Howdy folks.

Issue 75 of AudioTechnology has had its shirt tucked in, its shoelaces tied, and given some lunch money before being dropped off at the school gates. Subscribers will also be receiving AT75 in the post any second now, and you can grab a copy in the newsagency early next week.

In Issue 75, Andy Stewart ponders the vuvuzela, and whether falsifying reality in broadcast audio can really cut it. We feature the influential, experimental indie-rock act, Tortoise, and spend some time with Jacquire King, the engineer/producer behind Tom Waits, Modest Mouse, Norah Jones, and Kings of Leon. We also check out sound mixing and composition for the Australian hit television series, Underbelly: The Golden Mile, and we go behind the scenes of the Blue Man Group, only to discover that their heads really are blue!

Of course, there’s our regular inclusions; there’s a stack of news to whet your gear appetite, Home Grown features the Eddy Current Suppression Ring tracking to eight-track tape, and (gulp) cassette four-track, PC and Mac Audio, while Rick O’Neil pulls things apart quicker than you can put them back together.

Our tutorial section has Michael Stavrou discussing his love of M/S recording, Sound Designer extraordinaire, Dennis Baxter, offers some expert insights into live-to-air surround sound, and Rob Squire talks about ears, namely his. We review the Quested V3110 three-way active midfield monitors, the sE Gemini III valve condenser microphone, the DPA 5100 Mobile Surround Microphone, the incredible Lexicon PCM Native Reverb Plug-in bundle, Dynaudio Acoustics’s BM5A MKII active nearfields, and JLM Audio’s FC500 Analogue FET Compressor, which, incidentally, is our subscription prize for Issue 75!

We reckon you’ll enjoy Issue 75!

The AT-Team.

Issue 74 opens with Andy Stewart setting the record straight on the issue of calibration; in other words, making certain your analogue equipment is feeding your digital equipment correctly, and vice-versa, and how to interface your analogue voltages with the world of 0dBFSD. We also feature Stargate, the Norwegian songwriting and production team behind the likes of Beyoncé, Rihanna, and Lionel Richie. We’ve also got the final word on mixing for 5.1 surround for broadcast applications. Then it’s back to more of a grass-roots vibe for an interview with John Butler about his recent hit independent album release, April Uprising. Of course we have our regular inclusions. Home Grown features one of Australia’s pioneering electronica acts, Itch-E & Scratch-E, PC and Mac Audio sees Martin Walker weighing up the worth of Solid State Drives, while Brad Watts points out how not to permanently wire your headphones into your ears. Plus Rick O’Neil is back to tell us about his new sporting interest involving a forklift.

Our tutorial section, as always, features the inimitable Michael Stavrou discussing colours, Mark Bassett sidetracks us on the topic of the compressor’s side-chain filter, and Michael Carpenter airs his concept of ‘un-engineering’. And it simply wouldn’t be AT without a look at some of the current crop of new audio gear wandering onto the market, with reviews of the Audio-Technica AT4081 and AT4080 ribbon microphones, the Mackie Onyx 1640i combined interface and console, DAS Audio Avant 12A and 18A powered PA speakers, Presonus Firestudio Mobile bus-powered interface, Korg SV-1 vintage style keyboard, SPL Frontliner 2800 outboard channel strip, the Retro 2A3 stereo equaliser, and a preview of the Alcons Audio LR14 ribbon line source array.

This issue AT checks out AC/DC’s Black Ice tour, Andy Stewart investigates Guy Sebastian’s recording digs, and Mark Woods gives us his first-hand account of what it’s like to mix a bluegrass festival at the Harrietville Bluegrass Convention.

AT readers have been mixing up a storm with the ‘Mute or Moot’ multitrack file from Issue 70, and some have let us know how they got on in MIXING IN A VACUUM.

We look at mastering protocols in PREPARING FOR MASTERING and Stav offers some tips on finalising decisions under pressure, while Rob Squire repairs an old Neve console and gives us a reality check about buying cheap, large-format consoles.

Reviews include Presonus’s Studio One Pro DAW, the Allen & Heath iLIVE-T 112 Digital Console System, Novation’s Launchpad controller, the GML 2032 Analogue preamp/EQ combo, the Livid Instruments OHM64 Controller and TC Electronic’s Impact Twin Audio Interface.

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.

GAME ON

Graeme Hague hooks up with three game composers.

Regulars

YOUR WORD

NEWS

The ARIAs, and the Sydney Opera House, and Spandau Ballet in Space!

WHAT’S ON

Studio roundup, featuring Pony Music and Matthew Gray Mastering.

PC & MAC AUDIO

Martin Walker reckons when it comes to computer monitors, size does matter.

Brad Watts, meanwhile, reckons it’s all about getting hands-on with it.

SOMETHING YOU WON’T LEARN IN AUDIO SCHOOL

PART 1: DIY PHASE CHECKER

Rick has gone and gotten all educational on us!

Tutorials

STAV’S WORD

This issue Stav has us gazing into his crystal ball of ‘quasi’ mastering.

ATTAINING THE OPPOSITE OF CLARITY – THE SUBTLE ART OF ‘MOOSHING’

Who cares how you record it, it’s all gonna get ‘mooshed’ anyway!

TAPE FLANGING IN THE NEW WORLD

If you think your old tape machine is good for nothing these days, Paul McKercher has something for you to try.

Reviews

IN BRIEF

Euphonix MC Transport, Golden Age Projects Pre-73, The Batt-O-Meter,
The Basics Live at The Corner Hotel.

PRESONUS STUDIOLIVE 16.4.2

Digital performance & recording mixer.

EAW KF740

Line Array

KLARK TEKNIK DN530 & DN540

Analogue Outboard Processors

APB DYNASONICS MIXSWITCH

Multi-Channel Audio Switcher

MOTU BPM

Beat Production Software

RME FIREFACE UC

USB 2.0 Interface

GOLDEN AGE PROJECT R1 ACTIVE MKIII

Ribbon Microphone

RADIAL ENGINEERING PRO SERIES

Connectivity Devices

SHURE KSM313 & KSM353

Ribbon Microphones

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.

Regulars

YOUR WORD
Readers’ Letters

NEWS
News and new product information.

HOME GROWN
Brad Watts takes a trip to the bottom of the garden with Alex & the Ramps.

WHAT’S ON
Studio Roundup.

PC & MAC AUDIO
On the Mac front, Brad Watts decides it’s time for a fresh install of Snow Leopard… Meanwhile, Microsoft Windows 7 is finally out and about – Martin Walker urges us to look before we leap.

ROOM TO MOVE – PART II
Rick O’Neil is moving studios… again.

Tutorials

ON THE BENCH
This issue Rob Squire explains how the different types of amplifier designs used in audio circuits function.

STAV’S WORD
This issue, Stav mixes up a storm using the download files from last issue’s Mute or Moot article. It’s a mix with a twist.

Reviews

IN BRIEF
TC-Helicon VoiceLive 2, Nomad Factory Pulse-Tec, Euphonix MC Transport, The Excelsior Hotel gets a speaker upgrade.

DIGIDESIGN ELEVEN RACK
Guitar Amp Modeller

AKG D7
Handheld Dynamic Mic

SSL X-DESK
Analogue Console

QSC K10
Powered PA Speakers

NEUMANN KMS 104 PLUS
Hand-Held Vocal Condenser

SONAR PRODUCER 8.5
DAW

Features

PINK’S FUNHOUSE
AT was invited along to Pink’s Funhouse when she toured Australia back in June, and it wasn’t just the PA that was flown from the rigging.

THE THREE Vs OF VICTOR VAN VUGT
He’s an ex-pat Australian with a passion for production. He’s recorded some of the craziest and moodiest acts of recent decades and lived to tell the tale. Ladies and gentlemen, introducing the man whose name is unpronounceable.

RESOLUTE ABOUT RESOLUTION
Mike Piersante, Grammy Award-winning engineer extraordinaire, let’s us in on a few of the secret techniques that have made his recordings shine.

Regulars

YOUR WORD
Readers’ Letters

NEWS
News and new product information including a wrap of Integrate 09.

HOME GROWN
Shane O’Mara has more guitars pedals and amps than you can poke a capo at. AT organises a ram raid.

WHAT’S ON
Studio roundup.

PC & MAC AUDIO
This issue, Martin Walker questions our relentless desire to upgrade hardware and Brad Watts finally becomes a card-carrying iPhone user.

DOING IT WITH YOUR EYES SHUT
Rick comes back from the Integrate Expo full of inspiration… who would have thought?

Tutorial

VINTAGE CROP
Chris Vallejo asks the question: What determines good vintage gear and how do you recognise it?

STEREO MIXING: THE ART, THE SCIENCE, THE FICTION
(PART III – COMPRESSION)
This issue we explore some of the ins and outs of mixing with compressors.

STAV’S WORD
Looking for a professionally executed vocal double track to give your mix some silky textured finesse? Stav has the answer.

SOFTWARE TIPS – EVO
We’ve all used AutoTune before; AT has even done a previous tips ‘n’ tricks column on it! Here’s another perspective on the new Evo software.

Reviews

CAN IT!
Headphone wrap.

ABLETON LIVE 8
DAW

AUDIO-TECHNICA AT2050
Multi-pattern condenser

AKAI APC40
Ableton Live Controller

PMC IB2S
Passive Midfield Monitors

APEX DBC-8
Outboard Compressors

DB TECHNOLOGIES
DVX DM SERIES
Floor/FOH Monitors