Archives for February 2003

Radian Audio Engineering’s MicroWedge series of low profile, ultra-compact monitor wedges have been winning friends recently, in live performance and broadcast applications.

Artists such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Linkin Park and Blink-182 have adopted the MicroWedge for their onstage monitoring, while the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 in the UK also use them regularly.

Now Event Tech, the Maryland-based event production company, has discovered that MicroWedges are well suited to corporate events as well.

The company has used them in a series of fundraisers across the U.S., including the Tour de Friends, a four-day, 330-mile bike ride from North Carolina to Washington D.C. to raise funds in support of people living with HIV/AIDS.

Event Tech has been using MicroWedge stage monitors to provide podium foldback in its standard mobile stage setup for the tour.

“We use the Radian MicroWedges for foldback for the presenters at the podium, and to fold back audio from the video that we play on a large outdoor LED wall,” explains company president and owner Eric Maynard. “That way, the presenter has some foldback of the information that the audience and event participants are hearing.”

With all of the audio equipment transported on a Stage Line SL250 Mobile stage and with many events attracting local and national TV coverage, it is important for the onstage monitors to not only sound good but also look good and be discrete, notes Mr. Maynard.

“These 12-inch MicroWedges were brand new, clean, low profile, and clear, which is helpful as far as fidelity goes. For a 12-inch speaker they sound great.”

“They’re very clean, and the design isn’t so boxy – clients like the way they look. They’re durable, but we also put them in a padded case, because we don’t want any problems with the way they look.”

For the events, the Radian MicroWedges join a compact package of high-end audio components on the Stage Line trailer.

“We have 12 flown JBL VerTecs, a very small mix arrangement with an Allen & Heath GL3300 console, and a pair of EV Polar Choice podium microphones,” says Mr. Maynard.

In addition to the Tour de Friends, Event Tech has supplied equipment to fundraising events in Boston, Cincinnati, Chicago, and San Francisco this year, with further events scheduled for Portland, New York and Los Angeles.

The company is a supplier of services to a huge number of corporate and political events, which have recently included the 2003 Capital Pride Festival, the Johns Hopkins University 2003 Commencements, Barney and Friends in Concert, and the 2003 MD Governor’s Inauguration. Event Tech regularly services the American Red Cross National Headquarters in Washington, D.C. for their public events.

Radian Audio Engineering Web Site

Event Tech Web Site

Ever since renowned producer/engineer/mixer Roger Masson (Teraplane, Superfix, Phil Cody, Ken Burns “Jazz”) used Blue Sky monitors during work on special 5.1 elements for a recent Marilyn Manson DVD, he has been an avid Blue Sky fan.

Since that first exposure, Mr. Masson has been using the Sky System One 2.1 and 5.1 monitors for everything from tracking to overdubs, to mixing and mastering of complete album projects. He finds that Blue Sky monitoring works at every stage of the record-making process.

Blue Sky Brings Accuracy to a Temporary Recording Location

Most recently, Roger Masson has been working on the debut album of The Cribb, one of Los Angeles’ hottest young rock bands. He has set up a Blue Sky System One 2.1 monitoring system in a rented Spanish-style residential building in Los Angeles, a site the band members and Masson decided would make an excellent temporary studio, thanks to its acoustics and vibe. In post, Mr. Masson plans to use a Blue Sky 5.1 system to create a multi-channel mix of the recording, and all versions of the album will be mastered using Blue Sky monitors.

“This is the first time I’m using the Blue Sky speakers for tracking, and I just love them in this role,” comments Roger Masson. “They were always great to mix through, but it’s clear that Blue Sky can handle every aspect of the recording process, which gives me and the band a tremendously enhanced level of sonic consistency throughout the entire project.”

The Cribb’s project is also the focus of a forthcoming VH1 documentary about how private residences can be turned into recording environments. “This is a temporary recording space, so we could have put in any monitors we wanted,” says Mr. Masson. “We chose the Blue Sky monitors because we know that the accuracy level is high. They’ll act as the control reference of the recording space.

A Growing Number of All-Blue-Sky Facilities

Wabejon Entertainment is one of a growing number of all-Blue-Sky studios. Owner, record producer and label executive Eric Miller recently purchased two new Blue Sky 2.1 systems, to go along with the two Blue Sky set-ups already in service at the rapidly-expanding 7,000-square-foot audio/video facility. He plans to install a Blue Sky 5.1 surround monitoring system in a new SSL-based mixing studio, expected to go on line in May 2003.

Mr. Miller and Wabejon have established a solid reputation working with successful artists such as Sara (BMG), B5 (Bad Boy Entertainment), Sarai (Epic, hit single “Pack Ya Bags”), and Althea (Ill Na Na/Def Jam Records).

Will Baker (left) and Pete Woodruff (right) of Hitstreet Avenue, working on their latest project at Wabejon Entertainment

Wabejon has also been home to Will Baker and Pete Woodruff of Hitstreet Avenue, whose work work with India.Arie won 2 Grammy Awards on Feb.23 (Best Urban/Alternative Performance, Best R&B Album).

“The Blue Sky monitors are simply cleaner and clearer sounding than anything else,” Eric Miller remarks. “They’re very crisp sounding. Also, you get a tremendous amount of power from a speaker of that size. I can mount them on desktops or on stands and get full-range response. And by using Blue Sky speakers throughout our facility, we can have a consistent sound from studio to studio. The artists love them, and I love them.”

Blue Sky Monitoring Leads the Charge to Surround

Spectrum Recording Studios has been leading the charge for surround audio in South Florida, with the Blue Sky 5.1 monitoring system at the heart of its surround capabilities. Since a Blue Sky 5.1 system was installed at Spectrum, the studio has used it to mix a range of projects that reflect the diversity of the surround approach to audio. These include the DVD release of the recent PBS music special featuring big-band virtuoso Michael Civisca, produced by legendary arranger Charles Calello, as well as an ongoing project to create an entire library of surround-ready music pieces that will be compatible with film projects and digital broadcast.

Spectrum Studios is a top-flight two-room facility that has become a magnet for upcoming and established artists from around the country, including Juice Newton and Ronnie Milsap. Spectrum is also a major supplier of music content for the large Abaco Music Library, and music composed and produced by owner Jim Kalamasz has appeared on hit television shows including Malcolm In The Middle, The Drew Carey Show, and Saturday Night Live.

“Surround music is really on the verge of taking off in so many different applications,” says Mr. Kalamasz. “We’ve been positioning ourselves as the leading facility in this area for practical expertise in surround music mixing. The Blue Sky 5.1 system has played a major role in our success at that.”

Kalamasz first encountered Blue Sky monitoring at the 2001 AES Convention in New York City, and later heard the Blue Sky 5.1’s in action again at Room With A View Studios in Nashville, a facility Spectrum often collaborates with.

“I not only realized how good they actually are,” explains Mr. Kalamasz, “I also realized that our two studios could now share a reliable, accurate, and consistent 5.1 monitoring environment, which would significantly benefit our clients. The Blue Sky 5.1 monitors were the obvious choice, both for how they help our sound and how they help our business.”

Blue Sky Web Site