THE SOUND ENGINEERING FEBRUARY 1981

$1 95

iti:\
ti!'é
t,1 w.._
y
Our Digital Editor is a Five Cent Option.

All other digital 2- channel audio approval on a compact disk format

recorders require special editing for home digital audio recorders that
equipment which could raise your uses optical laser technology to
initial investment by as much as play -back digital audio disks.
$25,000 or more. The Mitsubishi X80 Through this laser signal, sound can
Digital 2- channel Audio Recorders be reproduced much deaner and
require only a standard razor blade to more realistically than ever before.
edit, even within the music portion. right in the booth with the players.
Digital audio recording is as big a
There's no hiss. No print through.
In designing the Mitsubishi X80
No drop outs. No deterioration sound breakthrough to analog
series digital audio recorders, we've recording as stereo recording was to
through generations. The Mitsubishi
made the human engineering process X80 (portable) and the X80A (console)
the Hi -fi industry. Digital audio disks
as simple as a standard analog are the culmination of years of and software will soon be a reality in
system but, recording with the refining and perfection and are Japan and will be available in the
X80 captures and plays back true United States in 1982.
available for delivery right now.
sound. The depth. The presence.
The richness. We call it Three - Get in on the ground floor of digital
Our price is as remarkable as our
Dimensional Sound. sound; approximately one-half the audio recording with the pioneers in
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When you hear music captured on recording systems. are only one part of a whole digital
the Mitsubishi X80, it's like being system we've designed to meet the
The Mitsubishi X80 series was changing and demanding audio
designed with you needs of the music industry. Our
in mind. systems work now and will keep
Who needs digital? working for you.
The Answer: You.
For more information on the
Digital audio recording is Mitsubishi X80 2- channel Digital
not a fad, but rather the Audio Recorders and Mitsubishi
inevitable future of Digital Audio Systems call us at
recorded sound. 800- 323 -4216 (outside Ill.) or
The Digital Audio 312 -982 -9282 (within Ill.)
Disk Standardization
Committee; in Tokyo, EXPERIENCE THE 3rd. Dimension
has put its seal of of SOUND.
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THE TRANSPORTABLE X80

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2- Channel
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MITSUBISHI
DIGITAL SYSTEMS
AUDIO

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Larry Zide
Publisher
John M. Woram
Editor
Mark B. Waldstein
Associate Editor
Kathy Lee
Advertising Production & Layout
Carol Vitelli
Classified Advertising THE SOUND ENGINEERING MAGAZINE
Lydia Anderson FEBRUARY 1981 VOLUME 15, NUMBER 2
Book Sales
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Graphics
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Typography
FONOV/S /ON IN TERNAC/ONA l.- 16
COLOMBIA'S FIRST WORLD CLASS STUDIO
sales offices
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Karaban /Labiner Inc.
New York, New York 10036 THE DESIGN OF THE
25 West 43rd Street HITOKUCHI -ZAKA RECORDING STUDIOS
(212) 840 -0660
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Chicago, Illinois 60601
333 N. Michigan Ave. RCA MEXICANA STUDIOS 34
(312) 236 -6345 John Woram
Roy McDonald Associates, Inc. THE AMPEX SSL INTERFACE 38
Dallas, Texas 75207
1949 Stemmons Freeway, Suite 670
Normand L. Major
(214) 742 -2066 A STUDIO FOR RESEARCH 41
Denver, Colorado Area Tom Lubin
Englewood, Colorado 80112
14 Inverness Dr. East, Bldg. 1- Penthouse SCENE FROM EUROPE: 46
(303) 771 -8181 APRS DIGITAL GET -TOGETHER
Houston, Texas 77036 John Borwick
6901 Corporate Drive, Suite 210
(713) 988 -5005 THE BOSEc 802 PROFESSIONAL LOUDSPEAKER -1
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Glendale, California 91204
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AßO('T 77/li COI 'ER --

is listed in Current Contents: Engineering and Technology
This month's cover takes us to South
America. l'or several views of Fonovision
db. the Sound Engineering Magasine (ISSN 0011-71451 is published monthly h Sagamore Publishing Company. Inc. Entire
hUrrnuriuna/ in Bogota, Colombia. The '
content. copyright 195(1 by Sagamore Publishing Co.. 1120 Old Country Roud. Plainview. L.I.. N.Y. 11503. Telephone (516)
studio complex was designed and pho-
-- 43341530. db i. published for those individuals and firms in professional audio -recording. broadcast. audio -visual. sound
tographed by architect John Storyk. reinforcement. consultants. video recording. film wound. etc. Application should be made on the subscription form in the rear of
each issue. Subscriptions are $12.00 per year (S24_00 per year outside C.S. Possessions and Mexico: $13.00 per year Canada) in
For more details, see Howard Sherman's U.S. funds. Single copie. are S1.95 each Editorial. Publishing and Sales Offices: 1120 Old Country. Road. Plainview. New You
feature story in this issue. 11$03. Controlled circulation pontage paid at Old Saybrook. Connecticut 19475. tr

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 Index of
4u. Letters Advertisers
AKG '7
Ampex Cover IV
Auditronics 16. 17
Banff Center 43
Bose 9
Dolby. 21
llar Publishing Co 15
Electro -Voice 23
Inovonics 14
FILM -VERSUS -TAPE JBI 13
To THE EDITOR: Keith Monks 40
It is encouraging to see your magazine Lexicon 35
giving increasing coverage to the film and Mitsubishi Cover II
video fields of audio production. How- Neal Ferrogrtph 19
ever, Mr. Weinstock's article "Film vs. Neptune 20
Video" (Sept. 1980) continues to promote Orhan 3'
misinformation about film sound proces- Otari 31
ses and equipment. Polyline 18
He describes optical sound as. "This Pro Audio Seattle 10
capacitance system has severely limited Quad -Eight 25
dynamic range (about 500 to 14.000 Hz)." R. K. Morrison Illust. Mats b
The physics of current solar cell tech- Sescom b
Adjustable Active Crossover nology is hardly capacitive. and more- Shure Brothers
over. the low frequency response of SME: 12
Send For Your Free optical recording extends to DC. limited Standard Tape Lab 43
Copy Of Our Catalog only by filtering in the record or play- Swintek 18
SESCOM, INC. ()02,364-0993 back electronics. Telex 'I urner K
Gr f SoaN Dnam (000) 634-3457 As to the "horrors" of magnetic film The Mike Shop 14
Las vqu Bwu. *nt. Twv 910-397-6996
stock. a modern film recorder enjoys 3!v1 Magneticlape Co s er III
Las 919as. NV 09 i 0 U.51
excellent frequency response. low wow White Instruments 22
and flutter, lower print- through. and Yamaha 29
( irele 13 On Reader Servire Card increased dynamic range over standard
tape formats. Ask anyone using a tape
backup for live 35 mm. recording as to
which folds up first.
Mr. Weinstock would have us believe
that film technology has hit its peak while
STANDARD TAPE MANUAL video's horizon is limitless. Might 1

suggest that the film medium is limited

only to the imagination of the industry
This valuable data itself. whereas video, locked into the
book is for the AUDIO
525 line format and a maze of govern-
recordist, engineer or
designer. Offered at ment bureaucracy, is quickly using up
S5.00 you may order its technological headroom.
from publisher. ROBERT M. BUDD
Post -Production Consultant
Kagel Sound Company
MAGNETIC REPRODUCER
CALIBRATOR Mr. Weinstock replies:
Mr. Budd has properly corrected me
on his second point- indeed, I am horri-
liecl at my own sloppy writing, which
gives the impression that mag stock
recordings are inferior to tape with
standard backing. However. there is a
This is induction lo.p equipment of labora-
"horror- involved in the use of magnetic Corning
.film stock, and this pertains also to
tory quality for primary standardization of
tape recorders and tapes. Send for de- :1-Ir. Budd':s other two points as well Next
tailed information, prices and formats. While (point I) current .solar cell tech-
nology surely produces a very high Month
quality recording, the available tech-
nology is not widely in use now, nor is it In March. we present the first install-
R. K. MORRISON ILLUSTRATIVE
likely to he for at least a few rears, if at ment of our two -part series on Music in
MATERIALS the Studio. Part is on Electronic Music.
all. For the time being. capacitance 1

819 [Link], Rao optical sound is the standard optical which means anything from vocoders to
Kensington. CA 94707
sound. if one is to produce a /1/tn with synthesizers to metric music.
optical track for any sort of distribution, Coming next month. in db -The Sound
m that track must use the old system. Engineering Magazine.
Circle 14 on Reader Service Card

[Link]
 PRO MASTER :
the uncomplicated
way to
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fact:
Shure introduces a new sound system in the
tradition of the famous Shure VOCAL MASTER ° -
with state -of- the -art features and truly outstand-
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Designed especially for churches.
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PLUS improved PRO MASTER reliability.
Put it together: the new 706 Power Console
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Eight- channel mixer, with logically located
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FEEDBACK FINDERT" to help eliminate
feedback fast
PATCH BLOCK" rear panel simplifies
hookup
LED status indicators alert you to potential
problems
The PRO MASTER 709 Loudspeaker features:
150 -watt power rating
Three piezoelectric tweeters and
15 -inch woofer
Easy -to -carry enclosure with plenty of output
Plus it's super portable: the console and two
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See it today at your Shure dealer or write

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Shure Brothers Inc 222 Hartrey Ave Evanston, IL 60204

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InCanada A. C. Simmonds & Sons Limited

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Manufacturers of high fidelity components. microphones. Loudspeaker System
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V
(Yule 40 on Reader Service Cart!
[Link]
 As to the part -legislated. part-tech-

Sound Reinforcement? nologically-dictated pictoral inferiority

of television and video to fìbn, I whole-
heartedly agree. And, as I said recently
in another magazine, all of the micro-
processor- controlled advances con-
tributing to the rapid improvement and
greater availability of video can also he
deplored with motion picture film. The
problem with Jihn is its lack ofadaptabil-
itr to what will surely he the distribution
systems of the future, and its escalating
expense (relative to video) due to mech-
chanleal processes and non- recyclable
materials. As a filmmaker, I too prefer
the possibilities of that medium. As a
writer. uritingfor other sound recordists.
u my obligation to state clearly .just
:5

where most of our bread is buttered. At

the sane time, as quality must he cham-
pioned. it must be recognized that flnn
has an excess of quality that is in the
process of being traded o/I for video's

Turner
convenience, relative permanence, and
adaptability to new uses.
To my mind. Godard says it succinctly
in his current, Every Man For Himself:
"Cinema et video... Cain et Abel.

h
More!
Turner sound reinforcement microphones allow the audio profes-
sional the wide selection he needs to find just the right microphone
for each installation. Whether the selection is based on styling,
size. mounting, directional pattern or cost there is a Turner micro -
pone to fit any application. And it doesn't stop there. Turner offers
a complete selection of stands, transformers, replacement trans-
ducers and microphone cables. There is a quality Turner sound
Calendar
reinforcement microphone with features to meet the following
application requirements:
Cardioid Omnidirectional Multi -port Cardioid Gooseneck
mounted Handheld Lavalier On -off Switch Locking Switch. MARCH
And. that's only the beginning. Turner has a full line of paging 6 -8 Video and Lighting Workshop.
microphones as well. Turner does have more, and now, with the Pick Congress Hotel. Chicago. IL.
additional product development strength of Telex Communications.
Inc., there will be even more to come.
For more information contact:
Bill Ludwig, Victor Duncan. Inc..
2659 Fondren, Dallas. TX 75206.
Quality Products for The Audio Professional. Tel: (214) 369 -1165.
17 -20 AES 68th Convention. Congress
Center. Hamburg. Germany. For
more information contact: Audio
Engineering Society. Inc., 60 E.
42nd St.. Rm. 2520. New York,
NY 10165. Tel: (212) 661 -8528.

APRIL
6 -9 National Noise and Vibration
Control Conference and Exhibi-
tion. Hyatt Regency O'Hare. Chi-
cago. IL. For more information
contact: NOISEXPO. 27101 East

TELEX TURNER 25
Oviatt Rd., Bay Village. OH 44140.
[el: (216) 835 -0101.
1981 Midwest Acoustics Confer-
TELEX COMMUNICATIONS, INC. ence. Hermann Hall. Illinois In-
9600 ALDRICH AVE SO MINNEAPOLIS MN 55420 U SA
00 EUROPE: 22 rue de la Lenin n H :.
. n3200 St Denis. France stitute of Technology. Chicago. IL.
Ciarle 15 on Readrr Service Card

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 jl t _ +-.,

5800 seats. 200 watts.

The Auditorium, World Headquarters Perhaps the Bose Model 802 can iuip ai

of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ sound system job that you're involved
of Latter Day Saints, is the largest domed with. Write for our new Engineers' and
auditorium in the United States not used for Architects' Design Guide to get complete
athletic events. Its 92 -foot dome and ellipti- specifications.
cal geometry could make it an acoustical
nightmare. But it isn't. r 1
Bose Corporation, Dept. SE
The original sound system, of nine multicell The Mountain
horns and six bass cabinets, has been Framingham, MA 01701
replaced by just eight Bose" Model 802
speaker systems. Even more startling is Please send me the Bose Professional
Products Catalog and your technical
that the entire system is powered by just Haworth says, "There is a clarity to this
data.
200 watts total. This new sound system is system that was not there before. The old
used for speech and music reinforcement system had that narrow, hornlike sound. Name
and playback of recorded material. For The Bose system has given us a large
conference and convention use it is oper- improvement in intelligibility, especially in Church
ated with up to 16 open microphones. the farthest areas of the room. It has also
Street
The most authoritative judge of the system eliminated the dead regions we had with
is RLDS Church audio engineer Robert the old system. providing very even City
Haworth. He speaks from nine years of coverage of the room."
State 7ip
intimate knowledge of the hall. including
almost a full year with the Bose system. Tel.
Pdtonl ugrtis [Link],1.111t1 I)/ 11(1111(1
'D Copyru;hi 1981 Fir ac C, rt nor. A ion Better sound through r r L _J 1D

[Link]
 BARRY BLESSER

Digital Audio

Perception of
Quantization Error
Up to this point in our presentation. time at which the summation happened
we have discussed two different types of (scaled by 25 (./ sec.), the second column
quantization error: inherent theoretical is the true input, the third column, the
error as a result of a finite number of digital representation with a perfect
bits. and component defects which move converter. the 4th column is the quantiza-
the quantization levels from their tion error.
theoretical values. However. we have not
said much about the perception of these Quantization
errors. This is a difficult topic. but it is Time Input Digital Error
an important one. 0 0 0.0 0.0
Since we are talking about a non - I .0126 .02 +.0074
continuous, non -linear transfer curve 2 .0252 .02 -.0052
which relates the analog voltage and the 3 .0378 .04 +.0022
digital word. one would think that the 4 .0504 .06 +.0096
manifestations of these errors is equiva- 5 .0630 .06 -.0030
lent to distortion. While this is sometimes 6 .0757 08 +.0043
the case. a noise model is usually more 7 .0883 .08 -.0083
accurate. In this article, we will examine 8 .1008 .10 -.0008

©M Recorders
the errors in terms of an equivalent
additive noise and. in terms of distortion.
Both of these terms will be treated as if
they were analog errors. In other words,
9 .1134 .12

Notice that the quantization error

+.0066

Consoles we will use these words for perceptual shows no pattern from sample to sample.
descriptions as well as for mathematical The value is. of course. limited to ±I0 mv.
\MW``\ SMPTE descriptions. When we say quantization
noise, we mean that the error sounds like
since we defined this converter to be
accurate. The ±10 mV corresponds to
the same additive white noise which the ±0.5 LSB error of a perfect converter.
\M \C1t\ Automation would be heard from an analog pre- The input signal clearly has a pattern.
amplifier. And when we say distortion. since it is smoothly increasing and band -
we will mean the kind of error which limited. The reason that an input with a
And over 55 lines including: might come from a poorly designed pattern does not generate an error with
AKG, Ampex, Annis, Aura - output stage with cross-over distortion. a pattern can be understood as follows.
tone, Beyer, BGW, DBX, The distinction between them is impor-
Deltalab, ElectroVoice, tant since one is independent of the signal
Eventide, Gauss, 'vie, JBL, and the other produces harmonics which
Klipsch, Koss, Leader, Lex- arc related to the signal, Figure 1. Quantization error for 10[sin(wt)
icon, Master Room, MRL, + sin(1.4wt + sin(2.2wt)j in an A/D
Neumann, Orban, Otari, QUANTIZATION NOISE encoder having as LSB = 20 mV sampled
Revox, Roland, Sequential at 5 kHz, f = 1 kHz. Error is first 65
For high level complex audio signals samples from t 0.
Circuits, Scotch, Senn - we will show that the quantization errors
=

heiser, Shure, Sony, Sound of both types are random. To do so. let us ro
Workshop, Stanton, STL, first consider a specific example using a e
Tangent, Tapco, Tascam, IO bit DAC in an A D encoder having 6
Teac, Technics, UREI, Vega quantization levels at -30 mV, -10 mV, at

+10 mV, +30 mV, +50 mV, etc. The full V

2i
range is from -10.14 volts to +10.24
PRoCIuDIa,.
Professional Audio Equipment and Services
volts. For our signal. we will take the
summation of three sine waves at I kHz.
(206) 367 -6800 1.4 kHz. and 2.2 kHz, each with an ( N

11057 8th NE, Seattle, WA 98125 amplitude of I volt. The sampling rate
0 will be at 40 kHz. The first column is the
Circle 16 on Reader Service Card

[Link]
 with a 15 mV peak amplitude and a DC This technique is sometimes referred to
value of mV. This signal only spans
10 as dither. This is a term from the old
one quantization level. For positive radar servo- mechanism days when the
values of the sinewav e, the signal is backlash from gears was a problem. The
between 10 mV and 35 mV, correspond- dither makes the quantizer. or gears.
ing to the quantization region of 20 mV. jiggle around so that it appears as if the
For negative salues of the sinewace, the quantization le els are never exactly at
signal is between 10 mV and 5 mV. the sanie place. As a consequence, there is
corresponding to the quantization region an averaging process which can smooth
of 0 mV. The digital result is a square out the effect of sharp quantization
wate! Representing a sinew se by a levels as referred to the signal. It turns
squareccave is rather poor in ternis of out that the mathematics of this tech-
harmonic distortion. Our signal is very nique is very complex. but the hardware
badly distorted. the quantization error implementation is very simple.
is now hest represented by the hard If you wish to test a piece of digital
Figure 2. Digital representation of a 15 mV clipping ul a diode limiter. This error is audio equipment for this effect. just
peak sinewave in a digital system having not so friendly. place a low letel mid-frequency sines\ ase
an LSB of 20 mV. These three examples There are other consequences of this into it and listen to the output. Being low
are for different values of DC. which shift kind of distortion. Let us assume that the level it will. of course. he noisy. but it
the location of the sinewave's 0 volts DC salue were to slowly change. The should sound undistorted. Similarly.
relative to the location of the quantization lots les el music should sound clean,
levels.
resulting output ccould not he a square -
wase hut a rectangular wave with a albeit noisy. Because this issue was only
change in the duty cycle. A further discovered in the early 1970s. sonic of the
the input pattern allows us to predict the
change in the DC' would result in another early digital audio equipment had signifi-
next sample ten accortely. However.
shaped wacetürm. Fltil'RP 2 shows sev- cant granulation noise.
very small inaccuracies in predicting the
next sample mean that the satire relative eral possible digital outputs from the DAC ERRORS
to a quantization Icy el is not predictable. encoding of the 15 mV sinewave for Botts types of quantization error just
If one looks at an oscilloscope one can different salues of the DC' component. discussed are true for perfect A l) en-
almost predict the follow waveform Instead of DC changes. we might have a coding. We now need to consider the
exactly over a 25p sec span: however. to very low frequency component which errors introduced by defects in the actual
predict it to within a milli -volt is not acted as if it were a slowly changing DC. DAC device. First, let us divide those
possible. Hence. the quantization error In this case our sines% ¿Re's distortion errors into two classes: random and
becomes raiutonüzed for most audio would change its character as it was systematic. The random errors are those
signals. I o further demonstrate this fact. moved through the quantization teseIs. which have no pattern. The systematic
the actual error signal is plotted in We can furthermore consider the case errors are those which generally occur
Fiat tit I. his error is the difference
I
where the sinewace had been only 5 mV at the major carry points. as sse men-
between the digital representation of the peak. Here there would he some values of tioned in the last article.
complex audio in a similar example, and the DC which resulted in the sinewave It should he apparent that the random
the actual output. Not only does it look being het%seen me) quantization levels. errors result in the same type of quantiza-
random. it it random. It one were to Since it never crossed a quantization tion noise produced by the theoretical
listen to it acoustically, it would sound
,
level, there would be no output. Sud- quantization. l he systematic errors, on
like the hissing (it white noise. It has denly. all the signal would stop. A shift the other hand. are much more like the
equal energy at all frequencies. he only
I
in our DC would then result in the granulation noise. As an example,
difference between it and real analog signal reappearing. consider a DAC component with a sys-
noise is that the range ut t :aloes is more Needless to say. this kind of distortion tematic 0.5 LSB error at the major
limited for a constant R MS %attic. All sounds very ugly and it has no analog carry (0 volts). We represent each of
salues of the noise are equally likely counterpart: it is a uniquely digital the positive quantization levels as being
between the + and peaks. Analog noise distortion. Those of us who work with 0.5 1.S13s too low. Since the error is a
is gaussian distributed. his means that
I digital audio systems call this kind of function of the input signal. we can
its peaks are much higher than its RMS distortion .grunul(Non noise, since it consider the output from the encoding
value. sounds like playing a record made of to be the original sinewace plus a small
We could demonstrate that all ampli- sandpaper. The difference between the square wave of the same frequency. The
tudes are equally probable by simply nice white noise which we discussed square wave's amplitude is fixed. since
keeping a record of the numbers which previously and this ugly granulation it is only dependent on the sign of the
appear in column 4 of the table. To do noise conies from the difference in the input, and not the amplitude. The square
so we might consider 20 possible error input signal. In the former we assumed wage amplitude is determined by the
values in steps of I mV. We ask the high level complex audio, in the latter we DAC's error. This effect is exactly like
questions: cs hat percentage ut errors are assumed a low level simple sinewave. the granulation noise. except that it
between 10 mV and 9 mV (hin I)' ?, Because the granulation noise is so happens at only one quantization level,
what percentage of errors are between unpleasant, the designer of an A D and not at all levels.
9 mV and $ mV t hin 2) ?. etc The result encoding system must insure that the If you want to continue to test your
is called a histogram or distribution of signal is complex. One way to do this is to digital audio equipment. place a low
frequencies. inject some analog white noise into the level sinewave at mid frequencies, with
Before you get too comfortable with signal before the A D encoding. Now an extremely low frequency signal. fake
the friendly notion of quantization noise, the encoder is always seeing a complex 5 Hz as the ultra -low and I kHz as the test
notice that the previous discussion was signal. It turns out that a small amount of signal. l'he 5 Hz is only used to sweep
alttays qualified with the phrase, high real analog noise is usually enough to the test signal over enough of the DAC
level complex audio signals. transform the granulation noise to white range to find the DAC's 0 -volt major
noise. The digitized signal is thus the carry. Typically, the designer will add
QUANTIZATION DISTORTION sum of the analog noise, the quantization some extra DC' just to prevent the rest
We are now ready tu consider the other noise, and the real music. Generally, the condition from being the DAC's 0 volt.
extreme case using a very low level simple analog noise need only have a value We use the 5 Hz to remove this DC.
sinewse. Suppose we have a sinewace which is approximately LSB.
1 Have tun!

[Link]
 N I WEINSTOCK

Sound With Images

Film vs. Video, Continued

A letter to the editor in this month's no secondary fill. The film's total latitude
db sparks the direction of this column. of white -to-black may be as great as a
which is more -or-less a continuation of hundred -to -one in black and white (61/2
my reply to the writer. The "films" f- stops). In color. new stocks are bringing
I presently find myself making are latitudes of eight- or sixteen -to -one
being shot on film. but then they (3 or 4 f- stops) to situations of very low
are transferred to videotape. This is total light level. By contrast. the latitude
SERIES III a common compromise between produc- of video is from two -to -one. to four -to-
one. In order to record anything at all in
+ COMPATIBILITY tion quality, expense. and distribution.
I don't have to enumerate the reasons for video. the minimum light level (measured
this -especially for anyone brawny in foot -candles) is much higher than it is
Series III and IIIS precision pick -up enough to lift a professional-quality in film, and that complicates things even
arms are suitable for all cartridges
camera in one hand and a film camera more.
having 'fixing centres, weighing not
in the other -nor for anyone who has The difference in foot -candles needed
more than 12 grams and requiring a
tracking force not higher than 2.5 compared their "rental weights." to adequately light a scene is not absolute.
grams. They are adaptable to suit the There are differences in the "look" of because there are higher- and -lower-
mass and compliance of the film and video. In the viewing room at quality video cameras, recorders and
cartridge, which may employ a production's end, one sees a film with tape. and because there are different film
moving coil, moving iron, moving greatly different effect than it will have stocks in different formats that may be
magnet or any other generating later. when transferred ti? video. This employed on different occasions. Mini-
principle. column will concentrate on the different mum light needed to shoot video may be
Series l arms are true low mass
I l
miking, mixing, and visual processes that roughly gauged by the number of horizon-
designs with headroom to increase must be employed. in making film for tal lines a camera is sensitive enough to
effective mass as desired whereas
video. attain. Manufacturers usually quote this
with high mass arms reduction is
generally impracticable. If one's distribution system involves statistic for optimum lighting condi-
We shall be pleased to send you professional format audio tapes, played tions only, but the number of lines. or
information sheet No. 24 which tells over full -range sound systems into high resolution, decreases directly as the
you how to adjust effective mass to quality monitors. production concerns amount of light does. The best small
suit your cartridge. It could make all are quite conventional: bring back the home-video camera can register 300 lines
the difference to your listening. highest -quality sound, period. Unfor- under optimum conditions, and needs at
tunately, the realities of playback are least 7 foot -candles to shoot at all. (The
t often different. And, even in the best of professional line standard is of course 525,
audio playback situations, two visual and even that's not too good. A foot -
The best pick -up arm situations must be considered. candle is a measure of the amount of light
in the world First, unless the audience is to see the intensity from one "international candle"
film on a projection screen, the standard falling on a one -square-foot surface at a
Write to Dept 1861 SME Limited,
, film vocabulary must be condensed to distance of one foot.)
Steyning, Sussex, BN4 3GY, England close -ups. Fortunately, (or unfortu- The foot -candle intensity needed to
nately, depending on how you look at it) illuminate a film stock is usually referred
Exclusive distributors for the U.S:
most good (video) cinematographers are to as that film's speed, and is given a
Shure Brothers Incorporated,
222 Hartrey Avenue, Evanston, entirely familiar with this style, and some rating by the American Standards Associ-
Illinois 60204 are familiar with no other. ation (ASA) or in Europe the Deutsche
Second is the more -diffficult situa- Industrie Aurm (DIN). As might be
andin Canada:
A. C. Simmonds and Sons Ltd,
tion- similar to dynamic range in audio -
of lighting latitude. On film, one can get
expected, there is a constant relationship
between foot- candles, ASA rating, and
975 Dillingham Road, Pickering,
Ontario, L1 W 3B2
away with a very high -key (strong
primary) lighting source and little or
all the other variables of exposure
which happen to be aperture setting, or
-
('ire/e 18 an Reader Service Card

[Link]
JBL 4313 Studio Monitor. JBL
It flattens the competition.

Introducing the 4313. 12" or 15" speakers. Yet it deliv- professional use.
Flat frequency response. It ers heavy -duty power handling Working together, these preci-
means accuracy. Naturalness. and a smoother transition to the sion matched speakers offer D
Reality. midrange than most larger -cone superb stereo imaging, powerful
speakers. sound levels and wide dynamic °
JBL gives it to you without the range.
bigger box that you'd expect The 4313's edge -wound voice -
along with it, since the 4313 only coil midrange accurately re- Audition the 4313 soon.
measures about 23" x 14'x10! produces strong. natural vocals 50 100 500 1K 5K 10K 20K
and powerful transients. We think you'll agree that its Frequency (Hz)
This new. compact professional
monitor produces deep, distor- combination of flat response, On -axis frequency response
Up top. a dome radiator provides 4313 monior
power and moderate size
tion -free bass. And does it with a high acoustic output with ex-
flattens the competition.
newly developed 10" driver. Its treme clarity and wide disper- James B. Lansing Sound. Inc..
massive magnet structure and sion. A large 1" voice coil gives Available in Canada through Gould 8500 Balboa Blvd..
voice coil are equivalent to most it the ruggedness needed in Marketing. Montréal. Québec. Northridge. California 91329.

JBL First with the pros.

Circle 2/ on Reader Service Card

[Link]
 f -stop. and shutter speed (rarely a
variable thougn: sound -film runs at
twenty-four frames-per- second, and the
shutter is open on each frame for half of
that time).
But why go into all this? We come
down to a need to shoot a film differently
if it is to be seen on television or some
other video system. Fast films must be
generally avoided. for their graininess
will add to video's lack of resolution.
Slow films give the best contrast and
light -to -dark ratios, but contrast must be
kept to a minimum: visual dynamic
compression. if you will. But the only
way to dynamically compress a film is to
do so he/ore the scene enters the camera.
Otherwise. you must employ some very
tricky optical effects (priced so as to be a
last resort) for cleaning up mistakes.
(We hereby promise optical effects for a
a better idea in program monitoring. future column). The subject to be filmed,
and the way that it is to be lit, must be
We've combined the response to program Get the complete pack- chosen so that foot- candle levels are
best aspects of the peaks while maintaining age for $122.00, or our even and flat: bright. but not too- bright.
traditional VU meter a more conventional VU-conversion option and fairly boring. There are no Sternbergs
and the precision of the and artistically desir- for $69.00. Quantity of TV lighting.
European Programme able "syllabic" response discounts are available.
meter. The result is a to music and speech. For further informa- Why then put something on video. if
meter that meets the tion, contact: not for the quality of its image? Remem-
UK /EBU standard for ber that television is also talk, talk. talk,
and the reason becomes clear: the me-
Inovonics, Inc. CD dium is video- plus -audio. of if you like.
503-B Vandell Way Send for copy of AES See at NAB Sound with Images. However, when we
Campbell, CA 95008 preprint. Booth #214 switch to the audio side of the equation,
Telephone we find that, limited as the dynamics and
(408) 374 -8300
frequency response of motion picture
Circle U ntr Reader .Service Card film is. video is even worse. Even back
in the early days of optical sound, film -
sound frequency response had an advan-
tage of a good couple -of- thousand cycles
mikes by mail? for less? (they weren't called hertz then) over
today's TV response. As for dynamics,
whynot!TM under optimum conditions a video show
can be accompanied by some very high -
curd mad ~met quality sound. But this would seem to call
for a big room. so why not project film
The Mike ShopTM now sells audio equipment and get the higher-quality image as well?
No, video is valued by the viewer ex-
as well as mikes by mail! for less! pressly because it is small and it is
Write or call us with your requirements or for o = 'ce Sheet. limited. There's no projector to set up,
and the room doesn't have to be darkened
in order to watch. Therefore. the audio
portion must also be limited -or be
expected to be limited. So be prepared
for the inevitable: the ubiquitous tiny TV
speaker. with its tinny -TV audio.
Just as video film style must be limited
to the close -up, so must audio style be
limited -not only in range, but to one or
two sound -sources at a time. As brilliant
as it seems in the booth. it may be
unintelligible in the conference room or
on the home screen.
So with all of this, how can the honest
(audio) recordist's soul accept video as
an entertainment medium'? Well. the rosy
future of video discussed in previous
columns does seem inevitable, as does
much technical improvement within the
The Mike Shop' medium. On this one can bank one's
hopes and look forward without pessi-
PO Box 366A, Elmont, NY 11003 (516) 437 -7925 mism. That does not preclude shedding a
A Division of Omnisound Ltd.
tear at the wholly unnecessary demise
of film.
Circle /9 on Reader Service Card

[Link]
SPECIAL
PRE- PUBLICATION
OFFER
announcing:

The Microphone
Handbook by John Eargle
Ifyou work with microphones, you need this
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Among the fact -filled chapters:

directional characteristics -the basic patterns
using patterns effectively
microphone sensitivity ratings
remote powering of capacitors
proximity and distance effects
multi- microphone interference problems
stereo microphone techniques
speech and music reinforcement
studio microphone techniques
microphone accessories
and more
r
ELAR PUBLISHING COMPANY, INC.
1120 Old Country Rd., Plainview, NY 11803
The Microphone Handbook by John Eargle Name
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date is June 1, 1981. HANDBOOK at $22.50 each is included. NY State resi-
dents add appropriate tax. Full refund within 15 days if
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THIS OFFER EXPIRES JUNE 1, 1981
Outside U.S.A. add $2.00 for postage.
Checks must be in U.S. funds drawn on a U.S. bank.

[Link]
 Have you heard the boar
With digital recording that delivers 96 dB dynamic range.
your board may be the noisiest component in your studio's
signal path. If it is. you might consider replacing it
with the new Auditronics 532 console
with noise contribution so low it
approaches the

Circle 22 on Reader Service Card

[Link]
'at's quiet enough for digital?
ieoretical limit. In addition to the quietest open -channel you've ever heard, we
so give you such state -of-the -art features as VCA sub -grouping, transformerless
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 NORMAN H CROWHURST

turt. Theory & Practice

Developing Creativity
MARK 200 FULL DUPLEX

,r :'eh.,ó,<,. -.PL".Mm.M. Did you think about that question we produced in a "chip" that will sit on the
asked at the end of last month's T & P tip of your pinky without you knowing
column, about getting creativity going it's there.
%1[S M550 IEVEnp,i09,SOUSE SP'? again. to re-establish American "know - Today's engineers don't bother much
.AFIL ASTnUL1TE MIMIlITE TILER OR
how?" The problem presented reflects it- with basics any more (by which we mean
, s,AP . N, Ao a,,.., P.,,
.,00 SW., cons M, ,.a MAR, 200 self in engineering. perhaps as much as in items like transistors and diodes), but
any vocation. In one sense. progress tends think in terms of available ICs. All the
to discourage creativity, but does it have to functions built into your digital wrist-
r s+
1180 ASTER AVENUE
SUNNYVALE. CA 94086
be that way? watch or your pocket computer. which
1.091 149.959E In our own youth, electronics used can include log and trig functions. are
tubes, the most advanced of which were contained in a relatively few ICs, possibly
triodes and pentodes. They were pretty in a single large-scale IC, still so small
basic elements. but they were fairly that. when you look inside you are apt
Circle 21) on Reader Service Card costly. Designing something that used to say. "Is that all there is? Where are the
them required that economy be carefully 'works' ?"
practiced: never use two tubes where the About the smallest unit today's engi-

rFiudio Ta p job could be done with one.

Today, micro -circuits have replaced
tubes, but before that, transistors re-
neer will think of is an "op amp." short
for operational amplifier. ICs usually
come with at least four of these on a
for professionals
rofessionals placed tubes more directly, practically on single chip. Back in the days of tubes. a
a one -to-one basis. But even the advent whole bank of tubes and assorted equip-
of transistors had what might be termed a ment could never have duplicated the
liberating effect. Tubes were not only performance of one cheap op amp today.
more costly and much bigger than the That's progress!
early transistors, they also had functional All this has had the effect of making the
limitations. engineer look for, or wait to be introduced
The fact that a tube needs a heated to, a variety of pre -packaged ICs. All he
cathode, means that it must have its knows is that for a certain variety of inputs
circuits organized so all the cathodes are to any particular IC, it will deliver a
low-potential points in their respective predictable variety of outputs. You put a
circuits. And when grids are used to con- tiny battery into your wristwatch or calcu-
trol cathode -to -anode electron flow, the lator and lo, it tells the time, or calculates,
voltage applied to the grid must always or maybe both at once! What more does
REEL TO REEL TAPE be referenced to the cathode, not the an engineer need to know? Anyone can
Ampex. 3M. All grades. anode. replace a battery, and if the IC "goes."
On reels or hubs. Transistors changed that. A tube (which it seldom. if ever, does) the whole
anode-controlled by appropriate vol- thing's "shot." anyway.
CASSETTES, C- 10 -C -90
With Agfa. TDK tape. tage(s) on its grid(s)-only conducts when If you want to do something different,
it is positive with respect to the cathode. you think of putting together parts,
LEADER & SPLICING TAPE But transistors can be made either way. usually ICs, possibly with some control
EMPTY REELS & BOXES Some transistors conduct when the circuits, that together do what you want.
All widths. sizes. collector is more positive than the emitter, Even before this trend got started, the
some when it is negative, according to approach used in electronics education,
Competitive! which type they are: PNP or NPN. like everything else, became one of learn-
Shipped from Stock! But today, transistors are only seen as ing "facts." A device has certain character-
a transition from discrete circuitry to istics, which are used in certain ways. New

r
Ask for our recording supplies catalog -

Rand Rd.
Corp. 312/298 -5300
Des Plaines, IL 60016
integrated circuitry. ICs (integrated
circuits) are used for almost everything
today. And an IC may have anything
devices are developed with different
(usually better in some way) character-
istics, and everyone has to "go back to
15 from half-a -dozen transistors and diodes school" to learn a new set of facts.
CO
of mixed type, up to several hundred, all In the days of tubes, perhaps the main
Circle 23 on Reader Service Card

[Link]
fact was A = gmr:,. Given the mutual tionally creative people too. They create They had been shown the traditional way
conductance. gm. which is the rate at what has not been before, just as an artist of lettering a triangle. ABC. I think in
which plate current changes when grid does. that particular book. the B was at the

which is the relationship between plate

r
voltage is varied at constant plate(anode)
voltage; and the plate resistance,
Again the question comes back to what
constitutes creativity; when does it begin
to show, and what can we do to develop
apex of the triangle. A student came up
to argue with his teacher that his proof
was correct. I looked at it. It was. But he
voltage and current. at constant grid it or stimulate it'? My son remembers a had put a different letter at the apex. So
voltage; multiplying the two together Geometry teacher who had no creativity. all the lettering in the proof was different
yielded the amplification factor, A and expected none from her students. As from that in the book, although it was
which is the rate at which plate voltage a result, he was turned off from math and absolutely correct.
changes when grid voltage is varied. with I have met thousands of others with Nothing particularly creative about
the plate current held constant. similar experiences. that, I suppose, but what was suppres-
When I took my registration examina- The day I visited his class, she was sing creativity was the fact that the
tion, that was the principle question, handing back homework that had been teacher couldn't see that. The way she
which implied that if you knew that. you set on the theorem that proves that, if two saw it, the book proof was correct, and
were a fully qualified electronic engineer! sides of a triangle are equal, the cor- nothing else was. Changing the letters
Things have probably changed since responding opposite angles are equal. was not allowed. Now this student had
then. My point here is that, in the real
world, a tube never operated at precisely
any of those neat quantities that were
supposed to describe its characteristics.
All this comes hack to our problems

better believe it!

with education. which may not be a
subject for this column addressed to
audio people, hut it cannot he avoided
altogether either. The indoctrination
aspects of education. where we arc
conditioned to look for inlormation we
can apply to our specific problem. with- The Ferrograph RTS2
out understanding it, results in this whole
approach. And as line alter line of new
test set can reduce
devices appear on the market. we have to audio test time up to 30 %.
-go hack to school' to get oursek es
"updated,- when that ouldn't he Here's how. You connect only a single input
and output lead to the component under test. You
necessary for a creative engineer. perform all routine checks for frequency response,
If the were truly creative. all the would distortion, wow and flutter, signal -to-noise ratio, drift,
need, when something new came out, gain, input sens tivity, output power and more ¡List by
pushing buttons with this single instrument. You read the
would he a data sheet on the new device. results directly in percent or dB so there's no arithmetic or
to let us know its capabilities. We would guesswork.
be able to take it from there. But we can't, Ferrograph RTS2 speeds your testing of tape
recorders in all formats, turntables, preamps, line and
generally speaking. Even knowing the power amps, equalizers and other signal processing
right questions to ,isk helps. \Ve hate components. It's easier and faster to use than separate
been to update seminars s% here. after test instruments; yet, it costs far less than other all- function
test sets. For complete specifications, and details about
asking some of the right questions. other how you can acquire the RTS2 at no risk, circle reader
attendees cane to us for anstters. instead service number or contad: Neal Ferrograph USA, Inc.
of going to the seminar organisers. 652 Glenbrook Road, Stamford, Connecticut 06906,
Doesn't that tell you something (203) 348 -1045 /Telex: 64 -3678.

So what is creativity'! If she are to

develop it, or stimulate it, we must know
NEAL'
what it is. And there's the rub: how do FERHOGHAPH
RIATOq
you describe something to someone vv ho [041St
OUTTVT

has never seen anything like it. As some-

I
one once made an analogy. love do y ou
describe sex to someone who hasn't
experienced it ?"
Nell. we won't get into that. but cre-
atisity is important. In our schools, the
arts are regarded as the main avenue for lU ATpI OUTPUT

creativity. so let's take it from there. In foe

teaching the arts. whether it be painting.

sculpture. music or whatever. the first
step is copying, learning to do what
someone else has done. That is certainly
not creative. A computer could be pro-
grammed to do that. and by error reduc-
tion to gradually get closer to the perfect
copy.
What a good arts teacher is looking
for, is some sign of individuality in the
student; a student who shows his own
individuality in his artistic expression.
This is where the real artists come from.
But, engineers and architects are tradi-
('ircle 25 on Reader Servire ('ard

[Link]
reconstructed the proof correctly, but turns the potentially good students into from redeveloping his natural creativity?
had made the "mistake" of lettering the dropouts, and the easily programmable Unfortunately. being programmed can
triangle differently from the way the students get rated as good. They cannot become a habit. During the school years.
book had. be challenged, because they are incapable the young adolescent can easily be re-
When we learned geometry, we not of individual thought. If you try to activated. In fact. most of them want that.
only learned the theorems, but we had challlenge them, they will respond. But later in life, the "protection " afforded
riders on them, to which we were expected "You show us how to do it, and we'll do by programming inhibits reactivation.
to develop our own proofs or disproofs, it." But finding out how to do something It is always "safer" to do what you are
without learning them from the book. that has not been shown is completely expected to do. Eventually, the power
That stimulates thought and, eventually. beyond them. of individual thought atrophies. And this
can lead to creativity. At first. such a .Fortunately, man is naturally a cre- is, unfortunately. the state of the vast
procedure causes the student to search ative creature. He wants to think. to find majority of our teachers. For this very
his memory for something similar that he a way to do something original- that is reason, their students are a threat to
can adapt. But adaptation is perhaps the his alone. Only by programming, so that them: to maintain control. they must get
first step toward true creativity. he responds the way he feels he is ex- them programmed to respond predictably.
Suppression of creativity is perhaps pected to respond, does he lose that Individualists are a particular threat.
the worst malady of our school system. It native capability. So what's to stop man There is only one way to circumvent
this: bypass the teachers. With very few
exceptions. in today's world. teachers are
an obstacle to education. If you meet a
good teacher, you will find that he or
she could not agree with this statement
more. And because it is true, many
potentially good teachers are working
as checkout clerks at supermarkets, or
bartenders. You'd be surprised how
many people in such mundane jobs have
teaching certificates!
So how can we circumvent the prev-
alently bad teachers. who presently
control the schools. to the extent that
good ones are not even teaching? We
must bypass them. And our technology
provides a tool for doing just that. Today.
schools have budget problems. The
biggest item on any school budget is
teacher salaries. As long as we have to
have more and more teachers. at higher
and higher salaries. the problems will
get worse. But if we could phase out the
useless teachers --say by not hiring
replacements as they leave -we could
cut costs as nothing else would.
The days of simple Mediated instruction is the way to do
cated analyzers, equal- that. Educational Research Associates
sound reproduction izers, crossovers and
are gone. Reproducing mixers to help you de- (if you want to write for a catalog. the
the subtleties of today's sign your own sound. address is 333 SW Park Avenue. Port-
sound requires a flexi- The NEI range of pro- land. OR 97205) has shown the way.
ble system that can do ducts is one of the most There is a lot of mediated instruction
what you want it to. complete you'll find. out. but much of it is no better- often
And that's the trick. And we use engineer- worse -than the printed kind, because
Getting the system to ing refinements to it was developed from existing text-
do what you want. At keep everything simple books. that are geared to the program-
NEI we make sophisti- and clean. l
ming system as it is. here materials are
Design your sound with NEI. designed to bypass teachers. while
allowing existing staff to administrate
them. And because the results are good.
2711 the dumb teachers who act only as
One -Third
Octave administrators (which suits them fine!)
Graphic get the credit for what they didn't do.
Equalizer
Now isn't that a way to go?
Incidentally. I should warn you that I
27C9A might be prejudiced on this. You see.
One -Third
Octave I wrote mediated materials for Educa-
Real Time
Analyzer tional Research Associates on Physics.
English. Problem Solving Arts (a three -
part series that goes from learning to
count through calculus can you imag-
ine what will happen when third graders
NEI are learning advanced calculus ?) and
934 N.E. 25th Avenue Statistics. Also a course on Basic Elec-
Portland, Oregon 97232 tronics. We have a saying. "the proof of
503/232 -4445
the pudding is in the eating!"

Circle 24 an Reader Sender Card

[Link]
 New Products & Services
SHOCK HAZARD DETECTOR
PICKUP SYSTEM
The W -350, a new professional studio
grade pickup system, offers super -low
distortion characteristics, high quality
electronic specifications, and the ad-
ditional features necessary to improve
performance for the serious musician.
There is no key or valve noise, feedback,
or water blockage with the W -350. It
features an LED indicating battery
checker, a phase reversal switch, and a
12 position equalization switch (which
includes the flat position) to compensate
for the difference between the inside and DZZAP! is a combination shock
the outside of the instrument. The W -350 hazard detector and cord checker (phase
is available for all woodwinds, piccolo, and continuity) specifically designed to
all flutes and all brasses. The type W assist performers and technical personnel.
transducer is a patented pressure -only DZAP! measures 4 -in. x 11/2-in. and is
type and comes in three versions: flute, battery -powered. The device will check
piccolo and screwmount. The type W all aspects of most two or three con-
transducer for flute and piccolo type ductor cords used by musicians, record-
replaces the cork assembly, while the ing, film, and video people. It will also
screw mount requires a 10 -32 threaded detect voltage leakage, improper ground-
hole or threaded insert for placement ing and other dangerous situations often
in the mouthpiece, barrel, bocal, etc. found on today's stages and in recording
Mfr: FRAP and video facilities.
Price: $550.00 Mfr: Audio and Design Recording, Inc.
Circle 47 on Reader Service Card Circle 49 on Reader Service Card

Dolby Noise Reduction

is in use everyday, everywhere.
-
Wherever you or your tapes go for recording, mixdown or disc
-
cutting it is almost certain Dolby noise reduction will be
-
there to do its job ensuring reduced hiss, crosstalk and
print-through in your recordings.

You can rely on

the Dolby system.

OD Dolby 731 Sansome Street

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346 Clapham Road
London SW9
Telephone 01 -720 1111
Telephone (415) 392 -0300
Dolby Laboratories Inc Telex 919109
Dolby and the double -D symbol are
Telex 34409
trade marks of Dolby Laboratories

S!6 266 993

rV

Circle 26 on Reader Service Card

[Link]
 FRONT -LOADING HORN REMOTE LINE DISCONNECTOR
SPEAKER SYSTEM
The Ramsa model WS-7I2 employs
newly-developed Twin Bessel horns to
deliver uniform directivity in both the
horizontal and vertical sound fields while
maintaining uniform frequency re-
sponse. 45 to 22.000 Hz, in both direc-
tions. The Ramsa speaker system has a
power handling capacity of 200 watts
(continuous program) and a pressure
sensitivity of 106 dB (I m, I watt on axis).
Sound dispersion is 90° (H) by 40° (V).
The Twin Bessel horn design is used for The Model RLD-5 is a new remote
the low, middle and high frequency range line disconnector that enables broadcast
in the 712 system. In addition to the line troubles to be remotely isolated to
benefits of the design, the material used the telephone line or the broadcaster's
for the horn's construction, fiberglass remote pick -up equipment without
reinforced plastic, further contributes dispatching repair personnel. Installed
to flatten radiation power at low fre- at the telephone line protector, the
quencies. The middle and high frequency RLD -5 is activated by the telephone
compression drivers in the Ramsa company test board to temporarily
speaker feature heat -resistance treated disconnect the broadcaster's pick -up
aluminum voice coils to increase power equipment from the line, return a
handling characteristics and a magnetic 1000 Hz tone at 0 or -10 dBm to the
ferrofluid- filled magnetic gap is employed test desk and open the line for 15 to
in the voice coils to limit temperature 20 seconds, thus verifying broadcast
rise. Additionally. Rhombic edges on line continuity and quality. Following
the diaphragm reduce resonance, result- tone return and open time, the line is
ing in a smooth high -range frequency restored to normal. The entire test
response. sequence is completed in less than 45
Mfr: Panasonic seconds. Compatible with all metallic
Circle 48 on Reader Service Card equalized and non -equalized broadcast
lines, the RLD-5 provides a positive
interface to facilitate trouble isolation
and repair.
Mfr: Cidcomm, Inc.
Circle 50 on Reader Service Card

When Audio Professionals

Talk Analyzers & Equalizers,
One Name Keeps Coming Up .. .

PRO MIXING BOARD

The Pro-4 3 series is offered with 12

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P.O. BOX 698 AUSTIN, TEXAS 78767 512/892 -0752
Mfr: Dallas Music Industries
N
(V Circle SI on Reader Service Card -

('irrte 28 on Reader Service Card

[Link]
 Electro-Voice's
Greg Silsby
talks about
the Sentry 100
studio monitor
In all the years Ispent in broadcast times that of conventional high frequency some of the world's best speaker engi-
and related studio production work, my drivers. neers disappear back into the lab to
greatest frustration was the fact that no Not only did it have to have a 3 -dB -down tweak and tune. And, spent a lot of time
I

manufacturer of loudspeaker systems point of 45 Hz, but the Sentry 100's on airplanes heading for places like Los
seemed to know or care enough about response had to extend to 18,000 Hz Angeles, Grand Rapids, Charlotte and
the real needs of broadcasters to design with no more than a 3 -dB variation. New York City with black boxes under my
a sensible monitor speaker system that arm testing our designs on the ears of
And, since it's just not practical in the real
was also sensibly priced. broadcast engineers.
world for the engineer to be directly on-
Moving to the other side of the con- axis of the tweeter, the Sentry 100 must The year was both frustrating yet enjoy-
sole presented a unique opportunity to have a uniform polar response. The able, not just for me but for Ray Newman
change that and E -V was more than engineer has to be able to hear exactly and the other E -V engineers who were
willing to listen. When first described to
I
the same sound 30 off-axis as he does working on this project. At this year's
Electro -Voice engineers what knew the
I
directly in front of the system. NAB show it all turned out to be worth it.
Sentry 100 had to be, I felt like the prover - The Sentry 100's official rollout was
Since still had the floor, decided to go
I I
bial "kid in a candy store." told them that
I universally accepted, and the pair of
all out and cover the nuisance items and
size was critical. Because working space Sentry 100's at the Electro-Voice booth
other minor requirements that, when
in the broadcast environment is often lim- was complemented by another 20 Sentry
added together, amounted to a major im-
ited, the Sentry 100 had to fit in a standard 100's used by other manufacturers ex-
provement in functional monitor design.
19" rack, and it had to fit from the front, hibiting their own products at the show.
wanted the Sentry 100 equipped with a
I
not the back. However, the mounting What it all boiled down to when first
high- frequency control that offered boost I

hardware had to be a separate item so started the project was that knew that
as well as cut, and it had to be mounted I

that broadcasters who don't want to rack the Sentry 100's most important char-
on the front of the loudspeaker where it
mount it won't have to pay for the mounting. acteristic had to be sonic integrity. knew
not only could be seen but was acces- I

The Sentry 100 also had to be very effi- sible with the grille on or off. that if wasn't happy, you wouldn't be
I

cient as well as very accurate. It had to be happy. I'm happy.

also didn't feel broadcasters should
I
designed so it could be driven to sound
have to pay for form at the expense
pressure levels a rock 'n roll D.J. could be
of function, so the walnut hi -fi cabinet was
happy with by the low output available
out. The Sentry 100 had to be attractive,
from a console's internal monitor
but another furniture -styled cabinet with
amplifier.
a fancy polyester or die -cut foam grille
In the next breath I told them the Sentry wasn't the answer to the broadcast in- Market Development Manager,
100 had to have a tweeter that wouldn't dustry's real needs.
Professional Markets
go up in smoke the first time someone
And for a close told E -V's engineers
I

accidentally shifted into fast forward with

that a studio had to be able to purchase
the tape heads engaged and the monitor
the Sentry 100 for essentially the same
amp [Link] meant high- frequency power
money as the current best -selling monitor
handling capability on the order of five
system.
That was well over a year ago. Since that
time I've spent many months listening
critically to a parade of darn good proto-
types, shaking my head and watching

Elecfrol/oice
o gulron c ompany
600 Cecil Street. Buchanan. Michigan 49107
InCanada
Electro -Voice. 0 of Guiton Industries (Canada) Ltd_.
345 Herbert St.. Gananoque. Ontario K7G 2V1
N
W
( ircle 31 IM Reader Sertir ('urrl

[Link]
 Editorial

I. MOST TWO YEARS AGO (March, 1979), we sur- supplier and user to collaborate, much to the advantage
veyed the international audio scene, with of both. The coincidence mentioned above is that
studio reports from Central and North Yamaha also selected SSL and Ampex for its Studio A
America, Europe and Japan. And now, more control room.
than enough time has passed for another look around the By contrast, the Hitokuchi -Zaka studios in Japan
world, to see what's new in international audio. chose Automated Processes consoles and Studer multi-
We return to Mexico City, this time to visit the RCA track tape recorders. The studios were designed by
Mexicana recording studios, and the scene of the first Takamichi Suzuki, whose work is well -known in Japan.
interface between a (British) Solid -State Logic board and And in Colombia, South America, Enrique Gaviria
an (American) Ampex tape recorder. SSL boards were and Mario Saraste sought out New York archi-
described in our August and September, 1979, issues, tect John Storvk to help them in the creation of
and the Ampex ATR -I24 was featured in the January, Fonovision /nternacionai. Storyk's participation in
1980, issue of db. At that time, we speculated on the the project began several years ago, when Senor Gaviria
interface system that might be needed to allow those visited the United States, to study at the Institute of
two beasts to talk to each other. Well, it all went to- Audio Research. Another coincidence- architect
gether nicely in Mexico City, and by coincidence, in Storyk recently completed the design of the Institute's
Glendale, California as well. new control room classroom, but that's another story.
In Glendale, Yamaha recently opened an impressive In England, the APRS (Association of Professional
R &D facility, comprised of two studios designed for Recording Studios) continues to grow and prosper, with
hands -on research and product development. Within almost 200 member studios now within its ranks. This
the studios, American producers and engineers will get month, John Borwick brings us up -to -date on the latest
the chance to do a little "tire- kicking" of the Japanese APRS news.
company's latest recording and performing hardware. In our last international audio issue, we offered a
In return, Yamaha design engineers get the chance to change of pace with a feature story on "Time- Aligned
see how their design prototypes stand up to studio use Loudspeaker Systems." This month (another coinci-
and abuse. It should prove to be a splendid way for dence?), we again conclude with a loudspeaker story.

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the most advanced digital processor control that gives
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 HOWARD SHERMAN

Fonovision Internacional
Colombia's First World
Class Studio
Located high in the Andes, Fonovision Internacional is poised
to become a force in the world of quality recording facilities.

OHN STORYK IS A MAN who likes challenges. Regarded recording facility. To that end, the former musicians organized
as one of the world's leading designers of recording a consortium of Colombian businessmen and acquired three
studios, the 34- year -old architect has supervised the acres of land on the northern outskirts of Bogota.
the design and construction of studios for the likes Situated in the Andes. 8.800 ft. above sea level. Bogota is a
of the late Jimi Hendrix. Leon Russell, and Ace Frehley major South American industrial city of more than live million
(KISS), among others. His multi -million dollar entertainment people. In the past, the city has not been considered as an
center for music industry entrepreneur Albert Grossman in entertainment industry center. Nevertheless. Senors Gaviria
Bearsville, New York. will include a state -of- the -art recording and Saraste believed that a first -rate. multi- track/ multi -studio
and video production complex, three restaurants and an facility would become a welcome addition to the Bogota
extraordinary 300 -seat luxury dinner- theatre. The Storyk - community. By the Fall of 1977, funds had been raised and they
designed Centel video complex in Boston is New England's commissioned Storyk, whose work in the States they had
newest (November. 1980) and most sophisticated video admired, to design and build what would come to be known as
production center. Fonovision Internacional.
One of Storyk's most recent projects (completed in December,
1980) is Fonovision Internacional, a 10,000 sq. ft. concrete CONSTRUCTION
and masonry showplace in Colombia equipped with two One of the many unique features of the recording complex is
studios, two control rooms and full support facilities. Situ- the fact that it was completely built from the ground up. an
ated conveniently near the capital city of Bogota, the 24 -track uncommon practice in these times of urban renovation. The
facility is already booked solid for local audio and multi -media entire structure. including the shell and 80 percent of the
work, and will be prepared to accept international projects by interior walls, is constructed of exposed 25- centimeter brick.
the beginning of March. "That kind of solid construction is economically feasible only in
a country where the building vernacular is masonry."comments
GENESIS Storyk. "More importantly." he adds, "the rough- surfaced
Two and a half years ago. engineer producers Enrique brick can be an important acoustical asset if used correctly."
Gaviria and Mario Saraste, already owners of a small 8 -track In some instances, of course, the more -traditional acoustic
studio, decided they wanted to open a world -class international construction (wood studs, insulation, baffles. etc.) was used.
In instrument stations, for example. some amount of trapping
and wooden slot resonators were needed. "Spring isolators
and certain kinds of fiberglas were imported from the States."
explains California record producer Bob Margouleff. who
Mr. Sherman is the president of Howard Sherman spent a month in Bogota supervising construction.
Public Relations. (continued on page 28)

co
N

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db Magazine
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covers: theory; shaping the pickup material specifications. Mfr. Switch - 1120 Old Country Rd.
pattern; piano; theatre; percussion, and craft, Inc., 5555 N. Elston Ave., Chicago, Plainview, N.Y. 11803
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 [Link].e]

1==s
CONTROL

r..
IOWA 'A'

.
resonator
..H 'off il
racks_ - --
7=7'. -hebe,
Noble

Figure 3. This view of Studio A gives a good idea of the

structural ceiling details.

Figure 1. Floor plan and sectional view of the Studio A THE PROGRAM
control room.
The Fonovision Internacional program puts it in a class with
the best facilities in the world. It includes two recording studios:
The stickiest problem of all was providing an air -con- Studio A, a 2,500 sq. ft. room which can accommodate from 30-
ditioning system for the audio complex. Bogota has one of to-40 musicians, and the smaller 800 sq. ft. Studio B. The
the most temperate climates of any major city. Temperatures studios are complemented by identical control rooms, with
rarely fall below 40 or 45 degrees Fahrenheit or go much complete ,wrap-around vision. These identical rooms are
above 85. so most domestic housing and commercial buildings extensions of Storyk's latest generation of "Phase Coherent"
have no need for heating or air -conditioning systems. rooms, similar to Howard Schwartz' NYC control room and
Recording studios, however, pose special problems and the new Criteria East studio expansion.
require careful temperature control throughout the facility. Both rooms have monitoring concepts based on the UREI
And since there are virtually no professional air -conditioner "Time Aligned'" system, but custom -designed by Storyk and
installation firms in Bogota, experts were called in from Ted Rothstein. Both are equipped with state -of-the -art Neve
neighboring cities. consoles, Ampex tape machines and a full complement of
outboard equipment. Each control room is capable of
comfortably accommodating 15 -18 people. Although
Figure 2. From the isolation booth, looking into the Fonovision Internacional is designed primarily to handle local
control room and the studio. and international rock and pop work, there is a video control
room atop Studio A, offering full video monitoring and camera
capability. Plans are to add a 34-inch video production and
post-production facility that will enable performers to produce
promo tapes and audio/ video demos.
Finally, the recording complex is equipped with all the
necessary support systems: maintenance shops, pre -production
offices, mechanical facilities, storage space, washrooms, lobby
and lounge. A separate building on the property has been
renovated to house full kitchen facilities and, on an adjoining
acre in a redolent eucalyptus tree setting, a six bedroom mini -
hotel for international groups will soon be constructed.

THE INTERNATIONAL LANGUAGE

While music has always been considered the international
language, quality audio recording facilities have, to date, been
limited to a precious few major world capitals. Fonovision
Internacional aims to become a part of that small, but growing
community and, based on John Storyk's track record, it seems
likely to achieve its goal.

[Link]
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 YASUSHI ONO

The Design of the

Hitokuchi -Zaka Recording
Studios
More than technicalfactors go into the making of a first -class
studio, as the Hitokuchi-Zaka Studio proves.

IGENERAL, the quality of a recording studio is evaluated was required, since the studios, control rooms and other
not only by audio effects, but also by visual effects. In acoustic areas were all built within the same building.
Japan. as elsewhere, there is a growing demand that The quantity of sound insulation required was calculated by
architecture and lighting create an aesthetic atmos- identifying all the routes through which noise would travel to
phere that will be pleasing to the performers. For this reason. individual rooms. This noise was taken as an incident sound
the Hitokuchi -Zaka studio complex has been colored in pressure level for each room, on the assumption that the sound
earth tones, and finished with quality woods, such as cherry, is picked up by a microphone placed near the wall, with the
cedar, teak, medlar and rosewood, to produce a pleasingly - sound -receiving point one meter from the sound insulation
soft atmosphere. The lighting facilities can be controlled by the layer. The calculation was made at the three bands centered at
performers to meet their own individualized requirements 125, 250 and 500 Hz. in which problems tend to occur.
and personal tastes. Since the studios and control rooms were built one upon
Of course, this is but one of the many important factors another, a floating structure design was required. The structure
that make the production of good music possible. Just as must be made with heavy, rigid material, since otherwise it
important are the technical factors, which must always be given tends to transmit unpleasant vibrations, depending upon the
their due consideration. vibration mode of the floor, and this affects the sound field
Below sound insulation, vibration proofing, room acoustics. within the room. In this studio complex, the thickness of
and facility -noise reduction, from the viewpoint of archi- reinforced concrete is 125 mm, which was increased to 250 mm
tectural acoustics are discussed. This complex consists of for the control rooms. The floating structure presented the
three studios, three control rooms, one mix -down room, and problem of insulation of pipes and ducts. Rubber sound -
other rooms for editing, tape copying, auditions, piano - insulation coupling was used for the pipes, with flexible joints
practice, and reverberation chambers. The plan and sectional for the ducts. To assure maximum sound insulation, the use of
views are shown in FIGURES I and 2. ducts on the same system between individual rooms was
avoided as much as possible, to eliminate cross -talk problems
SOUND INSULATION AND VIBRATION PROOFING through the ducts. When the space was too small, a sound
In general, the items to be examined for sound insulation and arrester was mounted on the duct, as needed.
vibration -proof design are as follows:
I. Insulation of noise and vibration coming from outside the ISOLATION BOOTHS
building. Several isolation booths were built in each studio, in order to
2. Insulation of noise and vibration coming from the offer maximum sound separation between groups of musical
facilities placed within the building, and instruments. The sound insulation between each booth and the
3. Sound insulation between individual rooms. studio is approximately 20 dB at 500 Hz. Doors made of a single
As for the first two items. there was little problem because the 15 mm -thick plate of glass were installed to assure a feeling of
studios and control rooms were built away from the sources of visual integration between booths and studio.
noise and vibration. For the last item however, much effort The floor of the drum booth was separated from the main
studio floor, so that vibration cannot travel through the floor to
the microphones near other musical instruments.

STUDIO DESIGN
Mr. Ono is the director, engineering division, of the In the acoustic design of a studio, it is important to meet the
o
cc, Hitokuchi -Zaka Recording Studios in Tokyo. Japan. contradictory requirements of sound separation between

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Figure 1. The plan view of Studio 2 and the mix -down room.
Isolation booths are labeled A, B, and C. The piano booth
is to the left of (C), and the drum booth is to the right
of (A). The mix -down room is at the upper left of the figure.

E2 i "n [ ]! , ' .

HFI.

F.

BFI.

Figure 4. Studio wall detail.

J I

s I I
5Ft. individual instruments and a visually -integrated feeling
between the individual performers. Many booths were built to
712z9í! meet the former, while the latter was met by installing doors
made entirely of glass between each booth and the studio, and a
small window between two of the booths.
In order to insure good visual connection among musical
instruments, particularly between drums and piano, the
individual booths were arranged as shown in FIGURE I. With
reference to the arrangement of musical instruments within
:FI
these booth locations. the wall characteristics (dead zone and
live zone) were created according to the specification of sound
absorption in the main studio. The booths are classified as
Figure 2. Sectional view. Studio 1 is on the top floor(s). drum. piano, dead (I ), and live (2).
Directly below is Studio 2 and the mix -down room, and The drum booth is separated from other booths to suppress
Studio 3 is on the lowest level. very low -pitched vibration leakage through the floor. To
eliminate the acoustic "fog" caused by the sound reflected from
Figure 3. The interior of Studio 1.
the ceiling, the entire ceiling area is made to absorb sound. The
walls are finished with quality wood ribs. and are composed of
sound -absorptive sections made of felt and glass wool, and
sound -reflective sections made of plaster board. The reflective
surfaces are designed so that reflections do not reach the floor.
The desired live or dead zone is created by varying the
proportions of reflective and absorptive surfaces.
CONTROL ROOMS
The requirements for a control room are: transmission of the
sound from the monitor speaker to the mixer without
coloration, correct localization of images, and discrimination
against noise. To realize these requirements, the dimensions and
shape of the room must be carefully examined. The dimensions
are determined by the number and size of the recording
hardware, the spatial relationship between speakers and
mixers, and other facilities. In the typical studio, the floor area
may be from 40 to 50 square meters, and the volume becomes
approximately 100 cubic meters if the ceiling height is 2.5
meters. The floor area and height of these studios are 46 square
meters, and 2.65 meters, respectively.

[Link]
 Next, the shape of the sound insulation must be examined. In enclosure was surrounded with sound insulation materials,
view of symmetry and the spatial relations between the speakers glass wool was filled around the speaker itself, and the
and the mixer, the mixer is usually positioned at about the enclosure's front surfaces was finished with felt.
center of the room. Care should be taken not to create a lack of In general, reflection from the walls can be avoided by
high pressure in the low -band frequencies at the mixer position properly designing the shape of a room, but the first- and
due to room modes. In this studio, the length and width of the second-order reflections from the floor and the studio window
control room are approximately equal, and room modes tend to to the floor cannot be avoided. Consequently, they interfere
focus. Therefore, the sound insulation walls are inclined, so as with the direct sound, making the sound pressure lower over a
to avoid creation of parallel- facing surfaces. The sound bandwidth from 40 -to-60 Hz at the mixer position. To avoid
insulation ceiling is shaped like a ship's bottom. As a result, no this problem, the front surface of the control desk is made
booming phenomenon is observed. Although there are many absorptive, thereby eliminating this dip in the bandwidth. As a
theories on the shape of finished surfaces, the essence is to make result, the measured transmission characteristic shows good
perfect symmetry bi- laterally, so that direct and reflected balance from the lower part to the higher part of the bandwidth.
sounds may reach the mixer without interfering with each The structure, size, shape and sound absorption properties of
other. To do so, it is necessary to carefully design the shape the three control rooms and one mix -down room are identical,
around the front monitor speakers. The shape of this studio is so as to give interchangeable acoustic characteristics.
also shown in FIGURE I.
As for sound absorption, the whole was made dead (average AIR -CONDITIONING
sound absorption is about 0.45) to make the speaker Acoustic design must take into consideration the mechanical
reproduction sound clear. The principal specifications are; noise of the air conditioning system, as well as the sound of air
Front wall: Finished with quality wood ribs, and felt -plus-glass motion at the system inlets and outlets.
wool. Rear wall: Felt finishing, and interior glass wool. Ceiling: Resonance at a particular frequency may sometimes be noted
Felt finishing, and interior glass wool, part plaster board, and in a room having high sound absorption. The cause may not be
part perforated veneer. Floor: Carpeted. due to faulty design within the room, but rather to the reflection
of sound from the air conditioning system. This is caused by
ROOM ACOUSTIC DESIGN resonance of the duct walls, or the humming of a pan at the vent.
The table below shows the dimensions of each of the rooms To prevent these problems, the insides of the vertical ducts,
considered important from a viewpoint of acoustic design. extending from the sound -arresting chambers to the vents, were
lined with rubber. The pans at the vents were filled with sand to
LISTENING TESTS prevent humming noises.
Listening Tests were conducted in the control room to Based on our past experience, the allowable levels of air
determine the optimum position of the speakers, the speaker conditioning noise were set at NC 15 for the studios and NC 20
enclosure design, and the appropriate materials for the front for the control rooms and editing rooms. The values measured
surface of the ceiling. According to the test results, the speaker after the completion of construction satisfied these requirements.

STUDIO DIMENSIONS
Floor area Height Volume Reverberation Time
(square meters) (meters) (Cubic meters) (seconds)

Studio 1 166 6.29 679 0.28

Isolation Booths 8 -I1 2.89 20-28 0.12 -0.14
Studio 2 102 3.68 194 0.18 -0.22
Isolation Booths 9-IO 2.78 20-25 0.10 -0.16
Control Rooms &
Mix-down Rooms 46 2.65 91 0.14 -0.17

Figure 5. Studio 3 control room. Each control room has a

32 in /24 out Automated Processes console. The 16-
and 24- channel recorders are Studer A -800s, and the Figure 6. This view of the mix -down room shows the
2- channel machines are Studer A -80s and Ampex ATR- auxiliary equipment rack behind the mixer, mounted in the
100s. producer's table.

[Link]
 JOHN WORAM

RCA Mexicana Studios

A combination wood and oxygen shortage posed some
interesting problems for the designers and builders of RCA
Mexicana.

MEXICO CITY is the second largest city in the world, manager and acoustic consultant was Senor Mario Sanchez
with a population of 16 million, projected to Roldan. Sr. Sanchez Roldan originally came to RCA as a
grow to 31 million by the end of the century. It is highly- recommended designer, and quickly became Audio
also the capital of a nation where music has Director for the entire complex. He was eager (in between
always played a vital role in the everyday routine of the people. phone calls to locate more concrete) to discuss the acoustic
So it is not surprising that this sprawling metropolis is also a considerations of building in Mexico City.
thriving center of recording activity. "First of all, we are using brick and concrete for our interior
RCA Records Mexico is one of the largest producers of wallls, floors and even sections of the ceiling. Naturally, the
recorded products in Mexico. Last year, the company pressed absorption coefficients of such materials are a known quantity
over 20 million long- playing records for the local market, and to acousticians; but in this instance we were not free to use
provided nearly 300 master tapes to a dozen other Spanish - lumber where we would have liked. This creates problems in
speaking populations in Central and South America and Spain. terms of structural transmission over a completely different
RCA Mexico is not only a leader in terms of product output; the range of frequencies, and also gives us problems in controlling
company now also seeks to establish a position of leadership in acoustic energy travelling through the air.
the realm of state -of- the -art recording techniques and "You must remember that Mexico City is 7200 feet above
technology. mean sea level. Sound travels faster in this rarefied atmosphere
The most recent manifestation of this commitment is a and is also more directional. These factors, coupled with the
$2,000,000 renovation project, designed to upgrade three RCA concrete problem, require some radically different equations
recording studios and disc mastering suites. In November of and approaches in order to achieve the same degree of
1980, the first phase of this project was completed. Earlier, the excellence found in multi -track studios in 'friendlier' locales.
second -largest of the live rooms had been totally stripped, In the studio, we have constructed the floor on three tiers, like
control room and all. It was then rebuilt with advanced balconies. The highest tier is for strings, the middle section is for
acoustics and equipped with the finest recording gear available. brass, and the lower is for rhythm instruments. Of course, there
Such a project is no small task anywhere, but in Mexico City is also a drum booth and a vocal isolation booth. We have
it presents a unique combination of challenges. For example, actually cast ducts into the concrete floors of each of these
wood shortages have lead to a strong conservation-and - sections, and used the spaces beneath each platform as tuned
reforestation program, and the use of wood in construction is traps. It is necessary to trap the floors like this, because we do
now restricted by the Mexican Government. In addition, local not have the ability to create the same degree of absorption in
economics dictate the use of materials which possess the the walls and ceilings. There are traps in these areas. but the
greatest lifespan at the least cost. The net result is that -unlike limitations imposed on us have required what I call 'Spherical
most studios -the interior construction of the RCA Mexico Acoustics,' because we are working from all 360 degrees to
studios and control rooms is largely brick and concrete! Beyond achieve the desired isolation.
the acoustic problem this creates, studio builders must also cope "These balconies have the added advantage of presenting a
with a shortage of concrete due to the massive highway variety of apparent room sizes to a microphone, depending on
construction. the tier where the microphone is placed. The upper tier provides
All of this adds up to a lot of fun for the man responsible for a solid back wall and proximity to a mostly 'live' ceiling,
any studio construction project. In this case, the project reinforcing the energy of the strings -yet it faces into a large
open space that can be used to the necessary advantage by
selection of the appropriate microphone pattern. The second
tier has a back wall which is heavily trapped, a greater ceiling
height, and a tighter relationship with the front wall which gives
a nice 'airy' quality around the brass, with some delayed
rai John Woram is the editor of db magasine. reflection off the front wall. These can be controlled by the

[Link]
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Lexicon digital delay systems are used throughout the world in

You'd expect concert halls, auditoriums, stadiums, churches, in fact wherever good sound
distribution is needed. The famed Sydney Opera House complex in Sydney,
to see Lexicon Australia with its four main performing halls, five rehearsal studios, recording
Digital Delays halls and over nine hundred rooms relies on Lexicon digital delays throughout
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at the Sydney Whether it's the Sydney Opero House Complex, Heinz Hall in
Opera House Pittsburgh, New Jerseys Giant Stadium or a small church in Lincoln, Nebraska;
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Circle 34 on Reader Service Card

[Link]
 if eat
sue.- ,: _ `'+
Figure 1. A wide- angled view of the "pyramid power" Figure 2. A drum booth is at the rear of the studio, and if
ceiling, and the three- tiered studio floor. you look closely, there's also a piano "room" back there.

choice of microphones. The main floor has the advantage of the studios. The only solution to this, short of pressurizing the
trapped floor, trapped side walls, and a trapped rear wall, along control room and installing airlocks, is to fool the speakers. At
with a front wall which is absorptive to either side of the control RCA this has been done using a rather radically -angled
room window, and of course highly reflective in front of it." Venturi-type compression ceiling. The mathematics of this are
The arrangement provides amazing flexibility for controlling beyond the scope of this article (and this author!), but test
the sound at the source, rather than through later electronic results indicate that this particular design has reduced the
processing. However, those interested in experimenting with effective altitude of the control room by almost one mile, at
such an arrangment should be cautioned that it works largely least across the front of the console.
because of the narrower dispersion of sound, both vertically The traditional methods of achieving a desirable RT-60-
and horizontally, at this extreme altitude. Visiting musicians, versus- frequency curve in the engineer's and producer's
particularly brass players, should also be cautioned that the thin position now work quite nicely, with a clean punchy sound
air takes some getting used to. Sanchez Roldan has provided being quite apparent. Outside of this "pressurized" area, the
two aids to his musicians for this reason. effects of the high altitude are dramatically apparent.
The first is "Pyramid Power." Having taken care of the But perhaps the most dramatic point of the control room is
problems imposed by physics, he decided that metaphysics the equipment. The primary specification for the entire
could help out too. Carefully -proportioned pyramids are built renovation project at RCA Mexico was to put together studio
into the ceiling at regular intervals. It has been demonstrated systems the equal of the best in the world. It is clear that no
that a force, or energy, is generated by this particular expense has been spared to do this, but Sanchez Roldan points
convergence of planes, and Sr. Roldan wanted all of his out that his company is in business to make money, not to spend
products to benefit from the Pyramid Energy ceiling. (For those it, and that all of his equipment specifications are designed to do
who don't believe in Pyramid Power. portable oxygen tanks are this.
also available.) For starters, the heart of the control room is a 40 -input Solid
The final area of acoustic concern is the control room. The State Logic Master Studio System. RCA Mexico has the
same techniques of "spherical acoustics" provide the needed distinction of being the first studio in the world to install an
trapping here. But again, the rare atmosphere creates particular SSL with the new Total Recall Studio Computer. This sys-
problems when working with transducers designed to react to tem not only provides fader automation, it also stores and
the more-typical atmospheric back pressure found in sea-level recalls the position of every other control on the console, using a
flashy high -resolution color -graphics display to indicate the
differences between stored positions and current positions. The
Figure 3. The control room interior. Note the angled computer also controls the tape machines, keeps track of all
ceiling, and the SSL's video monitors mounted above the sorts of session information, and provides some fairly
window. incredible mixing capabilities.

Figure 4. Sr. Roldan keeps an eye on the video monitors

while setting up the board.
 All of this comes at a price -in this case, nearly $250,000 plus that it contains complete tape recorder controls, which are
almost 35 percent import taxes levied by the Mexican interfaced to any tape machine using opto- isolated relay
Government on all imported electronic equipment. Sanchez contacts. The ATR -124 is an unusual tape machine, in that it
Roldan feels it is one of the best equipment investments RCA uses serial code to address the track select and other recorder
Mexico has ever made. We are happy about the prestige in functions.
having the first SSL Total Recall System, but as this studio is Sanchez Roldan was aware of the problems, but he told each
used mostly by our own artists, prestige is not as important as a manufacturer, "I want the best, you have the best, now it is up to
drawing card. This equipment gives us the sound and the you to make this work!" Ed Engberg and Norm Major of
flexibility we need. We have also calculated the savings which Ampex, and Colin Sanders and Grey Ingram of Solid State
Total Recall gives us by opening up our rooms when they would Logic all got together, traded information, and Voilal. they
otherwise be locked up for one artist. And, the computer allows came up with a translator which enables the SSL computer to
us to eliminate a second engineer just to operate the tape talk to and understand the ATR -124 computer, making RCA
machines. Over the life of the machine, it will more than pay for Mexico perhaps the only studio in the world where the
itself. equipment talks in Spanish, English, and to itself! Indeed, when
"Even more important in a country like Mexico is the the Ampex and SSL engineers first connected their respective
reliability of the equipment. You would not believe how machines together and they worked, someone was heard to
impossible it is to get emergency parts through our customs. We comment "Thank God they aren't arguing with each other."
could not find anything with the features we needed which was Rounding out the equipment selection are several ATR -100
built better or more easy to service ourselves. And because of two and four tracks, Telcom Universal Noise Reduction frames
our import taxes, we may use equipment longer than other capable of accepting Telcom, Dolby and dbx noise reduction
places. The SSL Computer is all software-based, and we can cards, a variety of delay and reverb devices including Lexicon
effectively get completely modern updates through the mail this 224s, Prime Times and Delta -Ts; two live chambers, nine EMT
way." plates and three AKG BX -20s, along with a fine collection of
One interesting thing about RCA Mexico's SSL Computer is microphones including some beautiful old RCA ribbon mics
that it speaks English and Spanish. The common keyboard is and tube condensers.
engraved in Spanish, and the video display confirmation and Many "Gringos" here in the States have a completely false
interrogation can be in either Spanish or English, depending on impression of Mexico and the Mexican recording business. The
which program disc is loaded. Ths handy feature taught the country is often viewed as a market for second -hand equipment
SSL installation and training crew their first 25 words in and technology. The RCA Mexico story is only one example of
Spanish; it also makes the Mexican artists and producers feel how wrong this perception is. (For another view, see our
more comfortable with the computer. "Report From Mexico City," in the March 1979 db -Ed.) The
For similar reasons of flexibility, quality and reliability, RCA Mexican recording industry may not be as hot as the Mexican
Mexico chose the Ampex ATR -124 as their multi -track cuisine (but then, nothing is -Ed.), but it is most clearly in the
recorder. This presented the studio with another "first," namely vanguard of studio techniques, powered by enlightened artists,
the first SSL/ ATR -I24 interface in the world. Normally, this engineers and management dedicated to world -class recording
would not be a big deal, but the SSL is an unusual console, in excellence.

The reverb that complements

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Laa-r eNA/VL

o 1

a
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Circle 4/ on Reader Servire Card

[Link]
NORMAND L. MAJOR

The Ampex /SSL

Interface
A brief look at the logistics involved in the interface between
the Ampex ATR -124 and Solid-State Logic's computer-
controlled audio board.

FOR DECADES. computer and automation sytems have interface at the RCA studios, with particular emphasis on the
used multi -wire interconnection for short distances: sofhsare and hardware.
for longer distances. data and commands are coded
and sent serially on one pair of wires. Conversion from THE SERIAL INTERFACE
the serial code to a multi -wire scheme is only done when The serial line feeding the ATR -I24 is the same one that
necessary- for example. to control a piece of equipment reports the status of all the buttons on the ATR -I24's front
designed for simple contact closure. panel to its main CPU. Not only are all the Safe. Ready. Input.
The code recognized and generated by all computer systems Repro. Sync and Mute commands for every channel readily
is the American Standard Code for Information Interchange. accessible, but so are the Tape Speed. VSO, Group and Panel
or ASCII. The ASCII code accommodates 95 characters. Memory commands.
including upper and lower case letters, numerals, punctuation All of the above commands can be initiated by sending a
marks, plus 32 machine control signals such as line feed [LF] sequence of ASCII characters. The format is listed in FIGGRE I.
and carriage return [CR]. appropriate for controlling For example. to place channel I into Safe. the following is sent:
teleprinters. (Bracketed characters [CR, etc.] identify machine The letter. F (denoting that a function is selected). then the
control signals Ed.)
- number. 3 (Safe). and a [CR] to indicate the end of the
Modern multi -channel tape recorders offer an expanded list command. Next. to specify Channel I. the characters. COI. are
of operational features that need to be remotely controlled, and sent. and this is followed by a [CR]. As the end of every
it is not surprising that the new Ampex ATR -124 multi -channel sequence. the [CR] indicates the end of the command.
analog audio recorder used this code for remote control. The serial ASCII code must be sent at a rate of 19200 baud
making it compatible with computer-driven editing systems and and contain 8 bits with even parity to communicate with the
automation systems. main CPU. The receiver interface is an optical isolator. A
The first interface between the micro -processor controlled typical interface for TTL levels is described in FICA RE 2.
A I-R -I24 and Solid -State Logic's computer- controlled audio Brief as the above description of the serial interface is, it is
board featuring "total recall-occurred last October. at the RCA easy to imagine the ATR -124 obeying commands generated by
recording studios in Mexico City. This article will describe that a home computer. Of course, on the recorder itself, the ASCII
commands are generated by depressing the customary machine
function buttons, rather than by typing out the code. The ATR -
124 has several useful outputs to provide feedback information
to the interfaced system. These include all the transport modes,
true direction, tachometer pulses (either from the capstan or
Air. Major is Associate Engineer, Audio Products tape time). electronic record status (indicating that at least one
Group of the Ampex Audio -Video Systems Division, channel is in record). etc. All are available at remote or
Redwood City, CA. accessory connectors.

[Link]
 Button Command Character Next Character(s)

AUX A [CR]
ALL. B (block) [CR]
CHANNEL C 0-9 (tens) 0-9 (units) [CR
REC F(function) [CR]
READY F 2 [CR]
SAFE F 3 [CR]
INPUT F 4 [CR]
SYNC F 5 [CR]
REPRO F 6 [CR]
MUTE F 7 [CR]
GROUP F 8 [CR]
GROUP I G (group) [CR]
GROUP 2 G 2 [CR]
GROUP 3 G 3 [CR]
GROUP 4 G 4 [CR]
GROUP CLEAR K (kill) [CR]
MASTER RESET I ( initialization) [CR]
7.5 ips S (tape speed) [CR]
15 ips S [CR]
30 ips S i [CR]
VSO V (VSO) S (select) [CR]
DECREASE V D [CR]
INCREASE V 1 [CR]
ri V P (percent) [CR]
TONE V 1
[CR]
A P (panel memon [CR]
B l' [CR]
C P [CR]
D P 4 [CR]
R M (monitor memory) [CR]
l' M 2 [CR]
F M 3 [CR]
S M 4 [CR]
PANEL MEM X (transfer) P [CR]
MONIT MEM X M [CR]
REC *PLAY R P [CR]
REC *STOP R S [CR]
REC R H [CR]
STOP I (transport) 1
[CR]
PLAY 2 [CR]
FAST 3 [CR]
SERVOS UNLOCKED 4 [CR]

Figure 1. Tape recorder instructions and ASCII command

characters.

RCA MEXICO CITY

Not all controlling devices provide serial ASCII code. PROBLEM: SSL supplies 24 relay contacts, each contact
Sometimes, only an array of relay contacts or some other form representing one of the 24 audio channels. An open contact
of parallel interface is available. This is indeed the case with the indicates the channel is to be in Safe; closed, to be in Ready.
SSL interface, even though it is driven by a mini-computer. These relays are activated by SSL's mini -computer. One
Therefore, RCA's recording studio required an interface other relay contact is supplied to indicate that either all
system such as that described above. This first parallel, serial channels are to be in Sync, or all are in Repro. These contacts
interface was designed by Ampex. using an off- the -shelf micro- must be sampled, processed and then sent in the appropriate
processor system. Essentially, it is a micro -processor with input serial form to the AIR -124's receiver.
and output devices, plus read -only memory and random -access SOLUTION (see FIGURE 3): The relay commons have been
memory. A description of this interface will serve to underline grounded with respect to the interface, and the contacts (along
how this approach is an excellent general solution to any with pull -up resistors) are connected to standard input, output
w
interface situation. circuits, which are interrogated by the micro-processor. The

[Link]
 Ks=171-1 moni-s Ï
AIR 124
RECEIVER

WE WIND THINGS UP M
TRANSMITTER
A> -
OPTO
ISOLATOR TO MAIN

ALL ROUND INPUT I

CPU

SERIAL
LINE

THE WORLD HCPL 2601

Figure 2. The console /tape recorder interface.

25 RELAY
CONTACTS

INTERFACE AMPEX ATR 124

SSL
SERIAL ATR124 RECEIVER
BOARD IO
OUT
PORTS
I/O ERSI
PORT

TRANSPORT
HARD WIRED THROUGH CONTROLS
& INDICATORS

Figure 3. The parallel /serial interlace allows tape recorder

functions to be controlled from the console.

Keith Monks CD /3 Cable Drum

BIG TOUGH CABLE DRUMS micro-processor (instructed by the program resident in read -
FROM KEITH MONKS only memory) debounces and processes this information and
delivers it to the USART (Universal Synchronous; Asynchro-
nous Receiver /Transmitter) which in turn sends the command
Every Keith Monks Cable Drum is a multi- sequence to the ATR -124 in the serial form mentioned earlier.
This method is software intensive, giving the advantage of easily
purpose carrier -for microphone, speaker or changing and expanding its capabilities by installing another
power cables. They're built of tough reinforced read -only memory. Inputs to the interface from the ATR -I24
steel, with firm standing rubber feet. And there are the ERSI (Electronic Record Status Indicator) upon which
are four different models to choose from. the interface bases its ready-record decisions, TDR (True
Direction Sense), and the TTAC (Tape Timer Tachometer).

Each one has a removable center drum

use 1 frame with a few reels.
- Transport controls and indicators are hard -wired directly to the
SSL board, as it can provide dedicated switch closures for these.
The interface gives the SSL board control over the ATR -124
to the extent that its designers intended. In the future, it could
also control tape speed and other functions of the ATR -124. All
Each one has a nylon dipped black paint of this can be implemented with a change in software, not
finish -hard wearing and rust resistant. hardware.
The success of the interface was immediate and the studio
They all stack with other frames of the same held its first recording session within a few days. As a point of
interest, the tape transport servo response of the ATR -124
size -make rigid, stable space- savers. exceeded the maximum setting in SSL's software. It is
KEITH MONKS (AUDIO) INC. understood that SSL is raising the maximum setting to take
652 Glenbrook Road advantage of the ATR -124's transport capabilities.
Stamford, Conn. 06906 With the ATR -124 as an example, it can be seen that the
(203) 348 -4969 Telex 643678 integration of a complex device into an even -more complex
Manufacturers and World Distributors system of devices is best facilitated by the use of a standardized,
computer- oriented interface. In this way, adaptation of the
KEITH MONKS (AUDIO) LTD. device to the system, or even to individual preference, is
26 -28 Reading Road, South Fleet Aldershot, transferred from a hardware design problem to an intellectual
Hampshire, England definition of function, implemented in software in less time and
(2514) 20568 Telex 858606 at less cost.
Circle 35 on Reader Service Card

[Link]
TOM LUBIN

A Studio For Research

A guided tour through Yamahas R & D base.

nui\(i IN ERNA IIONAI.t.Y -KNOWN Japanese corpora-

I Secondly, since the primary purpose was to use the facility
tions. the Yamaha name has become one of the most for laboratory testing, Takashi specified very stringent acoustic
noticeable because of the diversity and quality' of requirements whereby the internal environments of each of the
its products. Yamaha musical instruments have studios and control rooms should have almost total isolation
become a standard by which other brands are judged. During from one another.
the past five years, Yamaha loudspeakers. amplifiers, and In the final design, two main studio areas are separated by an
live mixing consoles have received equally wide acceptance. experimental lab. The control rooms for the two studios are
An important reason for their ability to produce high- acoustically identical. It was specified that when a product
quality products is that they have consistently invested a good evaluation was being conducted in Studio B, its control room
deal of time in research and development. Most of the Yamaha could be used simultaneously for other assignments. To meet
products that reach America have had their prototypes tested this functional requirement. very stringent sound isolation was
and critiqued by professional musicians and engineers. Often. required between control room B and studio B.
through this process, a new Yamaha product has generated a
word -of -mouth reputation even before it was put into produc- BASIC CONSTRUCTION
tion. The facility was built from the ground up. Decoupling was
Three years ago. to further expand this approach to new achieved with conventional materials, by constructing totally -
product development, Yamaha decided to establish a perma- isolated rooms within a massive basic shell. The most difficult
nent R & 1) base near Hollywood. a musically active area isolation problem would exist between control room B and
where valuable professional opinions are readily available. studio B. George, after consulting fellow acoustician L. W.
H iro Kato. the present manager of the R & D base. w as assigned Sepmeyer, concluded that an isolated three-wall system of two
to study the feasibility of such a facility. During the course of stud-and -sheet rock walls with a solid 8 -inch concrete block
several trips between Japan and Los Angeles, Hiro selected a wall between them would do the job. Three different thicknesses
site in Glendale. and expanded the plan from just a music studio of plate glass (1A", V. 34 ") are used, one pane per wall.
and lab to the inclusion of full state -of -the -art recording Concrete block construction was specified for the entire
facilities. In this environment, Yamaha product engineers and outside shell and interior separation walls. As each wall went
U.S. experts could listen, measure, record, experiment, and up, all of the holes in the blocks were filled with mortar. All of
exchange opinions. the block walls have their footings connected to the base slab.
fhe original acoustic specifications for the facility were then and are in no way connected to the floating slabs on which the
made by Takashi hujita, a top acoustics expert at Yamaha's interior walls and ceiling are built. All the studio and control
electro- acoustics laboratory in Japan. Those specifications room block walls were plastered with one-half inch of mortar to
included the number of rooms. functional electronic require- improve the performance of the walls, by sealing the surface
ments. sound isolation, average absorption coefficients, and pores on the blocks. The roof consists of four inches of light-
noise criteria in each room. weight concrete. poured on top of corrugated steel decking,
Hiro then selected George Augspurger to he the acoustic supported by steel beams that were tied to the block walls.
1

designer consultant who would convert Takashi's specifica- After the shell and all the interior separation walls were
tions into a working design. At George's suggestion. Peter T. completed, the six different floating floors were poured. These
('reamer & Associates were retained as the project's architects. rest upon Consolidated Kinetics vinyl- coated pre -compressed
fiberglas cubes.
LAYOUT Standard 2 -by-4 -inch frame construction was used to finish
To meet 1I akashi's specifications, there were two important the interiors, which are supported by the floating floors. Great
issues to consider. First was the proper layout of needed rooms care was taken to make sure that none of the interior walls or
within a limited space. Besides the two control rooms and ceilings touch the exterior shell, and that all adjacent systems
studios, there had to he sufficient office. lab. and storage remained free of any mechanical coupling. Between all the
space. as well as a lounge and a place for a facsimile machine. studs, batten insulation was stapled. All the studio and control
room surfaces were sheathed with four layers of %x inch gypsum
board, with each seam staggered. Also, every seam and joint of
the wood walls and each layer of gypsum were caulked.

Mr. Lubin is the president of Creative Spare. eight MEASUREMENT

self- operated recording suites designed specifically liar Because the lamaha specifications were so stringent, the
songwriters developing material fOr future record isolation performance put forth in the design could not be
productions. Formerly. he was editor of Recording positively verified until all the doors and windows were
Engineer! Producer. mounted. When finalh it could be measured, performance was

[Link]
as expected. except for the wall between the mixdown room and
studio B. It was good. but not good enough. All concerned
could not understand why the three -wall system was not
meeting its specifications. The walls were somehow FUNDAMENTALS OF
mechanically coupled. The three panes of plate glass were AUDIO RECORDING
removed and the dead air gaps between the three walls were
JUNE 1 -12, 1981
analyzed. The isolator material used with the floating floors had
also been used between the two stud walls and the middle block
wall. This was diagnosed as the problem. It seemed that the
isolation board was excellent if sufficiently compressed by the
poured concrete. but --as was the case between the walls -the Advanced studies at The Banff Centre School of
vinyl coating acted as a rigid connector when lightly loaded. Fine Arts, the unique, world- renowned educational
The two gaps were cleared of the board. and the windows were centre in the heart of the spectacular Canadian
re- installed. Rockies.
Measurements were again made. The specs were impressive.
but there was still a bit of transmission. A mechanic's An intensive professional seminar on thedevelop-
stethescope confirmed that there was still a slight amount of ment of recording techniques and technology,
coupling. The glass was again removed. and the two spaces once with daily classes and discussions and practical
again checked. The only thing that connected any of the three recording experience.
walls together was the pile carpet that covered the gaps. so the Instructor Stephen Temmer is President of Gotham
carpet was cut. and a special wood moulding was used to Audio Corporation of New York and Hollywood,
provide a visual cover. A small air gap exists between the and has brought his expertise and knowledge to
overhanging wood lip and the carpet on the other side. Thus, this seminar at The Banff Centre School of Fine
there is virtually nothing connecting the three wall systems Arts since 1976.
together. When the windows were once again installed and
measurements made, the system now met the transmission loss Application deadline: March 15, 1981
requirements.
For information and applications, contact: The Registrar.
CONTROL ROOMS The Banff Centre School of Fine Arts. Station 02, Box 1020,
Takashi had also specifically defined the acoustic criteria for Banff, Alberta, Canada TOL OCO. Phone: (403)762 -3391.
the control rooms and studios. The two control rooms. of
course, had to be identical. They had to accept the wide variety
of speakers which at some future date Yamaha might want to THE BANFF CENTRE
analyze. It was important that the machine area could be closed
off from the rest of the control room. But at other times, the SCHOOL OF FINE ARTS
machine area should open directly into the control room for
those engineers who not only want to see the tape machines
running. but need to have quick access to them. To satisfy both
criteria. the machine area to the rear of each control room was
designed to be closed off with large folding doors that extend
the full width of the control room. Long double-layer glass was
installed in each door so that visibility is maintained. When in
place. adequate attenuation of machine noise is achieved, while
Get Aligned
low frequencies from the control room can pass through the
machine area which acts as a bass trap.
True to the intent of the project, a newly- designed four-way
StQy Aligned
speaker system is installed in control room A. All the Yamaha
crossovers and amplifiers are mounted in an air -conditioned
with precision
STL
rack at the back of the machine area. ( Both stock and prototype
units are being used.) A Solid -State Logic console was selected
magnetic test tapes
for this room. The decision to purchase this particular board
was based on the feeling that the Solid -State Logic design
These dependable tapes are used by
would most likely be adaptable to the increasing digital broadcasters, recording studios, equip-
interface requirements. ment manufacturers, governments and
In addition to the same main monitor speaker system above educators throughout the world. Widest
the window, control room B used UREI 813 speakers at both variety...Alignment, Sweep, Pink Noise,
sides of the window. Because of the small size of the window Level Set, Azimuth and Flutter/Speed.
between control room B and studio B, this gives the added
bonus of having sound localization at ear level.
Available on reels, in cartridges and in
cassettes Also, the Standard Tape
.

STUDIO A Manual & the Magnetic Tape Reproducer

Studio A was designed as a state -of- the-art multi -track Calibrator.
recording space. Two mid -bass slat absorbers cover most of the
two outside walls of A and use varied sizes and spacings of Phone for fast delivery or free catalog.
wood planks. Behind the slats are 8-to -12 -inch deep insulated
cavities. These two wall surfaces give good bass absorption and,
at the same time, high -frequency reflection and diffusion.
Tucked in the walls on both sides of these two surfaces are
absorptive panels that can be slid on tracks to any place in front
of the slat absorbers. With panels in position, the reflection
T0
from the wood absorbers is eliminated, and since the panels are STANDARD TAPE LABORATORY, INC.
thin, the amount of bass absorption remains constant.
The corner areas where these panels retract also serve as bass
traps. In keeping with the conservation -of -space theme, some of co

Circle 39 on Reader Service Card

[Link]
the other bass traps were also designed to double as storage STUDIO B
closets. It was George's feeling that there is little acoustic Since studio B was built for product evaluations and other
advantage to completely packing a bass trap with fiberglas. so experimental usage, the interior design is a bit less exotic than
the valuable space it occupies can also serve other purposes. A. Again, walls are faced with three types of acoustic panels.
The rest of the acoustic interiors are made up of a and a wood mural with a large slatted bass absorber at one end
combination of three different types of absorptive panels. is similar to that in studio A. The ceiling treatment is a rather
(These are essentially the same as those used by John P. conventional suspended ceiling with a great deal of fiberglas
Edwards in a number of his studio designs.) Type C is fairly absorption above it.
broad -band but does not absorb mid and low bass. Type B is The room is also equipped with a panel that slides up and
reflective at higher frequencies, but absorptive at lower down in front of the window to control room B. This can be slid
frequencies since it acts as both a panel absorber and a down to close off the visual connection between the audio and
Helmholtz resonator. Type A is exactly like B. only the panels the control room, when different programs are occurring
are positioned with the soft fiberglas facing into the room. It simultaneously in these two areas.
provides both low -and high -frequency absorption, since the top
end is absorbed in the exposed fiberglas, while the bass OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
continues on through, to be dissipated by the perforated - Needless to say, the air conditioning had to be more than
masonite panels. All of the panels were covered with felt and are quiet. It had to be silent. Five separate systems, on separate
indistinguishable once mounted. slabs, were used; one for each of the studios and control rooms,
How many of each type panel, and where placed, determines and one for the rest of the building. Bruce Walker. special
the characteristics of the room. If changes become necessary. consultant for air conditioning and noise control, made
one type of panel can be replaced with another, since they are all suggestions on the original plans. All of the machinery is
removable after installation. The panels were also made in a decoupled from the concrete slabs, and very large and flexible
variety of sizes so they could be used wherever needed in both ducting was used throughout.
studios. The lighting for the studios and control rooms is extensive
The studio A ceiling is totally non -parallel to the floor. This and can be adjusted at a multi- dimmer panel situated toward
was difficult to achieve, but it was Peter Creamer who finally the side of each control room. All of the lighting, service lines.
came up with an approach that is both acoustically acceptable and isolated power systems were designed for minimum
and visually exciting. The main area of Studio A is covered with interference with the audio systems. and there is a large single -
hardwood parquet and as an option, a carpet may be put down point ground system.
if a deader room is desired. The audio circuitry installed by Carl Yancher and Steve
The room also has two sound chimneys for guitar and bass Fouce of Lakeside Audio Associates was equally thorough.
guitar miking. One of them is located near the acoustically - There are five duplicate input/ output panels in studio A, four in
damped area of the room, and another at a rather -lively corner studio B and one in each of the isolation booths. Each panel has
of the studio. 48 mic inputs, speaker outputs from A and B, cues from A and
The soffit above the window in the studio is covered with grill B. and a blank portion for future expansion. Tie lines were
cloth to create another space for acoustical adjustment. This is made between studio A and B, with 24 mic lines. 48 audios, 120
also where the air conditioning supply and plenums are placed. controls, and video lines. The lab has panels from both studios
along with a pair of Yamaha NSI000 speakers. for special experimental purposes. The reverberation systems
Between all the rooms, acoustic double-doors and sound locks are housed in the attic space above the office, and can be used by
were used, with the exception of the two isolation booths. both A and B with an electronically- switched priority circuit.
Interleaving glass sliding doors made by Arcadia Manu- Yamaha's substantial effort, made into a long- awaited
facturing were used for separating these areas. Many designers research facility, has finally become a reality,
feel these particular units are the best glass sliding doors for It is likely that years ahead will see this studio gain a
acoustic application. They seal very well and feature a threshold reputation built on its quality sound, as well as the new products
which can take heavy machinery being rolled over it without the that are developed through new information and discoveries
tracks being damaged. made there.

PARTICIPATING IN THE YAMAHA PROJECT...

Hiro Kato, manager Architect
Yamaha R & D Studio Peter T. Creamer
1019 South Central Ave. 12345 Ventura Blvd.. No. G
Glendale. CA 91204 Studio City, CA 91604
(213) 760 -3444
Acoustic Specifications by
Takashi Fujita Air Conditioning and Noise Control Consultant
Yamaha Electro- acoustics Laboratory. Japan Bruce Walker
Bruce Walker Consultants and Research Inc.
Acoustical consultant 2659 Townsgate Rd.
George Augspurger Westlake Vilage, CA 91361
Perception Inc. (805) 497 -1902
Box 39536
Los Angeles. CA 90039 Audio Circuitry
(213) 933-5601 Carl J. Yanchar and Stephen Fouce
Lakeside Associates
306 West Third St.. Suite 300
Los Angeles, CA 90013
(213) 843-6916

[Link]
 db is the leader
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For more information write or call us at

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[Link]
JOHN BORWICK

Scene From Europe

APRS Digital Get-Together

Two meetings of A PRS members led to face to face discussions
between parties representing all sides of the digital industry.

BRMSH RECORDING studios and engineers have often NEW WORKING PARTY
had good reason to be grateful that the pioneers in
this mushrooming industry banded together to form
The users present and future -of digital recording
equipment are at least as anxious as the design engineers for the
a Trade Association nearly 30 years ago. The As-
industry to go digital in worldwide harmony. While a single
sociation of Professional Recording Studios (APRS) was studio can go it alone with any of the digital machines now on
inaugurated in 1951 and now has about 150 member studios. offer (on sale or lease). the interchange of masters and
From the outset, the APRS aimed at fostering good relations completed programs surely demands a measure of agreement
with the manufacturing side of the industry, and so there was a on the main digital parameters. At the same time, the final
"Manufacturing Member" category. At first, this was shape and performance specifications of future domestic
conkprised of just a few custom pressing plants, but later on, software and hardware units must be taken into account when
other equipment manufacturers saw the advantages of APRS the professional decks, mixers and transfer devices are being
membership. Today, about 60 of them have joined. plus various designed and operated.
educational studios and overseas organizations. The need for studio users to make their voices heard on this
One obvious APRS activity which clearly benefits all its burning question prompted the APRS (which already acts as
members is the Annual Exhibition of Professional Recording the British industry's spokesman in discussions with
Equipment held in London each June. (See Reports in db government and other official bodies) to convene an
Magazine, September 1978, September 1979.) Other helpful exploratory co- ordination meeting back in February of 1980.
activities have included the preparation of calibrated alignment This took place during the AES London Convention and was
tapes, guidelines for the leadering and labelling of tapes conducted by an independent Chairman, Dr. Richard Helyer of
submitted for disc transfer, a standard form of Artists Contract, Digitalent, London. More than 40 people representing all sides
legal advice, joint -venture participation in overseas exhibitions. of the industry attended, either as observers or participants.
training courses in basic studio engineering, digital techniques Protagonist organizations represented included the BBC,
and computers, and the sponsorship of a wide -ranging Polygram, MCI, EMI, Ampex, Studer, 3M, Decca, Neve,
handbook "Sound Recording Practice" (published by Oxford Sonopress, Sony and BASF.
University Press, second edition price $55.00). From time to Part of the background to this meeting had been the
time, the APRS has also set up meetings and forums on subjects frustration felt by some European representatives when they
of high topical interest, and the most recent of these have been had been prevented from bringing this problem fully out into
related to digital recording. the open at the November 1979 AES Convention in New York.
The present attitude of the AES is that they should not call
meetings specifically to discuss standards for new technological
developments. The fact that such meetings could be construed
as running contrary to US Anti -trust Laws had been pointed
out. for example, by Stephen F. Temmer. President of Gothan
Audio Corporation. His view was that. "Standards have their
important place in all areas. They also should be kept out of
John Barwick is db British correspondent. areas which have not yet reached the marketplace; i.e. while

[Link]
innovation is still in progress and competition is needed to and possibly delay the wide acceptance of a domestic playback
advance the state -of -the -art" (letter published in Recording format. Björn Blüthgen reported that he had offered (at the
/:itgineer/ Producer. April I980). May AES Convention) to produce a tape with and without 15
The February meeting discussed at some length the several kHz filtering. He had used a filter which was a colossal 140 dB
digital systems now in existence. It was decided to set up a down at 16 kHz; yet, when proper attention was paid to group
Working Party to review what action should be taken to resolve delay distortion, even "golden ears" found it difficult to identify
the problem. It was also decided that the APRS should act as which portions of the tape were filtered.
Secretariat for the time being. The meeting chairman, Hugh Ford, made it clear that full
cooperation with the AES was essential. There seemed little
WORKING PARTY MEETS IN BRIGHTON doubt that this cooperation was guaranteed by the large
number of those present who would also be at the next AES
File first meeting of the Working Part% '. duly organized by
Committee meeting during the New York Convention (October
the APRS on September 22nd, 1980 in Brighton, during the
31 to November 1 1980).
International Broadcasting Convention. All interested parties
had been invited to attend, and indeed the register of those LONDON, 28th NOVEMBER 1980
attending read like a "Who's Who" of digital recording. The
Almost the same line -up of about 40 interested parties
Chair was again taken by an independent engineer. Hugh D.
attended the next meeting of the Working Party in London on
Ford.
28th November. 1980. One change was an increased attendance
Bjorn Blüthgen (Polygram. Germany) put forward the view
by studio engineers, so that the user's point of view was given
that studio members should be equipped with each of the
more prominence.
competing digital systems before any useful assessment of their
Editing of digital recordings was discussed at considerable
relative merits could be made -followed by the hoped -for
length. While several engineers had found that digital editing.
-

feedback to manufacturers of features most desired by

on any of the systems currently in use, took a little longer than
practicing recording personnel. Blüthgen handed out copies of
traditional cut- and -splice methods, they had been able to
a "User's Questionnaire" which he had dispatched to a wide list
achieve phenomenal accuracy. The possibility of introducing a
of manufacturers and potential users back in January. controlled. and rehearsed, degree of cross -fade at the editing
Responses so far received indicated it wide support for the idea
point was also useful. The point was also made that digital
that some harmonization. if not standardization, of essential
machines were mechanically more noisy and distracting than
tape: track signal format parameters was highly desirable.
analogue recorders. particularly during frequent search and
(Herr Blüthgen's questionnaire has since been printed in the play operations, and often had to be located outside the control
Journal of the A ES. September 1980 issue, along with a report room for this reason
of the May 4th meeting of the AES Digital Audio Technical
On the question of cost, smaller studios felt that a full digi-
Committee, held during the AES West Coast Convention in
tal installation was still prohibitively expensive. The 3M
Los Angeles.)
representatives confirmed that a complete package with
Dr. Toshi T. Doi (Sony, Japan) distributed sheets outlining
the format jointly agreed to by Sony and Strider (Switzerland)
editor would cost something approaching £100.000. The
for stationary head digital audio recording. On the vexed figure of £10,000 quoted for the 1/4-inch Mitsubishi linear
question of sampling rates, this document suggests three recorder with cut editing was a cheaper proposition which
might appeal to smaller studios. As for ultimate sound quality,
nominal rates: 50.4 kHz for highest quality studio recording. to
provide a safety margin and maintain 20 kHz bandwidth on the [Link] came in for high praise, but it was a
machines having ±I0 percent pitch control (said to be a studio
limiting factor that a producer was obliged to visit Salt Lake
requirement for special effects); 44.1 kHz for other studio City to supervise the editing. It was noted that Soundstream
was planning to set up editing facilities in Europe and other US
applications, digital audio discs and machines based on PAL or
SECAM video tape recorders; 32 kHz for broadcasting etc.. in centers during 1981.
accordance with the EBU (European Broadcasting Union) The next Working Party meeting was scheduled to take place
Standard. in the Connaught Rooms. London on January 30th, 1981.
Guy McNally (BBC, Great Britain) reported that the BBC
was working on a general standards converter. on the APRS STUDIO GUIDE
assumption that 32 kHz, plus at least one other sampling rate. The APRS has compiled an up -to-date directory of its
would be needed in the future. F.A. Griffiths ( Decca, Great member studios. The 74 -page guide lists each member in
Britain) agreed that a standards converter was already a much - alphabetical order, and provides details of studio dimensions,
needed item if the plurality of machines now in studio use were recording equipment and other facilities. Where appropriate.
to be exploited to the full. He pointed to the need for flexible an indication is also given of the studio's expertise in areas other
editing facilities and that these when designed properly. could than conventional music sessions, such as radio commercials,
give studio engineers better editing control than the old speech recordings and audio -visual presentations.
analogue techniques. Currently, APRS membership has been extended to some
Thomas Bermingham (3M, USA) stressed that he and his I80 studios. The majority are based in Great Britain, but to date
colleagues were attending as observers rather than Working just over 20 European studios have also become APRS
Party participants, pending a ruling on the U.S. Laws situation. members. The newly- published guide will be used to promote
He declared his company's keenness to secure the maximum the activities of the Association of Professional Recording
feedback from studio users, with 30 machines already in the Studios and its growing membership at important exhibitions
field. The 3M view was that. "While adoption of a universal around the world.
machine format remains a more distant possibility, Copies of the directory will also be sent to record companies,
establishment of a signal standard at an early date would producers, advertising agencies and other similar organizations
represent a major step forward. " The sampling rate proposed in who regularly book session time at both large and small
the 3M document was 50 kHz. While this rate could be recording studios.
converted for compatibility with film, TV, and other systems. Copies of the new Guide to APRS Member Studios are
other parameters were at variance with the Sony proposals. available from The Secretary, Edward Masek, 23 Chestnut
This led to a general discussion on such basics as the Avenue, Chorleywood, Herts WD3 4HA. Telephone:
minimum audio bandwidth needed for high quality reproduc- Rickmansworth 72907.
tion of music. Several speakers felt that 15 kHz was adequate, The next APRS Exhibition will be held on June 10 -12, 1981
which made a sampling rate of 32 kHz both an economic and a in a new venue, the Kensington Exhibition Centre, Kensington
subjectively- acceptable value. Others felt that 20 kHz should be High Street, London. Inquiries should be directed to the APRS
regarded as a minimum, even though this would increase costs, Secretary.

[Link]
 ROY KOMACK and BRIAN MORIARTY

The Bose® 802

Professional Loudspeaker
System
An alternative to the compromises of conventional technology.

T
HE PAST DECADE has seen significant advances in 1. A pair of Bose 802 professional speakers. The SS -3

the science of professional sound reinforcement. speaker stand is easily folded for storage and transportation.
Increasing control sophistication and improved
electronic circuit design have enhanced the realism
and expanded the creative potential of "live "sound production.
Yet, speakers are still the same: big, heavy, difficult to install,
expensive to move around. Loudspeaker arrays often dominate
the visual aspect of live performances, and that artificial, ear -
fatiguing "horn sound" is a haunting reminder that the quality
of live sound reinforcement is not yet as lifelike and natural -
sounding as many fine home music systems.
This is not to say that loudspeaker design has not progressed.
But the progress has been in the areas of conversion efficiency
and durability, rather than user convenience or naturalness of
sound. The problem lies in the continued application of
traditional design criteria, adapted from the primitive
technologies of the past. Designers have neglected the practical
need of installers and performers by perpetuating "tried and
true" ideas and materials. Consequently, the industry has
learned to live with the inadequacies of available technology,
accepting them as fundamentally inevitable and even
desirable. Thus, we still hear that large speakers auto-
matically deliver bass response. and that horns and multi -
way systems arre the only was to get proper performance.
SOME SYSTEM LIMITATIONS
I here are limits to what can be achieved with the traditional

tools of loudspeaker design. For example, multi-way systems

and large wood enclosures are inherently unsuitable in many
real -life situations, and their use entails important performance
compromises in any situation.
Multi -way drivers. Dividing the audible range among a number
of specialized drivers was the "only way to go" in 1930. But
modern physics and psychoacoustics have uncovered a number
of drawbacks to this approach.
For near-field listeners, the physical separation of low-, mid -
and high-frequency drivers can produce a distinctly unnatural
"spatial discontinuity" effect. Varying dispersion patterns
create difficulties with coverage, feedback control and

Roy Komack is Professional Products marketing

manager and Brian Moriarty. technical writer for
v Bose Corporation. Framingham, Massachusetts.

[Link]
[Link] full-range helical voice coil drivers are mounted 3. The 802 helical voice coil. The axial gap in the bobbin
on four angled facets for smooth dispersion. eliminates eddy current losses.

wandering stereo localization. Add to this the complexity and speaker. The pentagon- shaped 800 system utilized eight 4%-
unsightliness of typical stacked arrays and the uncertain effects inch drivers mounted on two front facets, with a separate active
of time incoherence. and the problems of multi-way systems electronic equalizer controlling the frequency response of the
often outweigh the advantages. system to achieve a flat total radiated power spectrum. Its
Crossover networks. The evils of multi-way systems are compact design and lifelike sound made it popular among small
compounded by their associated crossover networks. Response performing groups and in various sound reinforcement
coloration, phase shift and /or power losses are unavoidable in installations.
even the most sophisticated passive networks. Some of these Further study suggested that the ruggedness and portability
effects can be minimized by using active crossovers and multiple of the 800 speaker could be substantially improved if the wood
power amplifiers, but only at greatly increased system cost and enclosure was replaced with some more suitable material. And,
complexity. some additional refinement of the drivers and the equalization
Wood enclosures. Materials for speaker cabinets should be system would make possible an entirely new speaker. which will
be described below. Because of these enhanced value -and-
selected for their rigidity and freedom from resonance, light
weight, ease of fabrication and durability, not for historical or performance characteristics. the 800 system was honorably
sentimental reasons. There is no inherent advantage in using retired and, in 1978, the Bose 802 Professional Loudspeaker
wood for a sound reinforcement speaker enclosure. In fact, the System appeared in its place.
only way to construct an acceptably rigid and durable wood There are no woofers, tweeters, midrange drivers. crossover
enclosure is to sacrifice ease of installation and portability. networks or wood parts in the system. Like its predecessor. it
contains a matched array of eight 41/2-inch full -range drivers.
Horn Srstems. The off-axis frequency response of horns is
Each driver employs a one -piece. forged backplate/ polepiece
rarely uniform. Sharp "skirts" in their dispersion patterns make
and a high- energy ceramic magnet that is 20 percent heavier
it difficult to achieve good results in areas where one horn takes
than the Model 800 driver magnet. This extra magnet weight
over from another. These and other factors lead to that
improves sensitivity by approximately 0.5 dB. The front plate is
characteristic "horn sound."
permanently molded into the driver frame, which is made of
This brief overview illustrates some of the severe restrictions glass- reinforced thermoplastic polyester. Its non -magnetic
imposed by traditional speaker designs. No amount of tinkering composition significantly reduces flux leakage. thereby adding
can completely overcome these basic disadvantages of size, another 0.5 dB to the sensitivity. Changes in the surround
weight and sound quality. It is virtually impossible to produce a system and the shape of the driver cone increase the effective
truly practical, natural- sounding professional loudspeaker piston area by about 20 percent, for an additional I dB of
system with conventional technology. efficiency.
The Model 800 voice coil was completely redesigned for the
AN ALTERNATE APPROACH 802 system. Fabricated entirely from aluminum, the new coil
In 1962, a U.S. Patent was awarded to M.I.T. Professor consists of flat ribbon wire wound edgewise on a one -inch
Amar G. Bose for a loudspeaker system consisting of an diameter bobbin. The critical winding operation is performed
electronically- equalized array of small, closely -spaced full -range by custom automated equipment which holds dimensional
drivers. The faceted front baffle and close spacing of the drivers variations to less than 0.001 inch. The coil's edgewound
created a natural, lifelike dispersion pattern without the spatial configuration increases the amount of wire in the magnetic gap
discontinuity of physically separated multi -way driver arrays. by 50 percent. for a sensitivity improvement of 2 dB. The use of
The radiation pattern simulates the broad dispersion aluminum lowers the total coil mass by 10 percent. enhancing
characteristics of human voices and musical instruments more the transient response and adding another 0.5 dB to the
closely than traditional speaker designs, which concentrate the efficiency. DC resistance is also lowered by 10 percent.
sound in a narrow beam. Because the speaker was designed for improving the sensitivity by yet another 0.5 dB. Taken together,
far -field listening environments, the issue of time coherence these design refinements yield a net sensitivity increase of 5 dB
(which has become prominent in the studio environment) loses over the Model 800 driver. Equivalent SPLs can therefore be
its importance. This concept was introduced to the professional achieved with only one-third as much amplifier power.
sound reinforcement industry in 1972 with the Bose Model 800 Alternatively, the wide dynamic range and durability of the 802 tp

[Link]
system allows it to radiate two to three times as much energy as front of the speaker in the near field. In virtually every other
its predecessor. In addition, the change from a nylon to an listening situation, the dominant sound energy comes from the
aluminum bobbin, and from conventional enamel to an reverberant field, and what the listener perceives is a function of
advanced high- temperature insulating system, increases the the average frequency response at all points on an imaginary
power handling capacity of the driver from 10 watts to 20 watts sphere surrounding the loudspeaker system. This is known as
continuous, a 100 percent improvement. the total radiated power spectrum of the system. Speakers
designed for flat on -axis response may "look better" on paper.
FULL -RANGE SOUND FROM "MID- RANGE" DRIVERS but do not sound realistic because they do not radiate enough
\.in the Model 800 speaker, the 802 drivers are mounted high- frequency energy into the reverberant field. For this
\rr\ closely to each other to take advantage of the "coupling reason, the Bose 802 loudspeaker is designed for flat total power
eftcct." Because the driver spacing is small compared to the radiation, which more closely corresponds to the way frequency
wavelength of any bass frequency, the drivers act together as if response is actually perceived in real environments.
they were a single transducer of cone area equivalent to the sum
of the eight individual cone areas plus all of the area between IMPEDANCE CONTROL NETWORK
and among the eight cones. The e((ective cone area is therefore Bose engineers ran into an unusual problem in determining
about the same as that of a I5 -inch woofer. the proper equalization curve for the 802 system. It was found
Wide -range driver design is always a compromise between that the prototype eight -driver array exhibited an undesirably -
response extension and efficiency. A simple unassisted driver or high impedance in the region above 8 kHz -so high that it
array of drivers capable of flat response over the entire audible required more than 22 dB of compensating boost at 16 kHz to
spectrum (supposing such a device could exist) would be grossly achieve accurate response. This amount of equalization would
inefficient; any measures taken to improve the efficiency would have used up too much amplifier headroom and caused possible
degrade the response. For this reason, no attempt was made to instability problems. So a special impedance control network
give the 802 driver an inherently flat frequency response. It was was developed to tame the rising high- frequency impedance
instead optimized for the highest possible efficiency, power characteristic of the array.
handling capacity and durability. The response of the 802 The network consists of a 10- microfarad capacitor wired in
system is broadened and "flattened out" by a separate line -level series with a current -sensitive protection device similar to an
active electronic equalizer. which incorporates two identical !O- incandescent lamp. This circuit is connected in parallel with
pole processing channels (for stereophonic applications). There four of the eight drivers in each enclosure. Under normal signal
are no controls other than a power switch: its fixed equalization conditions, the capacitor partially bypasses these four drivers so
characteristics are the inverse of the unequalized response of the that the high -frequency impedance of the system is lowered. If
802 driver array (see FIGURE 4). Twelve dB-per- octave presented with a level of high -frequency energy that would
infrasonic and ultrasonic filters are included to reduce power endanger the other four drivers, the impedance of the protective
waste. slew rate distortion and high frequency interference. The device rises, effectively removing the capacitor from the circuit
802 equalizer's detailed response curve takes into account the and allowing all eight drivers to share the load. This simple
combined effects of driver response, enclosure characteristics, network substantially reduces the equalization requirement and
even the absorption of the grille material. The unit is usually also protects the speakers from the high frequencies generated
inserted into an audio system between the pre- and power by amplifier clipping or current limiting.
amplifiers, or into the effects loop of integrated mixer amplifiers.
The frequency response of loudspeakers is usually designed COUPLING CONTROL INSERTS
to be flat when measured on -axis in an anechoic chamber. This A prominent feature of the Bose 802 loudspeaker is the dual
practice is only appropriate for studio monitor speakers reactive air column system, designed to reduce excessive cone
because it assumes that the listener will be located directly in excursion at low frequencies. This "portlike" system, tuned to

[Link] equalization characteristics of the 802 -E active

equalizer are accurately matched to the drivers and
enclosure of the speaker to produce a flat total radiated
power spectrum.

802 -E Equalizer Frequency Response

+25
+20
+15
+10
+ 5

- 5

-10
-15
20 30 40 60 100 200 400 600 1kHz 2 3 4 6 810 20
Hz FREQUENCY

[Link]
55 Hz. provides most of the energy radiation in the bottom process for a perfect airtight seal. The one -piece removable
octave of the musical spectrum. Since the driver cones do not cover features a deep integrated carrying handle. space for
have to travel as far, low -frequency distortion is considerably various mounting accessories and spare parts, plus a storage
lower than in sealed -box speaker systems. This resonant system compartment for the 802 -E Active Equalizer. A system of rails
improves the bottom -octave sensitivity by about I dB. and grooves on the enclosure allows it to be safely stacked on
Prior to the development of the 802 system, there was no top of other enclosures or cradled in its own cover at different
method of stabilizing a ported multiple -driver speaker system. angles for use as a stage monitor (foldback) speaker.
File problem was that slight efficiency differences among the The Bose Professional Products Division has prepared a
drivers caused them to force each other out of phase during comprehensive Engineers' and Architects' Design Guide which
powerful bass passages. The air columns incorporate a unique reviews some of the basic sound reinforcement system design
solution to this problem. criteria. In addition, the guide documents the physical and
Each air column is loaded with a thin disc of polyester batting acoustical characteristics of the Bose system. Direct sound field
(a material of randomly-oriented fibers) which slightly contour maps and design equations may help the system
obstructs air flow in the columns. These coupling control inserts designer predict and control maximum SPL, coverage and
lower the Q of the enclosure vent system and decouple the articulation loss for various combinations of stacking,
drivers from one another at resonance. Both column assemblies placement and amplifier power. (Excerpts from the Design
are easily removable without tools so that the inserts can be Guide are presented at the end of this feature -Ed.)
changed if they become clogged over years of operation in dusty
environments. This convenient and completely airtight method IN CONCLUSION
of user -replaceable vent damping was recently awarded U.S. The time has come for loudspeaker designers to become as
Patent Numher 4,180,140. open- minded and innovative as the rest of the industry. The
enormous potential of new materials and production
STRUCTURAL FOAM ENCLOSURE techniques should be turned loose on this rather hidebound
Perhaps the most unusual and innovative component of the segment of the audio community. The improvements it is
system is the enclosure itself. Seasoned professionals shake possible to make in this area can be heard and appreciated by
their heads and mutter unkind things about plastic when they anyone, while so- called "breakthroughs" in the minutiae of
see it. But when they lift a speaker in each hand without turning amplifier and mixer operating specifications offer little, if any.
red, the advantages of structural foam in loudspeaker real benefit to listeners. Growing public interest in noise
fabrication become very apparent. reduction techniques. digital recording, and motion picture
The enclosure is composed of high -density polyethelene sound is a powerful indicator that audiences can discriminate
copolymer, reinforced with 10 percent mica for improved between "live" and "canned" sound and care about the
ruggedness and impact strength. It is manufactured by difference. Manufacturers must be willing to meet this
structural foam molding in three separate pieces: main case. challenge with fresh ideas and bold, innovative products. The
hack panel and cover. Interior surfaces of the case and back Bose 802 loudspeaker system is only the beginning of what will
panel are heavily ribbed to eliminate vibration, and assure high hopefully become a new generation of speakers that eliminate
mechanical rigidity After system wiring, the back panel is needless compromises in the quality of professional sound
permanently fused to the case by the EMAbond RF welding reinforcement.

Engineers' and Architects' Design Guide

SOUND REINFORCEMENT SYSTEM DESIGN V-
In designing a sound reinforcement system, three of Volume of the room in cubic meters.
the most important performance criteria to be satisfied S-
are: maximum achievable SPL, uniformity of coverage, Sensitivity of the speaker system. The SPL at one
and articulation loss (intelligibility). meter on axis with one nominal watt applied to the
terminals of the speaker.

DEFINITIONS
A-
Amplifier power, in watts.
Al.(SrJ-
Articulation Loss (in percent). That percentage of D,-
consonants from a standard word list that will be Critical Distance. The distance, in meters, from the
misunderstood when the list is spoken through the speaker, on axis, at which the strengths of the direct
sound reinforcement system. It is generally agreed that and the reverberant sound fields are equal.
up to 15 percent loss is acceptable, in these context -free D, _ .0565 QV RTnu
lists. D>--
RTno- -
The distance, in meters. from the speaker, on axis, to
Reverberation Time. The time (in seconds) required the point at which it is aimed.
for the sound level in the room to decay by 60dB, once H-
the input is stopped. The height, in meters. from the floor to the speaker.
(H is zero for stage -level speakers.)
Q
Directivity of the speaker system. The ratio of the Dr --
sound pressure on axis of the speaker to what it would The "throw" distance. The distance, in meters. from
he if the speaker were an omnidirectional radiator a point on the floor directly below the speaker to the
of the same conversion efficiency. aiming point. CJ1

[Link]
 loudspeaker

` - total sound field H

... reverberant field aiming

stage point
direct
field) - -___ audience area
stage rear DT
Dc of room
distance from stage

MAXIMUM ACHIEVABLE SPL not the same as fidelity, and that the concept of articula-
First. calculate the maximum achievable sound tion loss is relevant only to speech reinforcement systems.
pressure level at the rear of the room for the direct field not to music amplification systems. The human singing
and for the reverberant field. At least one of these values voice is to be considered music, not speech; and the
must equal or exceed the job requirement. traditional approach to minimizing the articulation loss
For the reverberant field: in speech may actually degrade the quality of amplified
SPL,,, = S 20 log(Dj + IO log(A). singing or other music. With this caution understood.
we will proceed to the calculation of articulation loss
For the direct field: in a speech reinforcement system.
SPLm, = S-20 log(D2) + 10 log(A). The articulation loss at the aiming point of the speaker
If the SPL is not sufficient to meet the job requirement. is calculated by one of the two following formulas:
either the amplifier power or the number of speakers.
AL( %) = 0.9 (D2, DO 2RTeo, when (D2, Dc12 < 10.
or both. must be increased. Remember that each AL( %) = 0.9RT6o, when (D2/ DO > 10.
doubling of the total system power will increase the It is generally agreed that the maximum acceptable
SP! .by3dB.
articulation loss in a speech reinforcement system is
15 percent. If the formulas above yield a value greater
UNIFORMITY OF DIRECT -FIELD COVERAGE than 15 for the rear of the audience, one of two ap-
To determine the ratio of direct -to- reverberant sound proaches must be taken. One alternative is to use a
throughout the seating area, follow the following secondary speaker system (possibly time -delayed) to
procedure: cover that portion of the audience for whom (D2/11)2 is
I. Calculate the critical distance, as described previously too great.
under Definitions. The other possible solution is to use a speaker system
2. Determine the distance from the speaker to the with a higher Q; for example, changing from a single
aiming point, D2. Remember that D2 = /H2
+ D2. 802 speaker to a stacked pair. This has the effect of
3. Calculate the difference, in dB, between the direct increasing Dc . the critical distance.
and reverberant fields at the aiming point by, SPL (D/ R) The polar plots below demonstrate the significant
= 20 log(Dc /D2). increase in projection capability provided by stacked
loudspeakers.
ARTICULATION LOSS NOTE: The complete Design Guide is available on request
Before embarking upon the calculation of articulation from the Bose Corporation. Dept. ADG, 100 The Mountain
loss, it is important to remember that intelligibility is Road, Framingham, Mass. 01701.

Polar Dispersion Patterns

0 0° 00

270 L,'- 90 270° 90 270= 90° 270` 90=

180 180
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FOR SALE

dbx 155 FOR IMMEDIATE DELIVERY MCI JH -110 -A 8 -track with remote,
UAR Professional Systems, 8535 Fair- CONSOLES $8500. dbx 158, $1900. Speck 800 -C
KITS A WIRED
haven, San Antonio, TX 78229. 512 -690- AMPLIFIERS 16 x 8 board with sweepable EQ, in custom
UIC, MACH LINE.
8888. TAPE. DISC, POWER console, $5200. (512) 472 -8975.
OSCILLATORS
AUDIO. TAPI RIAS

PROFESSIONAL AUDIO IN TUCSON

Crown, Otani, Altec, Sound Workshop,
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MDS.
REMANUFACTURED ORIGINAL equip-
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AKG, MXR -Pro, dbx & more. Sales, de- Scully direct drive recorders, priced at
$225., available for immediate delivery
sign, service and demonstration show- REELS AND BOXES 5" and 7" large and from VIF International, PO Box 1555,
room. Autograph Pro Audio, 601 E. Black - small hubs, heavy duty white boxes. Mtn. View, CA 94042, phone (408) 739-9740.
Ildge Dr., Tucson, AZ, (602) 882 -9016. W -M Sales, 1118 Dula Circle, Duncanville,
Texas 75116 (214) 296 -2773.
LEXICON 224 Digital Reverberation. FOR
SCULLY. NEW and used: FOR IMMEDI- IMMEDIATE DELIVERY. UAR Profes-
ATE DELIVERY. UAR Professional Sys-
FOR SALE: MCI RECORDING desk sional Systems, 8535 Fairhaven, San An-
tems, 8535 Fairhaven, San Antonio, TX
model 636 with light meters, Parametric tonio, TX 78229. 512 -690 -8888.
78229. 512- 690 -8888.
Equalizer option, 36 x 36 in and out
4 EXRA Wild VCA faders. Option for 2 -24
-
TEKTRONIX 5L4N spectrum analyzer for AMPEX MM1100/1200 24 track head
track tape meter housing and 2 custom assembly. Complete with Ampex heads.
5000 series oscilloscopes. Like new, made producers tables -$75,000.00.
private owner, $3000. (615) 383-4737 days. $3,250 /offer. Dennis (415) 494 -9344.
Criteria Recording Studios, 1755 N E
149 St., Miami, FL 33181. (305) 947 -5611.

CANADIANS!
Interested In semi -pro PROFESSIONAL AUDIO EQUIPMENT
multitrack recording'? Shop for pro audio from N.Y.'s leader.
HAVE YOU EVER BEEN FRUSTRATED
no matter where you live! Use the Har-
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MOD Ella vey Pro Hot -Line. (800) 223 -2642
WITH FEEDBACK HOWL EVEN AFTER
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USING EQUALIZERS? FIND OUT
ABOUT OUR FEEDBACK STABILIZERS
broadest selection such as: Otani,
4e ,l ml JBL MOD. NO. 741 XR AND 742 XR.
and many It:: EXR, Ampex, Tascam and more. Write
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Harvey Professional Products Division BODE SOUND CO.
IIIII.l'IIIIII
RICHARD AUDIO INC.
2 W. 45th Street
New York, NY 10036
1344 ABINGTON PL.
NO. TONAWANDA, N. Y. 14120
(212) 921-5920 716.692 -1670
Ca

[Link]
AMPEX, OTARI, SCULLY -In stock, all FOR SALE: SOUND WORKSHOP 1280B, AMPEX AG- 350 -2: consoled, $1300.00:
major professional lines, top dollar trade - 12 x 8 x 2 mixing console, with patch bay unmounted, $1100 00. Crown 800 trans-
ins; 15 minutes George Washington and meters, custom wood console, good ports -quad heads, $500.00. with elec-
Bridge. Professional Audio Video Cor - condition. Otari MX5050 -8XD, eight track tronics, $650.00. Magnecord 1028 -2
poration, 384 Grand Street, Paterson, (1/2" tape) recorder with eight channels of $225.00; no electronics $75.00 (215)
New Jersey 07505. (201) 523 -3333. dbx 155 noise reduction, custom cabinet, 338 -1682.
excellent condition. Sound Workshop
Reverb, stereo model 242, excellent.
UREI: FOR IMMEDIATE DELIVERY most AVL PD3 Programmer for multi -projector Lexicon Prime Time FOR IMMEDIATE
items. UAR Professional Systems, 8535 slide shows, excellent. Delta Graph DELIVERY. UAR Professional Systems,
Fairhaven, San Antonio, TX 78229. 512- Graphic Equalizer, stereo, 10 band, new. 8535 Fairhaven, San Antonio, TX 78229.
690 -8888. Ampex 406 recording tape, 1/2", 2500' hub, 512 -690 -8888.
6 rolls, new. Audiolimited Wireless Micro-
phone System, with lavalier microphone,
excellent. FILMSPACE, 615 Clay Lane, SCULLY 280B -2 with Dolby A -361s.
COMPLETE MCI 16 TRACK STUDIO and
State College, Pa. 16801. (814) 237 -6462. mixers (Gately), mics (Schoeps, Studer,
complete color T.V. production studio for
AKG, Sony), stands, cables, etc. (201)
sale. All or individual pieces including
377 -1806 evenings and weekends, (201)
choice real estate. Call for details (608) AMPEX SPARE PARTS: technical support: 386-4487, 9 -5.
837 -4905.
updating kits, for discontinued pro-
fessional audio models; available from
VIF International, Box 1555, Mountain FOR SALE: Complete 16 -track studio
View, Ca. 94042. (408) 739 -9740. equipment, including three 3 -M 79 Series
AKG, E. V, Sennheiser Shure. Neuman: tape machines -16 -track with Select-
FOR IMMEDIATE DELIVERY most mod- Take, four and two track. $73.500. Call
els UAR Professional Systems, 8535 DOLBY M16 cat. 22 & cat. 44 cards wanted. (404) 689 -9629, Columbus, Georgia.
Fairhaven, San Antonio, TX 78229. 512- Reasonable! Jay Sound, 4300 Watertown
690 -8888. Rd., Maple Plain, MN. 55359 -Ph. (612)
475 -3151.
AKG BX20 reverberation and C414 micro-
phones. FOR IMMEDIATE DELIVERY.
AUDIOTECHNIQUES -Red Series Time UAR Professional Systems, 8535 Fair-
Sync. Biamplification and time synchro- PRO -SOUND equipment. Specializing in
phone and mail orders. Free discount haven, San Antonio, TX 78229. 512-
nization for Altec 604 monitors. $695 new, 690 -8888.
$475 demo unit. Bill Levy, Audio Con- catalog. Write or call Sonia Co., Dept. D,
tractors Inc., Buffalo, NY, (716) 856 -7717. P.O. Box 58, Indian Head, MD 20640
(301) 753 -6432.
SESCOM SM -1A DIRECT BOXES $48.00,
BGW, Beyer, EV Pro and Sentry, Renkus
FOR SALE: USED PHASE LINEAR 700B Heinz, Tapco, Ashly signal processing
AMPEX. OTARI & SCULLY recorders in
amps $450 each, 10 or more $400. New equipment in stock. Call or write for prices.
stock for immediate delivery, new and
and re -coned JBL Speakers K145, 2205, M. S. Entertainment, 1001 E. 2nd St.,
rebuilt. RCI, 8550 2nd Ave., Silver Spring,
2220, also 2440 diaphragms. Other equip- Dayton, OH 45402. (513) 461 -1202.
MD 20910. Write for còmplete product list
ment available. Call Dave at Clair Brothers
Audio (717) 733 -1211.
101 RECORDING SECRETS MOST EN- SCULLY 100-16 Track, S/N 200 with full
GINEERS WON'T TELL. $7.95 Tune- remote, one owner since new. $12,900.00.
BGW: FOR IMMEDIATE DELIVERY. UAR tonics, P.O. Box 55, Edgewater, N.J. 07020. (512) 690 -8187, Bob or Bubba.
Professional Systems, 8535 Fairhaven,
San Antonio, TX 78229. 512 -690 -8888.
THE LIBRARY...Sound effects recorded
in STEREO using Dolby throughout. Over
SOUND WORKSHOP 1280 + Expander
Super EQ -24 in /24 out, full patchbays,
4 8x2 line mixers. Console /producers
Mit,tlite 350 effects on ten discs, $100.00. Write
The Library, P.O. Box 18145, Denver,
Colo. 80218.
desk, studio ready, $8,000. Firm. (212)
253 -0379.
ORBAN. All products in stock. FOR IM-
MEDIATE DELIVERY. UAR Professional
USED: AKG BX20, EMT 140, MicMix Systems, 8535 Fairhaven, San Antonio,
Studio B. Orban 111b. Tapco 4400, TX 78229. 512- 690 -8888.
Sound Workshop 242A. New: Ecoplate
original. Ecoplate II, MicMix XL210.
MicMix XL305. Free comparison, demo -4--- INSTRUCTION
tape available. Audio House (303) 741- The gooseneck
4746. lamp you've been looking for!
Great for turntables ...
preamps ... keyboards .

.. amps .. music stands ... lecterns

=light boards ...
...
mixers
clipboards ... anywhere you WANT TO RUN A
RADIO WAREHOUSE
need a little light.
Littlite 1: Detachable 12" lamp, bulb, base with
dimmer. walplug -in power supply. storage clips
and mounting hardware. $44.95
MIXER? CONCORDIA
Cash with order = Pro -Audio Equip- Littlite -2: Same as Littlite I but with fixed COLLEGE
ment Savings lamp. S34.95 AUDIO
WORKSHOP
Add SI per order. shipping. JUNE -JULY 3. 1981
Example: AKG -0567E Lavalier 21

Microphone. $165.00. plus shipping

30 day money back guarantee.
Send check or money order to:
BASIC to ¿Cv
reinforcemen:.
:,"
All inquiries invited. Custom Audio Electronics, Inc.
Dept. DB28I
RADIO WAREHOUSE 2828 Stommel Road ' . Audio Workshop
P.O. Box 2728 Ypsilanti, Michigan 48197 Concordia College
Dallas, Texas 75221 Send for our FREE Catalog of lamps & ac- Moorhead, MN 56560
cessories or see your dealer. 218 -299-4201
(817) 496 -9000

[Link]
 SERVICES EMPLOYMENT

Keep
db
WANTED: POSITION as a 1st or 2nd
JBL AND GAUSS recording engineer, or position with a
SPEAKER WARRANTY CENTER good professional sound company or
Fast emergency service. Speaker professional audio equipment company
installations. Experience in studio re-
-
reconing and repair. Compression
driver diaphragms for immediate cording, live sound reinforcement. video
shipment NEWCOME SOUND, 4684 work and audio installations. Good, hard.
Indianola Avenue, Columbus, OH efficient worker. Eddie-(205) 263 -6353.
43214. (614) 268 -5605.
in
CUTTERHEAD REPAIR SERVICE for all
models Westrex, HAECO. Grampian.
RECORDING SERVICES ENGINEER:
Eastman School of Music. Responsible
for operational and preventive mainte-
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Modifications done on Westrex. Quick
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for sale. Send for free brochure: Inter-
nance of professional recording equip-
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order!
national Cutterhead Repair, 194 Kings Ct. recording and sound reinforcement
Teaneck, N.J. 07666. (201) 837 -1269. equipment, tape duplicator, closed -
circuit television, tape -to -disc transfer
system in recording services department.
MAGNETIC HEAD relapping -24 hour
Requires proficiency in use of all types of Special binders
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intermod distortion meters, wave ana- All you regular db readers who,
lyzers, and digital technology. 5 plus years
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ACOUSTIC CONSULTATION- Special- remote recording maintenance opera- back issues, can now get our
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Acoustilog. Bruel & Kjaer. HP, Tektronix,
Ivie, equipment calibrated on premises. ester, New York 14642. An Equal Oppor- neat order. No more torn -off
Reverberation timer and RTA rentals. tunity Employer (M /F). covers, loose pages, mixed -up
Acoustilog, 19 Mercer Street, New York, sequence. Twelve copies, Jan-
NY 10013 (212) 925 -1365.
uary to December, can be main-
tained in proper order and good
CARTRIDGE RELOADING. Factory au-
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an opportunity to join They look great, too!
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Made of fine quality royal blue
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WANTED
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WANTED: NEUMANN KM -54, KM -56, looking addition to your pro-
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Bill- (312) 642 -6465 or (312) 327 -2189. NEW ENGLAND
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WANTED- HP -333A or HP -334A distor- The man we want for this attractive North America only. (Payable
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track. Must be in fair condition or better. grasp of pro sound and communica-
Dwight Macomber, Apt. B, 22 Lloyd Ave., tions, with at least 5 years practical banks .)
Malvern, PA 19355. (215) 687 -5550. experience in the sale of systems. He r
must be capable of improving the Sagamore Publishing Co., Inc.
performance of a strong Rauland 1120 Old Country Road
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Copies of db the territory and of recruiting, train-
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Copies of all issues of db -The who will do justice to the rapidly @ $7 95 each, plus applicable sales
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are now available on 35 mm. micro - future. Send resume, in confidence Name
film. For further information or to to, or call:
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CARL DORWALDT
rectly to:
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300 North Zeeb Road City
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 60618
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106 (312) 267 -1300
State/Zip
L

[Link]
 People/Places/Happenings

URSA Major, Inc., of Belmont, MA Le Studio, the first East Coast studio Gerry Block, well -known studio en-
has announced the loan of a Space Station to install the computerized (floppy disk gineer and inventor of the Compudisk
SST -282 Digital Reverberation System system) Solid State Logic Master Studio disc mastering computer, has been ap-
to each of the five schools for use in their System, has now expanded to 48 tracks pointed general manager of the New
audio programs. The schools which sub- with video interlock. The first special York recording complex of Sigma Sound
mitted successful proposals to the using the video sync, which is obtained Studios. The move was announced by
URSA Major School Loan Program by interlocking the multi -track recorders Joseph D. Tarsia, president.
were Fredonia State University College, with a JVC % -in. videocassette, was the
the University of Iowa, the University of Peter, Paul and Mary special for the Ca- The Casino of Montreux. Switzerland
Miami (Florida). Purdue University, and nadian Broadcasting Corporation and which annually stages the famousMon-
San Francisco State University. Starting Home Box Office. In keeping with the treux Jazz Festival will acquire a perma-
in January, 1981, each school will keep fast -developing video cassette and video- nent and complete sound reinforcement
the Space Station for the duration of a disk market. Le Studio has a room for and stage monitoring system. The new
school term or proposed project, and will video cassette editing, using the JVC system, which is made up entirely of
then document what it has learned about N -in. system for post -production pre - Electro -Voice components, will be in-
reverberation and signal processing for editing on TV specials and videodisks. stalled by December 31, 1980. The Ca-
URSA Major. Currently recording at Le Studio are sino's sound reinforcement and stage
Anthem recording artists Rush. Rush is monitoring system will be almost iden-
recording the follow -up to their success- tical to the 1980 Jazz Festival installa-
Michelle Meisner has become the new
ful Permanent Waves LP which was also tion. It will include nearly 70 E -V speak-
studio manager of The Automatt record-
recorded at Le Studio. ers and speaker systems. E-V and White
ing complex in San Francisco. Prior to
equalizers, BGW and E- Vi TAPCO am-
joining the Automatt staff. Ms. Meisner
Aphex Systems Ltd., developers and plifiers, Yamaha and E -V TAPCO mix-
worked in national record promotion for
Fantasy Records. Also new at The Auto - manufacturers of sound enhancing ing consoles, an E -V electronic cross-
equipment for the professional audio and over equalizer and a Klark -Teknik digi-
matt are recording engineers Susan Gott-
music recording industry, has signed an tal time delay.
lieb and Maureen Droney. Susan Gott -
lieb's experience in engineering includes agreement with AKG Acoustics, of
Vienna, Austria. for the European firm During October 1980. the Working
work with Vance Frost& Associates, and
to market its professional and con- Group on Digital Control Interface
a teaching post at San Francisco's Music
sumer audio equipment. The inter- under the SMPTE banner finished a suc-
Recording School. Maureen Droney was cessful field test of the proposed SMPTE
chief audio technician at San Francisco
national marketing agreement was
announced in Los Angeles by Marvin standard for control of television studio
Light works. equipment, it was announced by SMPTE
Caesar, president of Aphex Systems, and
executives in Austria of AKG Acoustics, Engineering Vice President Roland J.
Each year the Audio Engineering So- which develops, manufactures and Zavada, Eastman Kodak Co. A progress
ciety makes a Publication Award to au- markets professional and consumer report prepared by G. Little, Ampex
thors of outstanding papers published in audio equipment. AKG will begin to Corp., was presented at the recently con-
the Society's Journal. This year's market six different sound enhancing cluded I22nd SMPTE Technical Con-
award was made to Laurie Fincham, audio products manufactured by Aphex ference in New York City. The docu-
Director of Engineering at KEF Elec- in the broadcast, music and consumer ments involved a proposed ANSI stan-
tronics, and his KEF colleague Mike markets iii Austria, Germany, England dard and two SMPTE Recommended
Berman, for their joint authorship of an and Africa. The agreement also calls for Practices which are well along in their
archival paper on Digital Measuring AKG to market Aphex products in preparation. This control technique is
Techniques. Entitled "Application of Eastern Europe, including Russia, expected to have a broad application
Digital Techniques to the Measure- Hungary, East Germany and Czech- in the television, film, and audio areas.
ment of Loudspeakers," the paper was oslovakia. Among the first professional
published in the AES Journal, Volume audio equipment AKG will sell will be Soundcraft, Inc. subsidiary of Sound -
25 Number 6 (June 1977). During the the Aphex Aural Exciter for recording craft Electronics, Ltd. of London. an-
same evening at the Awards Banquet, studio and broadcast application; Equal- nounced the recent installation of a Se-
Mr. Fincham also received the Board of izers, for professional musicians and re- ries 1624 24 16 recording console by
Governors Award for his chairmanship cording studios; Compressor -Expanders; Opryland Productions of Nashville.
of the 65th Convention held in London and "The Grouper." for recording Tennessee for use in their post- produc-
íßn during the past year. studios. tion center.

[Link]
 When he was 16, Humberto moved to the can hear all the human things that are all there
U.S. from Chile, where several of his relatives for the first time -I don't want to be a part of that.
were successful singers. He worked on an I have been part of one of those and it just
assembly line for a while, before wandering into drove me crazy"
MGM Studios. A year later, when an engineer
got sick before a major session, Humberto was ON NOISE REDUCTION
the only one around who could get the job "I don't use any noise reduction. never use it,
I

done. He's been getting the job done ever since either when I'm doing tracks or when I'm doing final
for an incredible variety of people, from Debbie mixes. They really affect the music. They affect
Boone to Alice Cooper, as well as Frank Sinatra, sound in general. To me, the punch is all gone. The
Sammy Davis Jr., Steve Lawrence, Tony Bennett, drums sound different. The vocals sound different.
Shaun Cassidy, The Osmonds, David Bowie, The keyboards sound different. can hear those
I

Denise Williams, Gladys Knight, Bill Champlin, things and it really bothers me, so don't want to
I

Lee Ritenour, Hall and Oates, Leo Sayer, The be a part of it"
Average White Band and Bernie Taupin, whose
album he produced. ON TAPE
"Since started with MGM, we always used
I

ON RECORD BUYERS Scotch. Only once, I've experienced a different

"When you make hits, you have to think brand of tape. And was very disappointed.
I

hits -14, 18, young. The people have to be And had a serious problem. It got so bad, like in
I

realistic. How many albums is a 27- year-old guy the middle of the mixes, the tape started giving up
going to buy, as opposed to a 15- year -old? I -heavy drop -out in places. And then the tape
mean, you go to a record store. Maybe a 16- started peeling. Not on the outside. It was giving
year -old is going to buy four albums. A 23 -year- up on the inside. mean, was doing a mix, and
I I

old is going to buy one or two-he's very picky. halfway through the song, the whole top end
He might buy very specific groups that he likes. disappeared, like someone threw a blanket on top
He might follow critics. When you make records, of the speaker. So we mixed about halfway through
you have to think kids. Those are the guys who the album. We mixed in sections. We cleaned the
buy the records" heads all over the place. We did the introduction.
Clean the heads again. We don't want to take
ON RETAKES chances. wouldn't do a project with any other
I

"I hate perfect records. You cut the basic tape besides the 250. have done the past 20
I

track, the vocals, and then the producer goes all albums, the past 30 albums all on Scotch. It gives
the way back again. He starts replacing the me what want, and what want is a real clean
I I

drums. And then he replaces the bass, because taping, punchy bottom end, very little hiss, almost
the bass doesn't feel quite right. And then he none. You have to try things in order to know if
starts doing the keyboards again. So that by the you're doing the right thing. If you don't try, you'll
time he's finished, he's done it all over again. If never know. And have tried, and the results have
I

it's not right, I understand. Let's do it all over been different"

again. But when you start patching things that
already have the specific feel in there -that SCOTCH 250
'something' that has already been printed -you WHEN YOU LISTEN FOR A LIVING.

HUMBE
GATICA
ON TAPE.

"Scotcft- a registered trademark of 3M Magne »ears You.

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AMPEX MM-1200.
WHERE GREAT STUDIOS START.
Select your multitrack recorder as carefully as the other forcement, double system sound, video sweetening ness. You can add multi -point search -to -cue and store
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the MM- 1200's versatility will. Mastering, live sound rein- accessories for the MM-1200 is the longest in the busi- Broadway. Redwood City, CA 94063 415/367-2011
401

Circle 12 on Reader Service Card

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