Sound Technology Ltd is closed from 12 noon on Tuesday 24th December, reopening on Thursday 2nd January.
We'd like to wish you a very Merry Christmas and happy New Year from everyone at Sound Technology.
Friday, 20 December 2013
Nord release Wurlitzer 2 Amped for Electro, Stage and Piano Series'
Welcome our latest addition to the Nord Piano Library! The new Wurlitzer 2 Amped was recorded through a custom built tube amp and some magical vintage outboard gear, and has a nice crunchy bite in the top as well as rougher barky personality.
Head on over to the Electric Piano section to download the new Wurly!
Listen here: https://soundcloud.com/nordkeyboards/wurlitzer-2-amped-demo
The Nord Piano Library is compatible with the Nord Stage, Nord Stage EX, Nord Stage 2, Nord Electro 3, Nord Electro 4, Nord Piano and Nord Piano 2.
Tuesday, 17 December 2013
Soundcraft Vi4 provides O2 Academy Bristol with digital monitor solution
The 1600 capacity O2 Academy Bristol has moved entirely into the digital sound domain, with the purchase of a new Soundcraft Vi4 from Adlib Audio as its dedicated monitor mixing desk.
The decision was taken to retire the long-serving Soundcraft MH3 40-channel analogue desk in the main room — and after reviewing the complete Vi Series, with intuitive Vistonics II™ interface, Technical Manager, Mickey Spillane, and Assistant Technical Manager, Matt Royston-Bishop, opted for the Vi4 for a number of reasons.
Principle among these was the fact that the latest 4.7 software update enable bi-directional show file compatibility with Vi6 and increases the Vi4 channel count from 72 to 96 channels to mix. With the same high quality preamps and sonic performance as the larger Vi6, the only difference between the two is the number of inout faders - 24 on the Vi4 and 32 on the Vi6.
According to Matt Royston-Bishop the reduced frame size, with one less fader bank than the Vi6, enables it to be ideally accommodated in Monitor World.
He added, “There are now so many people touring with IEM’s that we needed much more I/O capacity — mainly outputs, for the stereo in-ear as well as wedge mixes. The MH3 only had 12 auxes and we now have 32 so nothing is an issue. From an investment perspective all these factors are important, as the desk has to last a long time.”
On top of that, he says, the analogue console, with its associated outboard racks, was becoming less and less acceptable as maintenance costs rose.
One of several MH3’s owned by Academy Music Group (AMG), Matt says that they will retain their larger analogue desk for the odd rider that still states ‘no digital’.
A frequent user of the entire Vi range, the O2 Academy Bristol technician was well aware that this user-friendly platform makes it the easiest desk on the market for a sound engineer to familiarise himself with. “We were looking for something that would be that easy to use, as it’s important all our freelancers can walk up to it quickly. The Vi4 provides us with tremendous flexibility.
“It is also a great sounding desk — something that we noticed straight away on stage; it’s a lot cleaner when compared with the inserts on analogue desks, and both the Vi6 and Vi4 use the same output stage and high quality preamps.”
Acceptability is another important issue, he says, and the Vi6 and Vi4 are increasingly being listed on tour riders.
He believes the investment will be future-proofed by Soundcraft's continual development of the platform, the next update being the imminent v4.8 software release which enables all existing 32 mono busses to become stereo making it even more suitable for high count IEM systems. Along with that is the fact that mix engineers no longer have to edit their show file when stepping down to a Vi4.
And Adlib Audio sales manager Nick Turner adds, “Vi’s are becoming the console of choice. They operate on the same platform across all venues and having a desk that anyone can walk up to is what’s needed for tours that are going through the O2 Academy circuit. It’s a desk that anyone can use.”
Soundcraft mixing consoles, and all Harman Professional brands, are distributed in the UK and Ireland by Sound Technology. For more information please contact us on 01462480000 or visit www.soundtech.co.uk/soundcraft
Further Links
Monday, 16 December 2013
Frameworks by Gator accessory line now shipping in the UK
Sound Technology Ltd is pleased to announce immediate UK availability of the new Frameworks by Gator brand of stands and accessories, suited to the MI, pro audio and AV markets.
For over a decade, Gator Cases has been providing top quality, heavy-duty case solutions for a vast array of music and audio related products. With the release of Gator’s new Frameworks line, the company breaks new ground with a full offering of high quality, innovative stands and support systems for Microphones, Speakers, Keyboards, Guitars, Sheet Music, and Tablet devices.
With the launch of this new series, it was important to Gator that Frameworks was not ‘just another stand company’. The Frameworks line was designed from the ground up with a sleek and modern look while also being compact and feature rich. Improving upon the current offering in the stand market was also a key factor of the release.
The initial Frameworks launch include over 50 stands and mounts across a broad spectrum of categories including Microphone, Speaker, Music, Guitar, LCD, Keyboard, and Tablet devices. The line will include the patent pending ID Series, featuring groundbreaking design and advanced ergonomics.
Frameworks Catalogue August 2013
For full information regarding the line please visit www.soundtech.co.uk/frameworks or call Sound Technology Ltd on 01462 480000. The Gator Frameworks catalogue can be downloaded here.
Ends
Friday, 13 December 2013
HARMAN Wins 2014 Technical GRAMMY® Award for Lexicon Audio Brand
Harman International announced today that its Lexicon® brand has won a Technical GRAMMY® Award, which is presented to individuals and companies that have made contributions of outstanding technical significance to the recording field.
The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences announced their Special Merit Awards earlier today. Recipients are determined by vote of The Academy's Producers & Engineers Wing Advisory Council and Chapter Committees, as well as The Academy's Trustees. This year’s Technical GRAMMY Award recognises Lexicon’s contributions to the art and science of music recording and reproduction through innovation and excellence in product design. The Lexicon brand is in rare company: the only other such award is being presented posthumously to Emile Berliner, who invented and patented the “Gramophone” sound recording device in 1887.
Dinesh C. Paliwal, HARMAN Chairman, President and CEO; Blake Augsburger, President - Professional Division; and Noel Larson, Market Manager - Recording, Broadcast, Portable PA and Tour, will accept the award during the 56th Annual GRAMMY weekend festivities in Los Angeles January 24-26, 2014.
“We are deeply honoured that yet another HARMAN brand has been recognised with a Technical GRAMMY Award,” said Paliwal. “Lexicon products have long been admired both by recording industry professionals and the discriminating audiences they serve, and we are proud to be the only audio systems company to have received this prestigious validation multiple times from the Recording Academy.”
Founded in 1971, Lexicon is one of the world's premier manufacturers of digital effects processing electronics and home theatre systems. The company was among the first to produce commercially-available digital reverb systems which is used by 80 percent of recording artists, and was also an early pioneer in the hard disk recording sector. Lexicon also markets premium amplifiers for luxury cars, home theatre and distributed audio applications, featuring the brand’s exclusive Logic 7® surround sound processing algorithm.
“Earning this GRAMMY is a testament to the remarkable passion that Harman puts into the science of recording and reproducing great sound,” said Augsburger. “I am very proud of the contribution that our Lexicon team has made in creating some of music’s most memorable impressions, and congratulate my colleagues on this milestone achievement.”
HARMAN is the only manufacturer to earn multiple Technical GRAMMY Awards. The Company’s AKG microphone and headphone brand was honoured in 2010 for its more than 60 years of contributions to the art and science of sound. The JBL brand earned a Technical GRAMMY in 2005 for its state-of-the-art advancements in music recording, loudspeakers, and audio systems integration expertise. HARMAN Professional audio systems are used in the studio and on the road by leading performing artists, and are installed in thousands of performance, sporting and commercial venues worldwide.
Lexicon is distributed in the UK & ROI by Sound Technology Ltd. For more information please visit www.soundtech.co.uk/lexicon or contact us on 01462 480000.
Wednesday, 11 December 2013
Richard Divine bank added to free Nord Lead 4 Program Library
Nord Keyboards are pleased to announce the addition of a new premium sound bank to the free Nord Lead 4 Program Library - a sensational set of Programs and Performances from legendary sound designer Richard Divine.
Richard Devine is somewhat of a super star in the sound design universe and we've been so lucky to have him have a go at the new Nord Lead 4.
Richard has created 50 Performances and 99 Single Programs and as a nice bonus even a drum bank with 25 drum sounds (perfect for using with the pattern feature and more).
Listen to his amazing demo song here and head over to the Nord Lead 4 Program Library to download the new sounds!
Soundcraft Vi1 for Epstein Theatre
Soundcraft became associated with the famous name of Brian Epstein, the Beatles’ legendary manager, when a Vi1 digital mixing desk was recently installed in the Liverpool Theatre that bears his name.
Ever since 1913 this landmark venue in Hanover Street — formally known as Cranes Music Hall, Cranes Theatre and most recently The Neptune Theatre — has provided live entertainment to the city’s residents.
Following a £1.2 million refurbishment — and rebrand as The Epstein Theatre — it has celebrated its centenary by commissioning a permanently installed sound reinforcement system, courtesy of locally-based installer/distributors Adlib Audio, who had previously been supplying on a long-term rental basis.
With the capacity to seat 410 on its two levels, and a new Soundcraft Vi1 at front-of-house, technical manager Tony Carter is delighted that audiences will now be treated to a consistent sonic experience.
“We had been hiring in from Adlib Audio and using desks like the Soundcraft Si Performer and Si Compacts — which I loved. But we needed to step up and have now purchased our own system,” he confirmed.
Tony was already familiar with the Vi1, having used it at various festivals. He discussed the idea with Adlib Audio MD, Andy Dockerty, who has worked closely with the theatre since the beginning, and the order was placed.
“I always knew the Vi1 was the right desk for us,” he says. “Because we present such a variety of performance — from tribute bands, comedy, serious theatre, kids events etc — the desk needed to be versatile and intuitive.”
Tony Carter recalls last Christmas panto season — featuring a Big Brother winner — when they used a giant analogue desk and wishing he had been able to programme the mutes as cues to excise some of the graphic language. “That was when we realised we needed to go digital to take us to the next stage.”
The Vi1 package enables 32 channels of analogue input to 27 analogue outputs, plus six digital inputs, four stereo FX returns and six digital outputs in a compact chassis. “This enables us to assign six channels of monitors from FOH, which is extremely easy to do,” continues Carter. “We’ve never needed a separate monitor desk.
“In addition, being able to store presets for different performances — such as the panto season — makes the job a lot easier. The desk is so intuitive and it’s easy to programme cues so there is a lot less to go wrong.”
Although Adlib Audio provided the Soundcraft solution — as well as a premium PA system — hands on training was scarcely needed. “We generally set a generic patch and then tweak it according to the event. With longer runs like panto we will use snapshots but with a one-off event we will mix on the fly. It’s an easy desk to walk up to.”
Finally, he states that the venue has never sounded so good. “It’s a 100 year old theatre — a nice acoustic building which is sonically now even better. The sound of the desk, is fantastic; the I/O count is more than adequate and we've not had a show yet in which the capacity has been stretched!
“As a result, we now have a little AV area in the stalls, including the lighting desk, which can double as a stage management position — and with the Vi1, it frees up about a third of the old analogue desk space required.”
In conclusion, he says, “I can’t speak highly enough of this desk and everyone who has used it says the same.”
And Adlib Audio sales manager, Nick Turner, who processed the sale, adds, “Customers also like Soundcraft for its reliability — which has been tried and tested over the years. It’s one of the most reliable desks we’ve got and the back-up we receive from Soundcraft and Sound Technology [the exclusive UK and Ireland Harman Professional distributors] is second to none. This, in turn, means that we can support [the desk] a lot easier.”
Soundcraft is distributed in the UK/ROI by Sound Technology Ltd. For more information please call Sound Technology Ltd on 01462 480000 or visit www.soundtech.co.uk/soundcraft and www.soundcraft.com
Related Links
Andy Theakstone joins Crush Drums artist family
Crush Drums and UK distributor Sound Technology Ltd are pleased to announce Andy Theakstone (Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly., Paolo Nutini) as the latest addition to the ever-growing Crush artist roster.
Photo credit - Peter Killingbeck
Andy Theakstone has played around the world as a session drummer since 2006 - most notably with Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. Paolo Nutini, Liam Bailey, Amadou and Miriam and Py.
You can hear his playing on every Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly record since the debut album, ‘Chronicles of a Bohemian Teenager’ released on Atlantic records. His involvement in the Africa Express concerts, curated by Damon Albarn, has seen Andy perform with musicians from around the world including Baaba Maal, Amadou and Miriam and Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers).
Photo above: Andy Theakstone with the Crush Acrylic kit on stage at Glastonbury Festival 2013
Andy has toured extensively throughout UK, Europe and America as part of headline tours and has played on the main stages of Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds, T in The Park and Bestival festivals.
Aside from session drumming Andy is also an accomplished recording studio engineer and producer. He founded Unit Studios in 2006 which focuses on recording bands and developing singer songwriters along with sound design and composition for computer games.
Photo credit - Peter Killingbeck
Andy is currently using the Crush Limited Reserve Mahogany kit, Crush Acrylic kit and a 14" Crush Hand Hammered Copper snare.
Crush Drums are distributed in the UK and Eire by Sound Technology Ltd. For more information please call 01462 480000 or visit www.soundtech.co.uk/crush and www.crushdrum.com
Further Links
Tuesday, 10 December 2013
DigiTech Element and Element XP guitar multi-effects pedals now shipping
DigiTech and UK distributor Sound Technology Lts are pleased to announce immediate shipping of the latest DigiTech guitar multi-effects pedals, the DigiTech Element and Element XP.
The elements of perfect guitar tone start here. The new DigiTech Element and Element XP are two versatile guitar multi-effects pedals that offer hundreds of sounds, effects, amps and cabinets, drum machine and much more.
The DigiTech Element XP features an expression pedal and offers 38 effects, while the Element provides 34 effects. The Element XP and Element both deliver state-of-the-art effects processing with six classic overdrive and distortion stompboxes, 12 amps and cabinets and 28 pedals. The Element XP and Element both feature a pedalboard-style control layout that is simple to use and lets players quickly adjust and save their settings to fit their personal styles.
Photo above: DigiTech Element guitar multi-effects pedal
Photo above: DigiTech Element XP guitar multi-effects pedal
“Our new Element XP and Element multi-effects pedals bring an incredible array of classic and contemporary guitar sounds to players everywhere, at prices that offer outstanding value,” said Scott Klimt, marketing manager for DigiTech. “We spent a great deal of time and effort getting everything right, to give guitarists an affordable yet high quality guitar effects processor that is not just useful, but inspiring.”
Overdrive and distortion are elemental to every guitarist’s sonic arsenal, and the Element XP and Element offer stompboxes inspired by the legendary Ibanez® TS-9 Tube Screamer™, DOD® 250 Preamp/Overdrive, Boss® DS-1 Distortion, DigiTech Grunge, DigiTech Death Metal and Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi™. The amplifiers include many of the classics that defined the sound of rock and roll, like the ’57 Fender® Tweed Deluxe™, ’65 Fender “Blackface” Twin Reverb™, ’68 Marshall® Super Lead “Plexi” with slant Celestion® “Greenback” 4 x 12 cabinet, ’83 Marshall® JCM800™, ’63 Vox AC 30™ Top Boost with “Blue Back” speakers, ’01 Mesa/Boogie® Dual Rectifier™ and other all-time greats.
The Element XP and Element provide a dazzling array of effects: compressor, 3-band EQ, flanger, phaser, tremolo, vibrato, chorus, rotary simulator, envelope filter, step filter, spring reverb, room reverb, noise gate, an acoustic guitar simulator and many others. The Element XP adds four expression pedal-based effects including the Dunlop® Cry Baby™ wah wah, Vox® Clyde McCoy™ wah, a full-range wah and a volume pedal – even DigiTech’s dramatic Whammy™ pitch shift and YaYa™ and AutoYa™ wah effects.
Guitarists can choose from 100 factory presets that encompass a host of musical genres, and create and save 100 more custom preset sounds. 45 different drum tracks are available to jam and practice along with, and both models include a built-in tuner. The Element XP and Element feature a 1/4-inch guitar input and a 1/4-inch stereo output jack that can be connected to either an amplifier or a mixer for direct recording using the Amp/Mixer mode switch. The Element XP and Element have a dedicated headphone jack and an Aux input to jam along with favourite songs. Both pedals include a power supply so no batteries are needed.
The DigiTech Element and Element XP multi-effects pedals are available now at £69 and £89 RRP inc VAT respectively.
DigiTech is distributed in the UK/ROI by Sound Technology Ltd. For more information please call 01462 48000, email info@soundtech.co.uk, or visit www.soundtech.co.uk/digitech
Ends
New Nord Piano Library and Stage 2 demo with Jim Watson
We recently met up with Jim Watson (Katie Melua, Manu Katché, and BBC Strictly Come Dancing Band) who was kind enough to record a series of demos of the Nord Piano Library on the Nord Stage 2 HA88. This second instalment features the Grand Upright piano.
The Nord Piano Library is a free library of expertly recorded pianos and electric pianos compatible with the Nord Stage 2, Nord Stage EX, Nord Electro 4, Nord Electro 3, Nord Piano and Nord Piano 2.
The Grand Upright offers a remarkably full and even sound. It has a rich, woody tone that gets a brilliant glassy bite when you lay some force into the keys.
This is a rather ambient piano that sings beautifully with the sustain pedal pressed down (thanks to its huge resonant body) that makes additional reverb somewhat unnecessary.
The audio in the video is recorded directly out of the Stage 2 with no external processing.
More Nord Piano Library info here:
http://www.nordkeyboards.com/main.asp?tm=Sound%20Libraries&cllibr=Nord_Piano_Library
Listen to more audio clips for the Piano LIbrary here: https://soundcloud.com/nordkeyboards/sets
With huge thanks to Jim Watson.
Crush Drums wins "Percussion Product of the Year 2013" at MIA Awards in conjunction with Rhythm Magazine
Crush Drums created quite a stir at the UK’s Music Industries Awards last week by winning “Percussion Product of the Year 2013” in conjunction with Rhythm Magazine. The Crush Sublime E3 maple kit beat off some of the biggest names in the drum world to win the coveted award - a clear indication of the public’s enthusiasm for Crush and recognition of its quality and value.
A company launched just 3 years ago, Crush Drums have arrived in the UK only recently. The Sublime E3 kit delivers the full and warm tones of much sought after vintage drums with the advantages of modern shell hardware design. Bearing edges and shell construction were carefully chosen for each individual drum. All shells are hand selected 100% North American Maple, which is known for its extremely warm tone.
This is what Rhythm magazine had to say when they reviewed the Sublime E3 kit in September:
"This review set has a beautiful shimmering orange/red wrap, shown to great effect on the deep bass drum with its colour matched rims. Once applied, the bearing edges are double cut to 45° on the toms and bass drum and a single, sharp 45° trim for the snare. The edges are then triple-sanded, resulting in possibly the smoothest surfaces of any drums I have reviewed - so smooth, a peach would seem rough in comparison".
You can read the full review at MusicRadar.com here:
http://www.musicradar.com/reviews/drums/crush-sublime-e3-kit-585756
The Crush Sublime E3 Drum Kit is available in the UK now priced at just £1049 RRP inc VAT for the 4-piece kit with 22” kick configuration.
Crush Drums are distributed in the UK and Eire by Sound Technology Ltd. For more information please call 01462 480000 or visit www.soundtech.co.uk/crush and www.crushdrum.com
Nord releases new software update for Nord Lead 4
OS v1.22 now available - includes bug fixes as well as adding a number of new features.
Nord are please to announce a software update for the Nord Lead 4 performance synthesiser. The OS v1.22 is an important update that both fixes some bugs in the Nord Lead 4 as well as adding a number of new features, including:
- Performances are now organised in 2 Banks, A and B with 50 slots in each.
- When the Ladder M filter is selected, the filter and amp envelopes is switched into a more vintage like mode.
- Nord Sound Manager Program Bundles are now supported - requires Nord Sound Manager 6.34 or newer.
For complete details of all changes in v1.22, see the Nord Lead 4 Update History page.
The update is recommended for all users and can be downloaded in the Download section on the Nord website.
About the Nord Lead 4
The Nord Lead 4 is a 4-part multi-timbral synthesiser sporting a brand new 2-oscillator virtual analogue sound engine with 2x oversampling. In addition to the classic analogue waveforms there’s a Wavetable mode with unique new Formant Wavetables. Frequency Modulation and Hard/Soft sync options are available for mutilating your sound further and the True Voice Unison mode can stack up to four oscillators per voice for really thick, beefy leads and pads. The filter section boasts Low Pass (12/24dB), High Pass, and Band Pass filters and also stunning new simulations of two transistor and diode ladder filters capturing the squeaky, dirty character of the originals. A dedicated filter overdrive can distort your sound before it passes through the effect section.
The new 'Impulse Morph' buttons let you override multiple parameters of the synthesiser, instantaneously. Ever wanted to change LFO speed, Modulation routings and reverb amount - all at once, in the middle of a sound? With the Nord Lead 4 you can! With 7 assignable Impulse Morphs per program Nord Lead 4 gives you creative freedom to warp and improvise your sound live, both rhythmically and sonically and thanks to the Master Clock Synchronisation, it can be done in perfect sync to other layers or an external MIDI Clock.
Wednesday, 4 December 2013
TesseracT choose AKG for in-ear monitoring system
2013 has been a year to remember for progressive metal band TesseracT. Following the release of their second album 'Altered State' (recently voted by critics as the No.2 album of the year in PROG magazine), they have toured North America with Katatonia, Cult of Luna and Intronaut, then headlined their own tour of the US, Canada and Mexico. Upon their return to the UK they were main support for Karnivool on their UK tour. Prior to this touring cycle the band, in conjunction with AKG UK distributor Sound Technology, designed an AKG IVM4500 in-ear monitoring system with full HiQnet network remote control and monitoring.
Before setting off on a tour of Europe with Protest The Hero and The Safety Fire, the boys also found the time to record a live session at the legendary BBC Maida Vale studios for the BBC Radio One Rock Show - a perfect time to catch up with bass player Amos Williams, to find out how they have implemented the AKG IVM4500 in-ear system and what it has brought to their live set.
TesseracT recording their Radio One live session at BBC Maida Vale Studios (photo credit - Kristell Gathoye)
Looking back on the past five months Amos says, "TesseracT have gone through a bit of a metamorphosis over the last cycle of touring. We've gone from a band struggling to replicate the studio recordings in a live scenario, to a band that is not only able to equal the quality and production level of our studio recordings on stage, but also improve upon these. We put this largely down to the new In-Ear Monitoring system that we designed with AKG and Sound Technology".
AKG IVM4500 in-ear monitoring system rack-mounted components (photo credit - Kristell Gathoye)
He continues, "This system not only allows us to eliminate any stage noise, thus giving our FOH engineer, Aidan O'Brien a level playing ground when reinforcing our sound at gigs, but has had the added bonus of improving our level of playing. We can literally hear every little defect and bum note, as well as details in the tracks we had forgotten about from the studio production. It's like we can now deliver as close to the album production as possible, almost like the audience is in the studio with us, but with the added energy, atmosphere and euphoria of a live show.".
TesseracT at BBC Maida Vale studios - note the AKG IVM4500 rack behind Guitarist, Acle Kahney (photo credit - Kristell Gathoye)
AKG is distributed in the UK & ROI by Sound Technology Ltd, contact us on 01462 480000 or visit http://www.soundtech.co.uk/akg
Further Links
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)