AES NYC – Small show. Great show

There’s just no getting around the fact that the exhibit floor at the AES convention in NYC was small this year. Occupying only hall 3B in the Javits Center, there was a large amount of curtained-off unoccupied space – and Registration was located in the hall, too.

Diminutive footprint aside, the aisles were packed, the vibe was positive, there was a LOT of new gear to see. Many major manufacturers were conspicuously absent – Avid/Digidesign, Bosch, Meyer, EAW, Cakewalk, Alesis, Samson/Zoom to name a few – but most of these companies had staff at the show cruising the aisles and conducting business in the lobby. Also attending:  representatives from most of the larger retailers, productions companies, and system integrators.

An auspicious beginning: I ran into these two fellows in the lobby before the show opened on Friday. BSW ball caps at AES! Thanks for your support, John and Peter. I hope you had a great show!

 

 

 

 At the Sennheiser booth, Wolfgang Fraissinet, Jeff Alexander, and Dawn Birr were on hand to unveil the new TLM-102 from Neumann. Reputed to be available in the US in November with a street price of $700, I’ll bet this is an instant hit with voice-over talent.

 

 

 

 

New ribbon mics from Audio-Technica. The AT4080 ($999 street price), and AT4081 ($699 street price). Active electronics and new robust ribbon technology make these a “must-hear” for studio and stage applications. 

Also from Audio-Technica: A new broadcast headset!! The BPHS1 has a cardioid, neodymium element mic optimized for broadcasters. It’s mounted on a flexible boom arm which can be positioned on the left or right side. The closed-back headphones provide isolation in noisy environment . The BPHS1 will have a street price of $199, and should be available in November.

 

 

Tascam is on fire! With  14 (!!!) new products in their booth, you’ll want to keep your eye on them. From the new VLM3 desktop sized active monitors (at $99), to the new HSP82, their new $4999 location recorder, Tascam is cranking out a steady stream in innovative products for a wide range of applications.

 

 

There was a lot of buzz about the new “Blackbox Recorder” From Joeco. Designed for “no-brainer” live recording, it offers 24 channels of low-latency, 24 bit/96khz recording for $2500 bucks!. You need to supply a USB disc drive, but they supply all the cables needed to hook it up to the insert points of a typical analog live sound console.

 

 

 

The new line of Shure headphones has been warmly received. And why not? Very neutral and musical sounding, built to withstand the rigors of everyday professional use (and built to be repaired easily, too!), and affordable. At the show, they debuted a new set of DJ cams  – the SRH750DJ should have a street price around $149. Great isolation – with a slightly emphasized low end that will make them great for use in clubs.

 

 

 

 

Yamaha brought it’s spectacular new roving demo truck. It was packed full of goodies, and fully functioning demo stations. Definitely worth a spending some time there.

 

 

 

Broadcast maven, Neil Glassman hosted a broadcast industry gathering at his Greenwich Village flat on Friday evening.  A few bottles of (really good) wine equipped those present for a thorough dissection of the current state of radio biz. This of course, devolved into a general raid on Neil’s music collection, where we found a gem. Yes, this is Neil posing with the jacket of his one and only album.

Size Matters. Acoustics Matters More.

I hear it all the time: “I just want to use a lapel mic. Those other mics are too big, and I can’t be bothered to stay in one place.” Sometimes, people just kinda miss the point.

Lapel mics work in television and on stage because of the size of the room. A TV studio may be 30 x 50 feet, with a 20 foot ceiling and plenty of acoustical treatment.  A lecture hall will be similar. By the time sound reflections make their way back to the mic, they are diminished to the point that they are insignificant.

A typical radio studio, or home-office studio, may be only 8 x 10 feet with a 7 foot ceiling. Reflections come back to the mic’s position very quickly, with enough audio energy to be a niusance. This is part of the reason we speak so close to the mic… well, ego figures into it, but that’s another subject. Basically the equation is: more “me” equals less “room.”

The radio studio will have some amount of acoustical treatment (foam on the walls, maybe something on the ceiling). A home-office studio likely has nothing but hard, parallel walls, and hard furniture. Even up close to the mic, you sound like you’re talking in a tunnel.

Yes, a mic processor with gating can help to some extent. But the gate is only active when the talking stops. During speech, the reflections are clearly heard, and contribute to an indistinct and unclear sound.

Small rooms are a big challenge. Ideally, you would speak in a padded cell (think of a voice-over booth… nothing but foam everywhere). But since most of us would like more flexibility in the decor, we make compromises.

Do as much acoustical treatment as reasonable. Use a mic with a narrow pickup pattern. Consider a dynamic mic for its reduced sensitivity. Keep the mic close to the subject. Use a downward expander to reduce the background sound when the subject isn’t speaking.

In an acoustically perfect room, you would be free to use any type of mic you like. In the real world, things are different.

Condensor Mics for the Air Studio?

Broadcasters have used dynamic microphones as their primary on-air mics for several decades (SM7, RE20, MD421, and more recently the PR40 and PROCASTER). Is it time to consider changing to condensor mics? After all, they’ve become very afforable in the last several years.

For most of you… no. Here’s why:

- Dynamic mics can take more physical abuse. Most of the mics listed above were designed for use with drums. They get knocked around, but they keep working. Most condensors are delicate and fragile by comparison.

- Dynamic mics are less sensitive to surrounding noises. Sensitivity drops off quickly beyond about 12 inches. This works out well for the average radio studio, with the computer fans, air conditioning, and other room noises. And the room itself is seldom ideal… a sensitive condensor mic will highlight all of the flaws of the surroundings. Dynamics just don’t pick up the noises so much.

Here’s a quick way to determine if the room sounds good, and the machinery is quiet: Do you use the expander/gate on your voice processor? If so, it’s because you are trying to minimize hearing the sounds in the room. ‘Nuff said.

- Dynamic mics aren’t affected by high humidity. All that warm breath at close range, day and night, exposes the diaphragm to a lot of moisture. (and if you use a foam pop filter, the moisture gets trapped inside). Over time, high humidity will deteriorate the flexibility and performance of most condensor mics.

A condensor mic may be appropriate in a well-treated Production Room, but not in most On-Air studios.

There’s always a new “flavor of the month” mic to look at. But the fundamentals haven’t changed. Imperfect environments are better served with dynamic mics (and some assistance from a good mic processor).

No, we’re not just hanging on to old technology… we’re using the right tool for the job.

Wire? Who needs wire?

Any engineer that’s been around the block a few times knows dozens of ways to use a piece of equipment that the manufacturer never intended. Some long-time favorites are: dead mixer as a doorstop, and: dead portable recorder as a paperweight. But wait… there are even things you can do with the stuff that still works!

For example – say you’re doing a remote broadcast from the fair, and you’ve got to run speakers waaay over there. Even if you had that much wire with you, it’s inconvenient to run it where the public won’t trip over it.

You can use a wireless mic or in-ear monitor system to deliver the audio to the distant speakers. Popular manufacturers include Shure, Audio-Technica, Listen, Galaxy, and others.

Most of these systems will transmit 150-200 feet easily. A beltpack or plug-on wireless mic transmitter can be connected to a spare output on your mixing board (Mackie outputs can be switched to mic level).

Put the receiver at the destination. If you need more range, use a directional antenna pointed back to the source.

Need to send a stereo signal across the way? No problem. Galaxy’s AS1000 system transmits full stereo. The receivers can output stereo, or a single channel (receiver at the left speaker just outputs left channel, right receiver outputs right).

Put as many receivers around as needed. They’ll all pick up the audio. Gee, it’s almost like… radio!

I spoke to an engineer today that wants wireless stereo for his remotes, because he’s not looking forward to cleaning the “rodeo residue” from all of the cables when the event is over. Can’t say that I blame him!

Here are some links:
In-ear monitor systems.
Plug-on and beltpack wireless mic systems.

Back to the Basics…Live and Local

Comparing ‘there” versus “here”….hmmm. Fact is,  we don’t really know where “here is” in broadcasting vernacular. I remember many years ago our “local” radio station receptionist trying to explain to an elderly listener (who baked a pie for her favorite DJ), that the DJ actually lived 2000 miles away in Chicago.  Shocked and disappointed,  Grandma and her Peach Pie went out the door (with a bumper sticker of course) never to return. I love pie. And it disappeared.

Yes, Radio Stations were the early adopters of outsourcing. In fact, BSW’s company founder Irv Law, was the first to introduce ‘automation systems” to stations in the 1960’s. Nowadays,  listeners are not amazed to learn that many local DJ’s are, in-fact, local fiction.  A local radio station actually emulating from another loCAL (New York, New Brunswick, or Mars) ain’t no big thang. Local is a state of mind right?

So let’s talk about you shall we?  Wanna be hip? Wanna be cool?  Simple…Broadcast Live and Broadcast Local. Turns out this is is an effective serum to cure broadcasting blahs. Being connected with your local community is your opportunity to profit successfully in a soft economic climate.

Broadcast live from the hotel or 50,000 seat arena . (Worked for Murry the K and The Beatles). See how many high school kids can cram in a VW at the local dealership. Set up a mic on a local street corner and engage your listeners with a real person. Or…broadcast a boat race like BSW’s John Lynch does every summer for the local radio station.

Lastly, do the math. Live + Local = Hip . And guess what? Hip  = Profit. And, people pay for Hip…simple as that.

Old School Broadcasting STILL rocks. So go sell a local REMOTE broadcast. (Buy your remote gear from BSW). And while you are at it, pass a slice of granny’s peach pie.

Mmmm pie.

Tending To Radio’s Rosy Future

Radio broadcasting students from Penninsula High School placed first in Team Newscast category. Instructor Leland Smith is on far right.

When Old Man Winter stops his whining, Spring arrives with the promise of youth. What a perfect time to honor the efforts of high school kids as they grow into the wild and wonderful world of Radio!

For the second year running, Leland Smith and radio station KGHP-FM from Peninsula High School in Gig Harbor organized and hosted the Washington State High School Radio Conference and Awards extravaganza this past May 14th. Attended by nearly 200 radio broadcasting students from all over Washington State, the conference offered guest speakers and breakout sessions taught by communications industry professionals. Awards included Best Locally Produced Public Service Announcement, Best Public Affairs Series, Best Individual Newscast, Best News Feature, Best Team Newscast, Best Sportscast and more. BSW is proud to be a sponsor of this event, and we gave away headphones as prizes to the deserving award winners. It was thrilling to see so much youthful exuberance devoted to our industry, and we were especially happy to see one of our customers, Nathan Hale High School’s KNHC-FM, once again receive the General Excellence award. After spending the evening with such high energy kids, it is easy to see that the tired old cliche “Radio is dying” is just a bunch of cold winter air.

SIGSALY

And just when we thought we had heard of everything… SIGSALY was mentioned. Actually more than mentioned, we met an unbelievable man who was involved with the invention of this fascinating technology.  His name is Frank Laico, and he is a CBS Recording Engineer Emeritus who’s recording credits reads like a who’s who in hit records. (Sinatra, Bennett, Streisand, and on and on and on). Frank was the guest speaker at the recent AES Meeting in Seattle. Magnificant gentleman who gave us three hours of fascinating information regarding making hit records back in the days when hit records were really records.

Back to SIGSALY. The brief description (from Wikipedia)

n cryptography, SIGSALY (also known as the X System, Project X, Ciphony I, and the Green Hornet) was a secure speech system used in World War II for the highest-level Allied communications. It pioneered a number of digital communications concepts, including the first transmission of speech using pulse-code modulation.

Frank Laico and his military buddies were pioneering digital audio long before digital …existed.

So go put on a Miles Davis album, (also recorded by Frank) , sit back and read all about SIGSALY  here. Fascinating story.

While you are at it, Google Frank Laico. His story and recording credits are amazing as well.

Higher Orders

In my hectic, always-spinning world of order fulfillment, it’s easy to get caught up in the process and not think about what all this gear is actually going to DO out there in the real world. So I was happy to hear from one of my favorite customers recently, reminding me of what a force for change broadcast equipment can be.

Gene Sharp, of Christian International Radio, has built missionary radio stations all over the world. His latest achievement is Amazing Grace Radio 105.1 FM in Rwanda, Africa. Thanks to a 1,000-Watt transmitter with a 5-bay antenna system (and a lot of hard work by Gene and his colleagues), Amazing Grace Radio is reaching out to over 16 million people in five countries, airing music, news, preaching and teaching 24 hours a day, every day. It’s humbling to think that all this grew from a few lines on some order forms, but most importantly, from people who dream of a better world and have the gumption to make their dream come true.

EAS is not always EASy

You may have heard that changes are coming to the EAS system.
Some time soon…
Any day now…
Eventually…
[sound of crickets]

Truth is, the rules haven’t been written yet. The EAS equipment manfacturers have evaluated the various proposals being considered, taken their best guess as to what will be required, and made up products that will be able to meet the need. But they can’t finish the products until the rules have been finalized. Everybody’s just waiting for FEMA to give the word.

The EAS equipment in your station may be ready for replacement now, and you can’t wait for the new rules. Now what?

The new products will operate under the present EAS structure now, and can be easily upgraded in the field to comply with the new requirements when they are released. So there is no need to keep a non-working unit in service (and risk a fine) while waiting.

BSW currently offers EAS products by TFT, Digital Alert Systems, Sage, and Gorman-Redlich.

If you’d like to keep up on the evolution of the new rules, here is a link to a page on the SBE website that discusses where it’s been, and where it’s headed. The “CAP Roadmap” from the SBE site gives a detailed look at the proposal submitted to FEMA.

Gimme More HD Signal Pleeeze

So, admittedly, I  have HD buyers remorse.

I purchased the HD Radio option in my BMW-X5 in January 2008. (I have commented in the past regarding this experience). But I must say after having paid for and using this option I kinda secretly wish I could get my money back. And here’s why. The HD  audio signal can’t seem to find my car.

Here in the Seattle-Tacoma area we have one AM and ten or so HD stations on FM.  After a year of trying to listen to the HD signal, I’m now conditioned expect the HD signal constantly pop in and out just like mono/stereo signal in my old 1970’s FM converter box. Oh for the days of my 1964 Chevy Impala,  AM Radio and a FM Converter box. Good times,  good times…but I digress.

The HD kicks in and out alot. If I happen to tune into a HD2 signal then the “no commercial HD2 Crawdaddy Blues format” just mutes. And Mutes. And Mutes some more. You get the mute point.

I assume more transmitting power on the HD signal would go a long way in improving this. So why not just crank up the HD output power? Probably a zillion reasons why not. But speaking as a citizen here in publicville I feel gypped. And I really don’t care what the technical reasons are…I just want HD to work. So..FIX IT.

Didn’t realize I was so grumpy. Maybe, I should just go look for a 1964 Impala on Craigs List to feel better.