News at NAMM 2011//The Kemper Profiling Amplifier

Kemper GmbH announced today the new Kemper Profiling Amplifier to be unveiled at the NAMM Show 2011 in Los Angeles.  

The Kemper Profiling Amplifier is an entirely new concept for guitar amplification in the digital domain. Following the radical idea that every guitar player should be able to bring his personal sound of the tube amp setup he owns into a versatile, comfortable and most important reproducible format: The Kemper Profiling Amplifier “learns” the sonic behavior of any guitar amplifier and offers exactly the tone and feel the player knows from his “real” amp. The times of struggling to “re-find” that magic mic position in front of the speaker are over. Now there will be a profile available of basically any sonic condition the tube amp setup can provide.      

Of course not every guitar player owns a perfect studio environment or owns a number of classic tube amps. That is why the Kemper Profiling Amplifier comes stacked full with profiles of classic tube amps: the british, the californish, the germish … of course including the classic speaker cabinets which are a part of the profiling result.

The Kemper Profiling Amplifier comes as an extremely handsome lunchbox size device with all the professional connections for home, studio and on stage use. It is completed with a stomp box section, a master FX section and a set of unique, before impossible parameters for shaping the amp profiles further from classic architecture to modern. Of course a realistic power amp sagging which is normally only available at very high volume is also “a part of the stack”.

Come to NAMM 2011 – to get proof!This all may sound unbelievable, but it works. Kemper GmbH will prove this at NAMM. They indeed take it to 11, so to say! At booth #6900 in Hall A Kemper GmbH have a ready to go profiling setup installed, consisting of a very versatile high class tube amplifier with various classic tube amp architectures, connected to an isolation cab with a celestion vintage 30 speaker that is miked up with the standard SM 57. The guitar is connected to the tube amp via the Kemper Profiling Amplifier and the mic signal goes back into the mic input of the Profiling Amplifier. By the hit of a single button the profiling process starts and after 10- 20 seconds the guitar player can compare the profiled sound with the sound of the real tube amp. That’s it. Simple as that! Amazing!

Pricing and availability
The retail price for the Kemper Profiling Amplifier is not defined yet, availability is expected to be “N.A.M.M.” – Not available maybe May.

Further Information:Kemper GmbH  
Koenigswall 16-18
45657 Recklinghausen
Germany
www.kemper-amp.com

LAWO’S DIGITAL RECORDING// A-HA’S FIRST (AND LAST) LIVE DVD

The last notes of A-Ha’s 25-year career have been recorded for a special DVD release by long-time Lawo customer Cinevideogroup, using the mc²66 console in its flagship mobile production vehicle, OB14. Ironically, although it is A-Ha’s farewell concert, it is their first-ever live DVD.

The final four shows of the “Ending on a High Note” tour were played in the band’s home town of Oslo at the famous Spektrum venue. Leading broadcast facilities company Cinevideogroup was called in by film-makers Serpent Productions and director Matt Askem to provide a 10-camera HD recording of the event, complete with digital audio, for future release.

Inside the sound control room of the state-of-the-art OB14 were British sound engineer Toby Alington, well known for his work on the BRIT Awards and MTV Europe Awards, and Huub Lelieveld, Cinevideogroup’s senior audio engineer. Alington has responsibility for the final 5.1 mix of the project, while Lelieveld was responsible for the multitrack recording in Oslo.

Under their fingertips was the 56-fader Lawo mc²66 console, one of four in the Cinevideogroup’s mobile fleet, connected through MADI fibre optic lines to remote Lawo preamps on the stage some 50 metres away from the truck. By using fibre optic and local PA power for the Lawo stagebox, Lelieveld removed the need for an active splitter, thus giving him clean capture of the signal from band and crowd microphones.

The live performances were recorded to a Merging Technologies 128-channel Pyramix multitrack system, connected via MADI, with a redundant PC with RME MADI cards running Reaper, just in case. “There is no room for error in this process,” comments Lelieveld. “If we make a mistake with the music recording, then the video will be useless.”

Lelieveld created a temporary stereo mix for Alington and the video editors on what he called “my console of choice.” He expressed a strong preference for the mc²66 over other leading designs, especially when the going gets tough. “This is really the only console where you can change everything while you’re live. It is completely flexible, which means there is no need to set everything up beforehand, even when one is recording for a live TV broadcast. Whatever changes, the Lawo mc²66 can adapt to it perfectly, and the sound quality remains really excellent.”

His words are echoed by Toby Alington, who is a newcomer to Lawo console design. “I found it to be a very clean-sounding desk, perfect for our purpose, and I was impressed by its very logical layout. All digital desks are laid out completely differently - it’s not like the days of analogue! Some surfaces are deeply unfriendly while others are a joy to work with. Some consoles have almost everything on the centre panel, whereas the mc²66 offers a good ergonomic balance, with the right amount of knobs on each channel, so the visual feedback is very good. Also, I had the advantage of Huub, who knows it inside out!”

In the Spektrum, copper multicores were run to the roof catwalk so that Sennheiser MKH-416 microphones could be suspended over the crowd to capture audience reaction. Crowd and band microphone inputs totaled 64 channels, but, according to Lelieveld, that’s hardly a stretch for the 28-8-24 fader mc²66 which offers easy extension.

“As long as I’ve been using the console, I’ve never reached the limit. I think we have enough DSP for 150 channels, but the wonderful thing about the I/O system is that it is fully modular, so you can add what you need. I have done DVD recordings with 140+ inputs and, for these larger projects, we just add extra inputs.”

Cinevideogroup now has four OBVs carrying Lawo mc²66 digital audio consoles, the first of which was installed five years ago. OB14 is its largest vehicle, designed for big music events and sports productions.  All onboard routing is handled by a Lawo Nova 73 HD which offers 96 kHz operation.

Toby Alington will complete the surround sound mix for the A-Ha DVD at Richmond Studios Post-Production in London.

About Lawo

Lawo is a manufacturer of digital audio networking systems and consoles for a wide range of applications from small to large scale audio production in television and radio, post production, and live sound. Established in the 1970s, the company’s manufacturing center is located in the Rhine valley town of Rastatt, Germany. For additional information on all Lawo products, visit the company online at  HYPERLINK "http://www.lawo.ca" www.lawo.ca

AES//Convention dates announced for 2011

New York’s Jacob Javits Center will host the 131^st AES Convention     

MAY 13 – 16, LONDON / OCTOBER 20 – 23, NYC

 Audio Engineering Society Executive Director Roger Furness has announced that the 130th AES Convention will be held in the Novotel London West Convention Centre, Friday, May 13 – Monday, May 16.  The 131^st Convention is confirmed for NYC’s Jacob Javits Center, Thursday, October 20 thru Sunday, Oct. 23.

“Extraordinarily positive attendee and exhibitor feedback confirmed the success of our 129^th Convention in San Francisco this past November,” Furness said. “We received high marks on all levels, technical, social and organizational.  A palpable sense of optimism permeated the entire event.  

“Our Convention Committees have already begun the year-long process of developing both these major 2011 events.  The call for papers has been posted for the London Convention, and NY Convention Chair Jim Anderson meets this week with our Committee here to begin plans for October,” Furness adds. 

 “Fortunately, many of our long-time Chairs have returned to the fold.  The benefit of their skills and knowledge in insuring an outstanding convention experience is incalculable.  We are confident that 2011will bring the professional audio industry continued growth,” Furness concludes. “We wish our members, attendees and exhibitors a happy and healthy holiday and a peaceful and prosperous New Year.

                              

           

Midas XL8//Paul Weller tour

Paul Weller’s tour across the UK and Ireland saw a Midas XL8 FOH, supplied by Canegreen/SSE, earn new fans in the shape of Andrew Jones, Weller’s FOH engineer of over 20 years, and tech support Mike Savage who used the same console for support acts The Bees, The Rifles and Cow.

Jones, a long standing Midas fan, was won over by the XL8 after initial trials with other brands of digital console left him yearning for the Midas sound. “The XL8 was deemed too expensive at the time,” he says “so I went back to the XL4.  But for this tour, I really pushed for the XL8 to achieve that audio quality and the flexibility of digital along with faders at my fingertips.”

With no previous files to install, Jones’s first task was to build the entire show from scratch for an artist who draws on an extensive repertoire for his sets where, according to Jones, no two shows are ever the same. But the basic show with 20 or so scenes was ready to go pretty quickly, and his final set up encompassed some 45 scenes.

Savage, who has completed in-house training at Midas, helped with the initial set up. Utilising the XL8’s flexible modular system, they decided on three DL431 splitter units to create a total of 72 available channels plus an isolated split to allow for any outside broadcast or recording system requirements. A single DL451 I/O box with AES input and output cards on stage allowed transmission of digital or analogue signals to and from stage.

Two DL451 I/O boxes FOH, one set up with AES and two input cards and one with AES and two output cards, were housed in the outboard effects rack to facilitate ease of cable patching in the units, while a separate PA Drive Rack housed the processing. Just two AES cables were needed to link the two racks together.

Separate show files were used for each of the bands, with each song having its own scene within the show, containing its various different settings and MIDI changes for the external effects. “We really expect a lot from this or any desk when it comes down to the automation side of things,” says Savage,” and the XL8 managed all these tasks with ease.”

Stand out features for Jones and Savage included the POP(ulation) and VCA groups, “A fabulous feature that makes moving round a large channel list simple,” says Savage, while both engineers used the XL8’s on board FX and dynamics to full effect, praising the variety of compressors, the simplicity of the gates, the convenience and flexibility of being able to scope these in each scene and, of course, the great Midas sound.

“It sounds like a Midas with extra added Midas icing on top,” says Jones. “The EQ is the finest I have used; faultless, superb.”

Jones’ final verdict? “I will find it difficult to return to another console. The sound, the ease of the layout and the feel of the controls smacks of the quality I would expect, and then some. Having driven the Rolls it would be hard to step back into the Ford.” 

CEDAR Cambridge//audio forensic standard in Poland

CEDAR Audio's flagship speech enhancement system, CEDAR Cambridge, has 

been adopted by the Polish Government Crime Laboratories as the standard tool 

for audio forensic investigation, and each of the country's seven crime labs 

(located in Warsaw, Gdansk, Olsztyn, Lublin, Katowice, Wroclaw and Poznan) has 

a fully specified CEDAR Cambridge system for processing criminal and 

surveillance recordings. 

Why CEDAR Cambridge? 

By standardising on CEDAR Cambridge, the Polish law enforcement crime 

laboratories not only have access to the latest forensic audio capabilities, but can 

also ensure that investigators are able to use familiar technology no matter 

where in the country they are working. 

The purchase of the systems was supported by EEA Grant PL0487, "Creation of 

the forensic teams supporting law enforcement agencies and judiciary in the area 

of combating crime" in partnership with the Norwegian National Police 

Directorate. The purpose of the Project is to enhance the efficiency of the Polish 

police by creating seven forensic expert teams for combating crime, with the 

overall objective of increasing national security and the security of the Schengen 

Area. 

The seven CEDAR Cambridge systems were specified and installed by CEDAR's 

Polish Dealer, DAVE, which managed the standardisation of audio and video 

forensics systems across the whole country. 

About CEDAR Forensic 

CEDAR Forensic is committed to supporting the law enforcement and intelligence 

communities. It supplies numerous noise reduction systems for live surveillance 

and monitoring, as well as advanced computer-based systems, desktop 

processors and rackmount modules that have been installed in police, counter- 

terrorism, drug enforcement and air traffic control laboratories worldwide. 

Working together with Cambridge University, CEDAR has an on-going policy of 

continuous research and product development designed to increase its customers' 

ability to extract meaningful information from badly contaminated audio, and thus 

improve the accuracy, reliability and productivity of monitoring, transcription and 

audio forensic investigation. 

For further information: 

DAVE s.c. 

ul. Dobra 28 

00-344 Warsaw 

Poland 

t: +48 22 826 4912 

e: dave@dave.pl 

w: www.dave.pl 

Sale and Training News//Rational Acoustics

From Friday, December 17th through Friday December, 31st Rational Acoustics will be offering 10% off of EVERYTHING in the Rational Acoustics Online Store.  If it’s in the store... it’s on sale.  This means all mics, audio I-O interfaces, cables, books, accessories and even Smaart v.7 new license packages.
 

And if that’s not festive enough, RA will also be offeringFREE domestic UPS Ground Shipping for any order over $100 within the continental United States (sorry Alaska and Hawaii).So if audio gear is on your list for Christmas this year, take advantage of these savings and stock up before the end of the year because come January 1, 2011 the sale will be over.

Training News:

 Edmonton, Canada on January 4-6, 2011.  The instructor for this class will be Arthur Skudra.  Interested attendees can click HERE for complete class details and registration instructions.  Or you can contact SF Marketing directly at 1-800 363-8855 or smaart@sfm.ca.

The next classes of the New Year will be in Mexico City on January 24-26, 2011 and in Guadalajara on January 31 – Feb 1, 2011. These classes will be hosted and taught, in Spanish, by our South America Distributor Sonotribe, with Salvador Castaneda as the instructor.  Interested attendees can click HERE for complete Mexico City class details or HERE for complete Guadalajara class details. Or you can contact SonoTribe directly at +52-55-3617-6018 or smaart@sonotribe.com.

On Jan 27-28, 2011 RA's newest distributor, ModsArt will be holding their first class just outside of Rome, Italy.  This class will be taught by Jamie Anderson, with Italian translation provided by Davide Lombardi of ModsArt.  Interested attendees can click HERE for more information and online registration or contact ModsArt directly atdavide@modsart.it.

SurgeSound, RA's South Africa Distributor will be hosting a Smaart class on Feb 7-9, 2011 in Johannesburg.  This class will be taught by Jamie Anderson.  Interested attendees can click HERE for more information or contact SurgeSound directly at info@surgesound.co.za or +27-11-462-4659.

 February 22-24, 2011 in Seattle, WA. at Advanced Broadcast Solutions.  This class is being organized and taught by Rational Acoustics and will feature Jamie Anderson as the class instructor.  Interested attendees can click HERE for class details and can register for the class online or by calling Barb Mattson at 1-860-928-7828. 

P.S. Thank you Rational Acoustics for providing the following news for our blog.I hope some of you will be able to attend the training sessions-the one in Rome looks tempting...

Photo Bash//You and your audio gear

Boys and girls,men and women! Does your love to your gear go as far as naming each piece of your equipment?Or do you just look awesome next to that 48 Channel mixer?It's time to brag and show the world that you are here,you're into audio and your damn proud of it. Send us a pic of you at work,a quick tag line and we will post it on our blog.
Let's light up the holidays with our smiling faces!

You can send your photos to info@primesoundpro.com