assemble and fine-tune the system. However, that point of largess is coming to an finish: The Wall of Sound has to maneuver out by mid-May in order that the constructing will be renovated to deal with a number of music charities.
“It will kill me if I’ve to place the Wall into storage,” says Coscia, not due to the trouble or value, however as a result of the Wall will likely be more durable to promote if it could possibly’t be seen and heard.
If he can’t promote it in time, Coscia’s hoping to discover a native venue to associate with—one large enough to maintain the Wall on its stage and provides visiting bands the choice to make use of it or the home system. “I’m prepared to separate revenues or no matter; we’ll make it work for everyone,” he says, including that he will get emails each day from bands asking to play by it and Deadheads who need to hear it.
Coscia is assured he can beat the clock and get the half-scale Wall out of his hair a technique or one other. He must, so as to vacate the church, keep away from renting storage lockers, recoup hundreds invested within the mission, and rather more, however there may be one cause above all why he must do it—a cause that looms as massive as the large sound system itself: The funds will assist him construct a ultimate, full-scale Wall of Sound in time for 2024—the system’s fiftieth anniversary.
Boston College’s 44,500-capacity Alumni Stadium recently got a complete audio overhaul.
New York, NY (January 9, 2023)—Football stadiums may only host a few games a year compared to other sports, but keeping them up-to-date is a year-round effort. That goes in particular for their sound systems, and the last few months have seen a number of major audio installations at scholastic stadiums around the country.
• NCAA football is the name of the game at Williams-Brice Stadium at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, S.C. Ensuring every rowdy fan can hear every call is a brand-new L- Acoustics A15i system that was installed over the summer by St. Louis-based Cignal Systems. The enormous rig includes a jaw-dropping 318 loudspeakers, including 67 A15i Focus and 139 A15i Wide, with 75 X12 and 37 X8 coaxials, all powered by a combination of 53 LA4X and 29 LA2Xi amplified controllers.
• Heading up north to New England, 44,500-capacity Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, Mass., received a complete overhaul recently. The home to the Boston College Eagles football team now has Fulcrum Acoustic FL283, FH15 series, CCX series and RX series speakers that serve as the P.A. system in the stadium bowl, while the field system is made up of L-Acoustics Syva with KS21 subwoofers. Powering all that are 98 Powersoft Quattrocanali amplifiers in total, which were installed in seven locations around the facility. The primary signal is via Dante from Q-SYS, with an analog backup; mixing for the system is tackled on a number of DiGiCo consoles.
• Stadiums aren’t just for colleges and the NFL. Case in point: The 16,884-seat Paul Brown Tiger Stadium is home to the Tigers—Massillon, Ohio’s high school football team. Named after former Massillon, Ohio State, Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals head coach Paul Brown, the facility was built in 1938 as a WPA Project. While the old audio system didn’t date back to those days, it nonetheless needed replacing and recently was outfitted with three fully weatherized Electro-Voice MTS-6154-43-CFWB point-source loudspeaker systems with cardioid woofers, all powered by a trio of Dynacord IPX10:4 DSP power amplifiers.
New York, NY (March 4, 2021)—The first big lesson Jason DeFillippo learned about podcasting was a crucial one. When he and Brian Schulmeister started Grumpy Old Geeks tech podcast eight years ago, they were running two USB microphones on a glass desktop, in a hardwood-floored room, underneath an airport runway. It’s difficult to imagine a more unforgiving audio environment.
“If you go back and listen to the first episodes, it was right on the flight path to Santa Monica airport in Venice [Calif.],” laughs co-host and producer DeFillippo. “[In] the first 20 episodes or so, there’s a plane every five minutes.”
Jason DeFillippo, co-host and producer of Grumpy Old Geeks.
DeFillippo’s perfectionism and growing experience as a producer of professional podcasts like The Art of Charm, Foodist and The Jordan Harbinger Show helped accelerate his hobby podcast’s production values. These days, after nearly 500 episodes and millions of downloads, Grumpy Old Geeks has evolved into a force all its own.
“All of this stuff that I’m doing also translated to Grumpy Old Geeks,” he says. “Actually, a lot of times, I would experiment on Grumpy Old Geeks because nobody was listening to that show. We could get away with doing crazy experiments to see if they worked before we took them over to a show that anybody was actually listening to.”
His quest to make the podcast sound as smooth as radio coincided with the decision to begin recording remotely. After upgrading to a Universal Audio Apollo Twin interface, Electro-Voice RE27N/D broadcasting mic and Rode PSA-1 boom, now he carries a pack with him all over the U.S. and maintains consistent audio quality with an Electro-Voice RE20 dynamic microphone, Sound Devices MixPre-6 preamp audio recorder and his secret weapon: a PreSonus Studio 192 interface.
“You can do all sorts of crazy cable routing with it, and I still use it to this day,” he says. “It’s sitting on my desk in a [double rack unit] with a Furman power conditioner so I can pick it up and take it anywhere in the world, like a little briefcase. I’ve actually got two of them because if one ever broke, I’d be out of business.”
While DeFillippo previously used Skype to connect with Schulmeister and guests—through a three-computer setup of one iMac and two Mac Minis, one for each Skype feed—he switched to the Zencastr platform. “Once Zencastr came out and it got somewhat decent, we switched over to that full-time and got rid of Skype altogether,” he says. “I haven’t used Skype for a podcast in years at this point.”
In their latest pivot, Grumpy Old Geeks has begun using Squadcast as well as Riverside to record audio for the podcast. The latter platform also records 4k video, which DeFillippo’s other podcast clients use to publish content to YouTube. “Riverside and Squadcast are so great because everybody’s got a browser, everybody’s got a laptop nowadays,” he says. “If you have headphones and a MacBook Pro, I can make that sound like you’re in a studio.”
There is another key benefit, particularly for DeFillippo’s outside clients: Riverside has a Co-Producer mode that allows him to set up clients and then login as a non-participating attendee. He can be “in the room” and communicate with the host and guests, but not be seen or recorded.
Still, one area remains off-limits in DeFillippo’s dedication to high-quality production values: Phone audio is not allowed.
“We’ll just reschedule the show if we have to go to a phone,” he says. “It’s just one of the conditions of any of the shows I work on: We don’t use phones. We want everything to sound like it’s in a studio. If we have to send you a mic, we’ll send you a mic and headphones. The people I usually work with, they want the best quality that you can get.”
Burnsville, MN (January 22, 2021) – Electro-Voice has introduced the Evolve 50M column loudspeaker system, a portable PA based around the manufacturer’s new QuickSmart Link digital audio and control technology, an onboard mixer, DSP and effects. The system is intended for use by bands/musicians, AV rental companies, DJs and others.
Available in black or white finishes, the Evolve 50M features a full-range column array containing eight lightweight 3.5” neodymium drivers that provide 120° coverage via proprietary waveguides. The array enclosure is constructed from a composite material and incorporates an aluminum handle. A 12” subwoofer is housed in a 15 mm wood enclosure with a laminar-flow vent design, for rigidity and acoustical performance. The array and sub are connected via a symmetrical aluminum pole with internal wiring and magnetically assisted latching. The speakers are protected by a black powder-coated, 18-gauge steel grille, and an array/pole carry case is included. An advanced Class-D amplifier provides up to 1000 W of power.
The Evolve 50M’s “M” designation refers to its integrated eight-channel digital mixer. Developed in collaboration with Dynacord, the mixer has multiple inputs (4x XLR/TRS combo mic/line inputs, 1x XLR/TRS combo stereo line input, 1x RCA, 1x 3.5 mm stereo, 1x Hi-Z instrument input) with preamps and mix functions. Bluetooth streaming aids music playback or accompaniment. Independent channel aux sends and a foot switch input are also included, and a range of effects (30 presets, including chorus, delay, flange and reverb, via two FX channels) are also onboard.
QuickSmart Link allows users to combine two Evolve 50Ms together for gigs needing more inputs via an Ethernet cable to create an uncompressed digital audio/control connection. Both systems can be paired to a single mobile device via the QuickSmart Mobile app (available via the Apple App Store and on Google Play) which can provide mix control of both systems. For applications requiring fewer inputs, but still requiring a mixer and stereo output, the Evolve 50M can be matched with an Evolve 50 via the Mix Out XLR connector.
Burnsville, MN (December 6, 2020)—Electro-Voice has introduced the RE20-BLACK, making available for the first time a new color option for the long-running RE20 broadcast microphone.
The designation BLACK is exactly that, as the new version sports a low-reflection dark charcoal finish. The RE20-BLACK offers customers an aesthetic alternative to the original’s finish, while being acoustically, electrically and mechanically identical to the original RE20, introduced more than 50 years ago and steadily adopted since by recording studios, broadcasters and podcasters everywhere.
The RE20 BLACK still offers the original’s Variable-D design, which is said to minimize proximity effect, helping users work around the mic at varying distances. Additional features include a mid-bass tone-shaping switch, an integrated pop filter and a humbucking coil to guard against line hum.
The RE20-BLACK is shipping and has a street price of $449 US.
So you’ve purchased your first audio interface, got some recording software, splurged on a pair of pro headphones (hopefully some near field monitors, too) and you’re driving your first DAW (digital audio workstation). You’re finding that good results are pretty easy to get, that this is seriously fun stuff and are wondering where to go next with this whole audio production thing. Allow me to suggest one thing: Get some microphones.
It’s easy advice to give, as mics are the window to worlds of audio understanding, enabling the most impactful ability and choice in audio production, using mic technique and selection to capture sound of all varieties in the most accurate, or at least the most useful, way possible.
Every studio microphone is the “ears” of your audio recording kit and no single model will ever do, no matter how perfect or expensive it is. As you’ll soon see, audio capture isn’t so much about mics that pickup sound waves perfectly; rather, it’s about microphones that pickup sound waves in a manner that your ears “want” to hear and about the microphone technique required to create euphony—the ability to recreate sounds better than how they are heard in real life, in ways that will delight and astound listeners of all varieties.
The cold, hard—but exciting—truth is, you’ll need at least five different kinds of studio microphone to be able to utilize proper mic techniques, have flexibility and be able to pursue artistic choices in your endeavors.
Let’s dive into the different mic categories and look at what applications and techniques are typical, what classic microphones we would have used in the past and what modern-day mic options may offer a twist on such time-proven and tested formulas.
For many fledgling engineers, their first studio microphone is a dynamic mic, as much for the low cost as anything else. Totally adequate dynamics start out in the “less than $100” range; they’re simple to use, rugged, consistent and aren’t that sensitive to loud sounds, so it’s hard to “blow them up” and force them to distort. Many people start out with a dynamic handheld mic—the one with a long handle and a ball-shaped windscreen/pop-filter that helps to reduce those dreaded popping “P” plosives that blow-out PA systems, distort speakers—and which are the delight of hip-hop beatboxers everywhere.
Sennheiser MD421-II.
Another nice thing about dynamic mics is their taming of sibilance, or the “S” sounds that are part of S’s and C’s. They’re important sounds that have to be heard in order for you to understand speech, but for certain people (and certain instruments), these sounds can get unruly and downright nasty when picked up by a mic. Dynamic mics typically have an appropriate amount of sibilance; in fact, they are often considered a little dark and need a slight treble boost to perform ideally with intelligibility, detail and clarity.
Your typical dynamic mic has a cardioid or hyper-cardioid pickup pattern—that is, the mic is sensitive directly in front of it, not very sensitive on the sides at all and rejects sound coming from the rear rather well (a hyper-cardioid pattern is like a cardioid, but even narrower on the sides, with a just a touch of unwanted sensitivity at the rear, oddly enough). You’ll sometimes see dynamics with an omnidirectional pattern (sensitive equally in all directions), but these aren’t very common, even if they are occasionally useful.
How To Use Them
Heil Sound PR40.
Technique-wise, dynamics are quite good at the modern technique of miking a source from a very short distance and getting a touch of proximity effect (or bass boost)—“close miking” as it’s obviously called. This technique rejects room sound by bombarding the mic with up-close volume, so that it sounds very “in your face”—even more aggressive than the reality of listening from a close distance—and conveys lots of power with thickness from bass and low-mids. Dynamics can easily handle the high volumes of such placement, convey those low frequencies with power and substance, and reject unwanted off-axis sound pretty well, too (sounds like cymbals, guitar amps and degrading sound reflections off of the walls).
Electro-Voice RE320.
Dynamics excel on any job with excessive volume like drum kits, percussion, guitar amps, sound effects, horns and loud vocals. Their ruggedness allows them to perform even in temperature, humidity and vibration extremes, so they’re great for difficult tasks like news gathering, harsh environments and “zero-failure tolerance” gigs like press conferences.
Using a dynamic mic is easy; just aim it at your sound source, get in close if you want some extra punch and proximity effect, or back off if you want some “air” and room sound. You likely won’t have to worry about mic overload, so turn up your preamp’s gain, and EQ/compress to taste in the mix. Look to filter out low-end if you got in too close with proximity effect, dip out some boxy midrange around 300 – 400 Hz and possibly brighten up the top-end around 8 kHz if more detail is needed.
The Classic and Current Models
The classic mics here—the proverbial dynamic duo—are arguably the most popular mics of all-time: the Shure SM57 and SM58. They’re nearly identical in their performance, sounding only slightly different due to their different windscreens—the ball-ended SM58 is ideal for vocals, while the ultra-rugged, narrow-tipped SM57 is perfect for instruments. They’re mostly known for rugged success on-stage, but 57s see lots of studio work, too, especially with snare drums and guitar amps.
The Electro-Voice RE-20 is the essential mic that radio DJs have relied on for decades, and it has now become an essential mic for podcasters for all the same voice-massaging features. The updated RE320 brings a hotter output and optional mid-sculpting.
Perhaps the most desirable dynamic ever for instrument recording is Sennheiser’s MD421-U. These wedge-shaped, Sixties mod-looking mics (and their modern MD421-II counterparts) have brought thickness and warmth to countless trumpet, horn, guitar amp, bass amp and tom tom recordings.
Aston Stealth.
Today, the dynamic mic scene is dominated by the ubiquitous Shure SM7B. What was once a mic for DJs and announcers has become the “mic du jour” for indie crooners, popsters, singer/songwriters and metal screamers, too. For blistering loud screamers and yellers, the SM7B smooths out shrillness and the built-in variable high-pass filters (HPFs) allow careful filtering out of unwanted chestiness.
Heil Sound’s PR40 (with a big 1” diaphragm and wide frequency response) and its handheld PR35 are both top studio performers that hold their own onstage, too. Also, British newcomer Aston brings a clever new wrinkle to choices in dynamics—its ultra-versatile Stealth offers not only four different tonal voicings but also the boost of active circuitry (with increased sensitivity and output) when 48 V phantom power is applied.
Large Diaphragm Condenser Mics
Neumann U87.
Your first mic might have been a large diaphragm condenser mic instead of a dynamic and they can be a much better choice for voice work, whether singing, talking or rapping. Compared to a dynamic mic, a large diaphragm condenser (LDC) offers a much more defined sound—one laden with more treble and detail, with hotter output from the mic requiring less gain at the preamp. It also has circuitry that requires external power, such as the 48-volt phantom power that is provided by the mic preamps in your interface.
AKG C414 XLS
In addition to their identifiable sonic properties, many LDCs are also larger and often side-address (they’re sensitive to sound on one side of the windscreen, not directly in front like a handheld) with multiple variables to sculpt the sound.
LDCs have a somewhat larger diaphragm than dynamics (and a capsule to house it and the backplate), and multi-pattern LDCs have two diaphragms and can therefore combine their outputs in various ways, creating useful polar patterns like directional cardioid, figure-8 dual-cardioid, omnidirectional and sometimes even hyper (or super) cardioid.
LDCs with multiple polar patterns, pads, filters and more are “fully featured”—you’ve got to own at least one of these versatile performers or you’re going to miss out on a lot of great possibilities.
How To Use Them
Audio-Technica AT2050.
You can use LDCs for close miking, but be forewarned—the output will be excessively loud. You’ll need either a mic preamp with a pad to decrease sensitivity (often -20 dB) or a LDC with a built-in pad (sometimes -10 dB, sometimes -20 dB, sometimes both). Also, be warned that off-axis sound from other sources are picked up quite a bit by LDCs—more than with dynamics—and the sound is not pleasant; it’s often brittle and harsh.
But LDCs handle room, area and distance miking much better than dynamics do, picking up incredible detail, ample low-end and crisply defined high-end. Many people say that a pair of properly spaced LDCs in a stereo technique closely approximates human hearing and “being there.”
Lewitt LCT 940.
A pair of LDCs can be used to achieve a number of stereo techniques that can present a very wide, deep and interesting sound field; exactly which one to use for any given task is the stuff of artistry. You can go with X/Y for a strong center image and great mono compatibility; ORTF for more width and excitement but less mono accuracy; a spaced pair for extreme width with less center and less power; or M-S (Mid-Side) for a raw capture of center and side information that requires some complicated post-production manipulation after the fact but yields great imaging and superior flexibility.
LDCs are going to excel wherever detail and sensitivity are more important than volume handling or power—for instance, acoustic instruments of all shapes and sizes, vocals of all types, pianos, rooms and ambiences, and anywhere where the priority is a capture of full frequency response and a big life-like sound.
Roswell Colares.
Usage can be complicated, but offers great flexibility if you employ the typical wealth of features. Use the pad if loud sources are causing distortion, even if only on occasional loud peaks. To tame muddiness, try the high-pass filter (HPF – only highs will pass, filtering out lows) and experiment with close-positioned proximity effect, with or without the HPF. Most importantly, experiment with polar patterns, as you’ll be delighted to find the sheer number of tonal options provided by omni, figure-8 and hyper-cardioid patterns.
The Classic and Current Models
Austrian Audio OC818.
There are two classics that have defined excellence in LDCs through the decades: the Neumann U87 and the AKG C414, both in numerous, slightly different iterations. The U87 is truly utilitarian, with three polar patterns, a pad and a HPF making it capable of most any instrument or voice job, even if it has become most iconic for vocal work. The 414 is even more versatile, with more patterns, pads and filters making it legendary as a sort of a Swiss Army knife of audio capture.
Many modern LDCs have taken all the things we love about their predecessors and added forward-thinking versatility. The Roswell Colares is a favorite for vocals with built-in saturation (mild- and warm-sounding distortion) that is more useful across a berth of styles than you’d ever imagine, and it’s defeatable too.
Townsend Labs Sphere.
Austrian Audio’s OC818 has taken the capsule and concept of the C414 and added futuristic enhancements, like polar pattern, pad and HPF control from an app on your phone, as well as recording the output of each diaphragm separately and then selecting polar patterns in post-production. Lewitt offers its multi-pattern LCT 940, which has both tube and FET amplifiers within, as well as the ability to blend them in any proportion for fine-tuned versatility.
Fear not if you’re on a budget—there are numerous entry-level LDCs that perform adequately and affordably: Audio-Technica’s AT2050, Behringer’s C3 and Rode’s NT2-A are all more than capable for very little cost.
Alternately, a modern modeling mic (which uses software to emulate numerous classic LDCs) may be an ideal choice for your first LDC, especially if you’re still searching for that perfect match for your voice or tonal preferences. A modeled studio microphone can sound great, with believably authentic tones and they’re only getting better as advances in their software and preamp modeling further close the gap between the “real deal” and digitally imitated signal paths. The Slate Digital VMS and Townsend Labs Sphere L22 are good examples here, even if you might want to purchase the actual hardware after the models stimulate your tastes.
Small Diaphragm Condenser Mics
DPA 4006 family.
Having just a large diaphragm condenser mic isn’t going to be enough versatility for your kit—not with a world of small diaphragm condensers ready to spice things up. Like a painter with numerous brushes, you’ll find the “stroke” of a SDC has a unique focus, clarity and punch that LDCs (or dynamic mics, for that matter) just cannot provide. Though detailed like a LDC, SDCs are even more exacting than many LDCs, and when used in pairs, provide some of the most accurate reproduction possible. Sure, SDCs can be a little self-noisier than LDCs, but their transient capture (that sharp leading-edge of a sound) is oh so accurate and lifelike, and their off-axis pickup is typically smoother than LDCs, too.
How To Use Them
Schoeps Colette studio microphone
Use this kind of studio microphone for acoustic instruments, drum overheads, orchestras, choirs, pianos, percussion arrays, natural ambiences…. The list of superb SDC apps goes on and on. Used up-close, the sound can be kind of rude or even overload the mic, but SDCs excel when pulled-back a bit at moderate and long distances. They’re generally really good at stereo techniques, too, and are often easier to position than a pair of bulky LDCs. Using SDCs is a lot like LDCs, except pads, filters and patterns aren’t typically offered (if your SDCs do actually have them, use them by all means).
SDCs often come with foam windscreens which are useful for not only outdoor applications and preventing plosives, but also for taming bright, high-end response in what can sometimes be rather thin, bright mics. Most of all, experiment using stereo patterns with your SDCs, where the realism and air greatly benefit drum overheads, pianos, vocal groups, acoustic guitars, strings and much of anything with width and dimension to it.
The Classic and Current Models
Lauten Audio LA120.
The classics in this studio microphone category are once again built by the Germans and Austrians. Neumann’s KM84 and subsequent KM184 are wonderfully focused and euphonic, with a high-end that is sparkling, crisp and to die for, while AKG’s C451 (cardioid, but often fitted with interchangeable omni or hyper-cardioid pattern capsules) is a utilitarian’s dream, with a life-like midrange reproduction and surprisingly impressive low-end. Shure’s SM81 is also a classic SDC favorite, especially for drum overheads.
Worthy of mention is a category of SDCs known for their stark accuracy, reference consistency, availability in omni configurations and high price—Elite SDCs if you will. DPA 4006s, Schoeps Colette series, Earthworks’ super time-coherent models and Bruel & Kajers’ (B&K) measurement microphones are standouts in this apex group, which you’ll find recording orchestras, jazz and in the hands of picky uber-producers.
Vanguard Audio Labs V1S stereo kit.
Modern variants are plentiful at all price points and in my many years as an educator, I must say I’ve tried literally dozens of brands/models of SDC pairs and found them all to be adequate, if not exactly stellar. You’ll get less sizzly high-end and nastiness, and more smooth treble with less ear fatigue as you move up the price scale. I’m fond of the Vanguard Audio Labs V1S stereo kit with its interchangeable cardioid / hyper-cardioid / soft-cardioid / omni capsules (wide-cardioid is perfect for when you want to hear a little more of the room).
Today, there are pairs of SDCs with amazing price-to-performance ratios, notably Lauten Audio’s LA120 (with high- and low-pass filters) and Audio-Technica’s AT4041, which will outperform the lowest price models with a smoother high-end response and less self-noise.
Ribbon Mics
Beyerdynamic M160.
Now let’s do a 180 degree swing: What about those times when you want less precision and less excruciating detail? What about when things sound way too harsh for a dynamic mic, much less a condenser mic or two? The answer, of course, is the slow-moving, dull-sounding, bottom end-creating warmth of a ribbon mic. Whether a short or a long ribbon, most ribbon mics are figure-8 in their polar pattern, lean naturally towards accentuating low-mids, slightly dull their transients and smooth out their peaks, rejecting sound in the nulls of their “8” to an amazing degree while accepting EQ (especially of the high-end boosting variety) surprisingly well.
How To Use Them
sE Electronics RNR1.
Ribbons are quite sensitive, so you’d best not drop the mic, or blow into the ribbon or expose the mic to excessive SPL (sound pressure level), so close-miking isn’t possible on many drums or loud sources. That figure-8 pattern is often viewed as a liability, but I tend to disagree; it’s a useful feature. A ribbon mic for room ambience is great, as it picks up the source directly and the reflections coming in from the rear; just carefully position the mic’s distance from the source to get an ideal room balance, maybe even room reverb in larger spaces. Try placing the nearest sound source that you’re trying to reject with your ribbon mic right smack in the 90 degree (or 270 degree) off-axis position, and the polluting sound will seem to disappear from your ribbon’s track, especially if you can get your ribbon in fairly close to the sound you do want to pick up.
AEA R84.
Don’t forget to try a ribbon where a smooth and silky top-end is needed. Try close miking a vocal for intimate detail and first carefully tune a HPF to filter-out just enough unwanted rumble without losing fullness. Find the spot where the mic is resonating in the mids (likely around 400 to 500 Hz) and notch out a few dB, put a high-frequency shelf at about 8 kHz and start boosting it until the vocal is sweetly detailed and crisp without sounding lispy, irritating or unnatural (you might have to boost a lot, maybe even a whopping +12 dB; just don’t add too much noise in the process).
The Classic and Current Models
Coles 4038
Classic ribbons are still used today despite their fragility, ancient design and expensive cost; they simply sound gorgeous, huge and lush (words truly cannot describe). RCA 44s and 77s from the post-WWII era are the holy grail of ribbon mics, but slightly newer Coles 4038s (a long-standing favorite of the BBC and anglophile recordists) and Beyerdynamic M160s (that iconic drum intro to “When the Levee Breaks” by John Bonham of Led Zeppelin? Yep that’s the sound of 160s) carry the classic tone in to the modern era.
Royer R121.
Today, we’ve got ribbon mics that are sturdier, handle more SPL and have more high-end response (at least on some models), like Royer’s guitar-cabinet favored R121. AEA—maker of vintage throwbacks and post-modern designs, too—offers up passive or active-electronics R84, and there’s also the sE Electronics RNR1 Rupert Neve-designed ribbon, which is perfection on guitar cabinets and vocals, surprisingly enough, with sweet high-end response.
MXL R144.
Even on a budget, there’s worthy choices out there in this category of studio microphone, like the sE Electronics X1R, a solid performer. A favorite among my students is the MXL R144, which is voiced with prominent mids so it sounds warm yet defined on drum room and electric guitars. Cascade makes a line of ribbon variations at great prices, allowing a little experimentation if you get sucked down the whole ribbon mic rabbit-hole as so many people (rightfully) do.
Low Frequency Enhanced Dynamic Mics
Then there’s “bass mics” or “kick mics” or “large diaphragm dynamic mics” as they’re often mistakenly called (It’s not so much that they have bigger diaphragms as they do bigger bodies with resonant chambers and features to enhance low-frequency reproduction). They aren’t exactly versatile, but when low-frequencies are what you need, low-frequencies are what you get. These mics are dynamic and are always amply windscreen-protected so they can handle the brutal SPL of a kick drum no problem. In fact, foley and effects recordists will often use these mics to record jet take-offs, guns, explosions and engines without distortion.
How To Use Them
AKG D12 VR.
You’ll find uses for this category of studio microphone on kick drums, floor toms, bass guitar amps, tubas and anything that needs more “boom and butt” than “bite and crispness.” I’ve also put them under pianos to add some thickness, on baritone guitar amps and behind cajons (when paired with a condenser to grab the highs). Listen in solo if you dare, but don’t be surprised if the sound seems oddly unbalanced; check your track again without solo (or PFL) and note how your track actually blends into the mix naturally. Furthermore, getting the bottom-end just right usually takes some EQ and compression to notch out resonant frequencies of excessive bass response, careful EQ boosts to make up for any hollow holes in the response and the application of some compression to help smooth out, congeal and increase consistency.
The Classic and Current Models
Avantone Pro Kick.
Back in the day, AKG absolutely owned this category of studio microphone, starting with the D12, the world’s first bass-enhanced mic. It followed that widely successful mic with the ubiquitous D112, the green-rimmed egg that was found on countless stages and in countless studios through the 90s. Today, AKG carries on the tradition with the D12 VR (with three voicings and phantom power-activated active electronics). All the major players have worthy “kick drum mics” today, with the V Kick from sE Electronics being a favorite amongst touring players, while other top performers include Sennheiser’s E902, Heil’s PR48 and Avantone Pro’s Pro Kick (actually a small speaker wired in reverse to be a large bass drum mic).
The Ever-Evolving Studio Microphone Locker
Now that you’ve got all your bases covered (including your basses), don’t be surprised if you find yourself craving the specialized abilities of a more exotic studio microphone. Shotgun mics for tightly focused vocals, vintage mics for throwback tones, body-worn mics for unique perspectives, stereo mics for their wide perspective and easy placement, contact mics for direct pickup…. The list, and the adventures, go on and on!
Let the Rhythm Lead: Haiti Song Summit, Vol. 1, a collaborative album benefiting Haiti’s Artists Institute and Artists for Peace and Justice (APJ), features Jackson Browne and featuring Jenny Lewis, musician/producer Jonathan Wilson, Jonathan Russell (The Head and The Heart), Habib Koité, Raúl Rodríguez, Paul Beaubrun and others. David Belle
Over the last several years, a group of musicians and songwriters from four continents traveled to Haiti to record songs inspired by the Caribbean island nation while also helping to educate audio engineering students at the Artists Institute in Jacmel, on the south coast. The collaborative project, facilitated by Jackson Browne and featuring Jenny Lewis, musician/producer Jonathan Wilson, Jonathan Russell (The Head and The Heart), Habib Koité, Raúl Rodríguez, Paul Beaubrun and others, resulted in the World Music album Let the Rhythm Lead: Haiti Song Summit Vol. 1, an 11-song collection released earlier this year that benefits the Artists Institute and Artists for Peace and Justice (APJ).
Sessions took place during two separate trips to the Artists Institute recording studio, which was designed by WSDG Walters-Storyk Design Group. The album was mixed by Dave Cerminara at Browne’s Groove Masters facility in Santa Monica, CA and mastered by Gavin Lurssen at Lurssen Mastering in Los Angeles.
Artists Institute and the Ciné Institute sprang out of the Academy for Artist Peace and Justice, the largest middle and high school on the island, which were established by APJ and filmmaker David Belle, an APJ board member. Quincy Jones, Lionel Richie and Arcade Fire’s Win Butler and Régine Chassagne have provided additional support for the Artists Institute.
Jackson Browne and Jonathan Wilson joined Pro Sound News to talk about Haiti, the Artists Institute and the songs. (Comments have been edited for clarity and brevity.)
On the project’s genesis:
Browne: I think the first time I went to Haiti was in 2015, five years after I had appeared at a benefit to raise money to build the school. They got the school built pretty quick; then, up the coast in Jacmel, they built Ciné Institute, which is a film school, and the Audio Institute, which has a recording studio.
At that first visit to the studio, I saw the opportunity—just like film directors who come from all over to speak at the Ciné Institute, they should have people come record here. Win and Régine had been there and spoken to the kids, but I thought, what needs to happen is for somebody to come and demonstrate how we record.
Wilson: I got a call from Jackson. He wanted to bring some awareness to this awesome studio and the gear. That’s treasured and cherished; they’re so excited about the space. He called a couple people and asked me to call a few folks, and we put together a crew.
Engineer Trevor Spencer teaches a recording class to high school students at Haiti’s Artists Institute.
On teaching and recording:
Browne: I described the studio to Jonathan and he said, “Let’s get their equipment list.” It was pretty bare bones—a Pro Tools rig and an SSL [AWS900] board. He said, “Let’s bring in some equipment to warm this up and make it interesting for them.” It was about bringing some gear that we would like them to know about. It’s not that they don’t know anything; they just haven’t been shown how to do it. They notice that things can sound a certain way, but they don’t know how it was done.
Wilson: I could tell from looking at the list that we needed some signal chain. We needed some preamps, with some proper circuitry. We went down to Vintage King; those guys were very kind to us. We got a bunch of tube stuff, a 1073, a Manley Vox Box. And we brought down some microphones—old American EVs, a couple of AEAs.
Browne: I talked to [Mojave Audio’s] Dusty Wakeman and he gave us a deal on two tube mics. We brought API gear, Pultecs and Retro compressors. Teaching started the minute we plugged in the gear. That was part of the education of our coming there, and exactly what I hoped for. Just to know that this compression on the drums will make them sound like this; practical information about how to make things sound good.
Wilson: We went to a real voodoo ceremony. It started at 6 p.m. and went on for about eight hours. It was a drumming frenzy. That was super cool to see. The interplay of the Haitian drums permeates the whole project. One of the focuses was the truly great drummers.
Browne: Jonathan is a drummer and he played the drums knowing that he wanted to feature the Haitian hand drums; his drumming was providing a setting or a context. At the end of the project, he started laying out this song at the piano. He invited Sanba Zao [of Haitian roots band] Lakou Mizik to play drums and sing, and it turned into that incredible call and response. On that song [“Lape, Lanmou (Peace and Love)”], there’s a moment where there’s suddenly a flute—that’s Habib. When Dave, who mixed the album, turned it up and it became this huge thing, we put the song at the beginning of the album because it demonstrates where the album is going.
I had that little guitar lick and the idea for “Love Is Love”—“Here on the distant sunny shores of an island…” We’re First World tourists. Everybody thinks of tropical places as places of refuge and relaxation, but for the people there, it’s a struggle every day. At the end of the song, I’m talking about Fr. Rick Frechette. He came to Haiti originally as a priest. He said, “They don’t need a priest; they need a doctor.” And he went away and became a doctor and came back and built a hospital. He’s an inspiration.
Jenny Lewis came down with some ideas but realized none of them had anything to do with what she was seeing, especially after we went to the voodoo ceremony. She wrote the song “Under the Supermoon” the next morning and we recorded it that afternoon.
The best part of it was to watch some of these songs become transformed by the whole group—to hear Raúl come in with a song and when we put the Haitian drums to it, it became this whole other thing. We didn’t try to put together a band—it was just a group of people that were interesting as individuals, recording—but we had six songs in five days, so we said, let’s come back and make it a whole album.
Brooklyn, NY (September 3, 2020)—The audio production of the Slate podcast Decoder Ring isn’t exactly minimalist, but “reduction” is one of the secrets behind producer Benjamin Frisch’s sound design. Using sound libraries like Epidemic almost as a DJ might, Frisch manipulates canned music beds and deconstructs them to create his own mixes.
“Production music generally, I think, is just overproduced,” says Frisch. “But oftentimes, if you shave off one stem—if you use just the drums and the instrumental and the bass, that’s suddenly a really cool rhythm track, whereas the melody on top of that could be really cheesy or get in the way.”
Decoder Ring producer Benjamin Frisch’s sound design is created applying a variety of tricks to make the most of canned music beds. Slate
Decoder Ring cracks open cultural mysteries in a similar way. In each episode, host Willa Paskin confronts a cultural question, object or habit in order to figure out what it means and why it matters. Alongside that curiosity, though, is a healthy dose of irreverence. Recent episodes have explored the rise and fall of the laugh track in sitcom television shows, the emergence of the “Karen” personality and the origin of the mullet hairstyle.
The soundtrack to the “Mystery of the Mullet” episode illustrates a technique Frisch often uses in the creative process. Once he found a composition he thought could fit the tone of the story, he downloaded the stems and slowly brought them into the mix.
“I’ll bring them in one at a time in a way that isn’t in the actual mix of the song, to give a little bit more of a progression or feel to it,” he says. “It’s really fun because it feels like you’re scoring a movie.”
Whether researching, interviewing or editing, Frisch says the quirks he and Paskin add as they wind through the wormholes are a way to have fun with their subjects. For the episode “Clown Panic,” which dives into the history of clowning and what has made clowns terrifying to some people, Frisch naturally began to dig through upbeat circus music. But in addition to being “too obvious,” he also found it repetitious and annoying—in other words, not fun. He went with a more subtle waltz, which evoked the idea of clowns without being hokey.
The soundtrack to the “Mystery of the Mullet” episode illustrates a technique Frisch often uses in the creative process. Slate
When it comes to recording narration and interviews, Frisch typically tracks Paskin on an Electro-Voice RE20 in the Slate studio. When a guest is a major focal point of an episode, like when Rebecca Black came in to discuss her 2011 viral hit song “Friday,” he prefers to record them at HQ or over an ISDN connection.
Pre-COVID lockdown, the show also used tape syncs often, but when the podcast lost access to the studio, Frisch gave Paskin a Rode NTG-2 and a Zoom H5 recorder so she could track from home. Guest audio is another story, though; he’s content with using VoIP audio from video conferencing platforms like Zoom and Skype for ancillary sources.
“I have never been nearly as obsessed with the sound quality of guest audio as some people are,” he says. “It’s only the two of us, and the way we work, it would not even be feasible for us to tape sync every person we want to talk to, just for cost and time reasons.”
There are also benefits to having audio tracks with tones and textures that listeners can easily distinguish from each other, he says. “What I like about having a lot of different sources of audio is it allows you to shift the focus. It separates the two scenes from one another, which I think is actually a really valuable thing.”
Unlike podcasts that work forward from a script, Decoder Ring goes in the opposite direction, starting with the idea. The real story only reveals itself through research and interviews, when they’re able to peel back the layers. Frisch develops audio as the story itself develops, shaping it to reflect the emerging narrative, and scripting is usually one of the last things completed before they record an episode.
“What we get in those interviews is what really dictates what the episode is about in some ways,” he says. “Sometimes we come in with a stronger idea about the big philosophical question of the episode, but a lot of the times, it’s really a process of discovery.”
Yi Sun-sin Stadium in Asan, South Korea installed a new sound system based around Electro-Voice loudspeakers powered and processed by amplifiers from Dynacord.
Asan, South Korea (August 19, 2020)—Yi Sun-sin Stadium in Asan, South Korea is not a small place. Home of Chungnam Asan Football Club, it seats 17,376 fans, and in order to cover them during sporting events, the venue has installed a new sound system based around Electro-Voice loudspeakers powered and processed by amplifiers from Dynacord.
Dlogixs Co., Ltd. (Anyang-si, Kyounggi-do) completed the system design and installation, with manufacturer support from Hosung Lee of Electro-Voice/Dynacord.
The main covered grandstand on the home side of the stadium is the only suitable structure from which to fly loudspeaker clusters; the away-side seating areas directly across the pitch are uncovered. The challenge was to achieve consistent coverage and SPL for both the home and away fans, using a combination of main loudspeakers in the grandstand and delays to cover the away seats. As line-arrays were not a cost-effective option, point-source models with excellent pattern control were selected as a solution.
Weatherized EVH horn-loaded loudspeakers in four vertical clusters of two serve as the mains: longer-throw 90°H x 40°V over wider-coverage 90°H x 60°V. The EVH models are supported by eight weatherized Sx300PI two-way loudspeakers as side fills for the areas right below the main clusters.
Across the pitch, 16 ZX1i compact two-way loudspeakers are distributed to cover the away-side seating areas, with tonal characteristics and delay time carefully aligned to match the main system. Each is pole-mounted inside a weatherproof enclosure and equipped with a TC-ZX1i terminal cover. Two EVID 6.2 compact two-way loudspeakers complete the Electro-Voice equipment list, wall-mounted as monitors in the control room. The entire system is powered and processed via a combination of Dante-equipped IPX and L series amplifiers from Dynacord, with optimizing presets for the Electro-Voice loudspeakers.
“The fans are the ultimate judges of a successful sound system installation,” said Lee, “and the response has been very positive.”
Steve Johnson, vice president of sales and marketing at Audix.
Q: What is your new position, and what does it entail?
A: I recently joined Audix as vice president of sales and marketing. The marketing responsibility is global, but my sales focus is on the United States.
Q: How has your background prepared you for this?
A: My first job for an audio manufacturer was at Shure, where I joined as the product line manager for wireless products in 1993. Since leaving Shure in 2003 as vice president of global marketing, I’ve worked in various marketing and product management capacities across the audio chain—from BSS and dbx signal processing at Harman to Electro-Voice loudspeakers at Bosch. Most recently, I was CEO at Community Professional Loudspeakers, where I had the pleasure of helping recapture the mojo of that American brand. Following Biamp’s acquisition of Community last summer, I decided it was time for a new challenge.
Joining Audix is a welcome return to my microphone roots. The microphone is the critical first link in the audio chain, so failure is not an option. I don’t believe you can “fix it in the mix.” For nearly two decades, the tagline at Audix has been “Performance Is Everything.” At face value, this appears to be simply a product performance message, but I also see it as a promise to the user and installer that it’s their performance that we are committed to capturing, faithfully and accurately.
While professional microphones have long been associated with the stage, studio or house of worship, it is exciting to see the same level of attention now being given to the front end of the audio chain in the corporate world. No amount of DSP will make up for a poor microphone choice. This is true whether on a video conference call in the executive board room or on a Zoom call when sheltering at home. Great audio—which all starts with selecting the right microphone—really does make a difference.
Q: What new marketing initiatives are we likely to see from the company?
A: While many know Audix for our iconic OM Series of handheld vocal microphones and D Series drum microphones, we are also a leading provider of installed microphones in the conferencing space with our M Series. We are competing against some of the giants of the industry, so we look for ways to speak directly and intimately to a broad range of customers across multiple product categories and applications. For this reason, online marketing—including social media—will continue to grow in importance in our marketing mix.
A: In the short term, I want to really understand everything that goes into the design and manufacture of an Audix product, what makes it special. I’m inspired by the level of vertical integration and supply chain control in our factory in Wilsonville, OR. Watching an aluminum rod being transformed on one of our state-of-the-art CNC machines into the housing of a D Series drum is something everyone should experience. Check out “Making of the Audix D6 Drum Microphone” on YouTube!
There is an extraordinary willingness at Audix to invest in U.S.-based manufacturing capability. As the leader of sales and marketing, my long-term goal is to demonstrate the wisdom of these investments by generating significant and profitable sales growth in the United States and beyond.
Q: What is the greatest challenge you face?
A: We launched several new products this year at NAMM, including a line of headphones and earphones. While Audix may be best known as a microphone brand, I believe our “Performance Is Everything” message is just as relevant in the listening category. My challenge will be demonstrating this to be the case. I enjoy a good challenge!
New York, NY (March 4, 2021)—The first big lesson Jason DeFillippo learned about podcasting was a crucial one. When he and Brian Schulmeister started 
