AT72 out now
A micro tour of the AC/DC PA
15 Feb 2010Christopher Holder catches a glimpse at the AC/DC PA Rig!
Mixing and Mastering Forum – Integrate 09
1 Feb 2010AT asks the questions, and receives some interesting answers.
The State of Play, Pause, Stop: Victoria.
20 Jan 2010We’ve had a number of requests for Andy Stewart’s editorial from Issue 71 to be reprinted online. The opening column of the issue dealt with the counterintuitive manner by which the Victorian government is dealing with violence in watering holes across Victoria, and indeed, Australia’s other states’ policies to such. With the recent demise of The Tote, we felt it was time to release this text into the wild.
Text: Andy Stewart
It used to be called ‘The Garden State’ back in the day when pubs booked bands (and pokies were banned). A decade or two later, after several inner-city police shooting incidents involving mentally-ill people wielding broom handles and the like, many in Victoria began coining a different phrase – ‘The Police State’ – though this rarely appeared on the number plate. In 2009 the State of Victoria is perhaps now more deserving of another name: ‘The Wowser State’.
Now this might seem a tad ironic given the amount of alcohol-fuelled violence that’s been reported on the streets of Melbourne’s CBD in recent months. If you’re to believe the hype – and for the benefit of everyone who lives beyond the borders of Australia’s most preoccupied state – drunken stabbings, ‘glassings’ and shootings are now a nightly occurrence in some parts of Melbourne’s CBD. Ten years ago you were far more likely to be lacerated by a startled possum or swooped by a magpie than attacked by a drunken numbskull.
Of course, most people in Australia don’t consider wandering around Melbourne’s inner city at 4am, pissed out of their mind, to be entertainment. A few do of course, rocket scientists all of them.
- In: Live
AT72 Out Now
19 Jan 2010Features
THE ART OF PRODUCTION WITH JOE CHICCARELLI
Joe Chiccarelli takes us behind the glass of some of his most recent epics.
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A V.O.
AT spends a day in the voiceover suite.
- In: Magazine
Sneak Peak at EAW’s New KF740 Line Array
22 Dec 2009AT cops a sneak peak at EAW’s brand new line array.
Greg Simmons’ Studio Fundamentals seminar from Integrate 09. Greg tells us how to select the key building blocks of a studio without costly mistakes and endless upgrades.
AT71 Out Now
17 Nov 2009Features
SLAYER & MEGADETH LIVE
AT dons its black merch for a night of metal mayhem.
A NIGHT AT SING SING
AT goes behind the scenes of a multi-media studio experiment.
LEON ZERVOS – MASTERING MASTER
Australian ex-pat mastering engineer, Leon Zervos, returns to Australia after many years working in the US. Andy Stewart catches up with him for a debriefing.
- In: Magazine
Studio Feature – The Base Recording Studios
11 Nov 2009South Melbourne
The Base Recording Studios grew out of what was Life Saver Studios in 2004, changing its name to ‘The Base’ and renovating the kitchen, foyer and studios. They installed a ProTools HD system with Millennia, Universal Audio and Avalon preamps, added some great mics, and in 2007, a Yamaha C7 grand piano.
In July 2009 Phil Threlfall and the Base Studios joined forces, with Phil taking over as house engineer and installing his Amek G2520 (circa. 1987) analogue console, more outboard, as well as adding more toys to the mic cabinet and plug-in list.
The recording room is nicely balanced, with wooden floors and treated ceiling and walls – capturing a big drum sound is easy apparently and gives acoustic guitars, strings, horns and other un-amplified instruments a great sense of space.
The in-house Yamaha C7 grand piano is also a great asset to the studio, and sounds fantastic in the room. According to Mr Trelfall, when captured by a combination of tube mics up close and ribbons in the room, it always sounds great in the mix.
In the past few months, The Base has hosted sessions for K-Oscillate, Jerrico, Evermore, DoraMah, Bellusira, Nat Bartsch Trio, Anna Salen, Dennis Dowlut/Electric Empire, Pete Murray, Kingbayler, Compliments of Gus, My Cousin Jack, Ben Smith and many others. Phil’s no stranger to the recording industry, having worked with the likes of Jimmy Barnes, Marcia Hines, Human Nature, Guy Sebastian, Shannon Noll, as well as helping out local unsigned artists.
The Base Recording Studios: (03) 9690 3840 or phil@thebase.com.au
- In: Studio Features
Studio Feature – North Studios
10 Nov 2009South Australia
Ben Petch’s North Studios is located at Loxton North, about 10kms out of Loxton in the Riverland of South Australia. Like many, the enterprise is the culmination of tools garnered over a lifetime of writing and playing music. After years of ‘toying around’ with Cubase and suspect PCs in tiny bedrooms, Ben decided to take the plunge and build a purpose built studio to house his newly acquired ProTools HD system, replete with C24 control surface and a Mac Pro. Ben ‘took a break’ from his day job as a vineyard manager to build the studio, which stands close by his main residence. The project took around four months to complete, but now includes a drum room and a vocal booth, combined with a 5.5m x 5.5m control room. Apparently a lot of the insulation was installed to take care of rain and hail noise on the roof, rather than to keep noise from escaping the studio. Ben reckons he’s pretty impressed with a product called ‘Epicrete’, which is apparently rolled onto cement surfaces such as the slab floor of the studio, to prevent any sneaky infiltrations of moisture into the building. Ben tells us he couldn’t have completed the job without the dedication of local builder, Craig Bartsch, or the constant acoustic guidance of Neville Clark of Disk Edits in Adelaide. Check the AT website for a quick flick of the finished results.
North Studios: 0408 087 877 or www.northstudios.com.au
- In: Studio Features