Recording - December 2011 - 2

PUBLISHER: Thomas Hawley ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER: Brent Heintz

EDITOR: Lorenz Rychner ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Mike Metlay MÚSICO PRO EDITOR: Fernando Curiel

EDITORIAL

Discoveries Bangor, Maine, doesn’t come up much in conversation, but I’m glad I went there after attending the AES Convention in NYC. (Read my colleague Mike Metlay’s account of an interesting AES rollout in this issue’s Fade Out, with much more to come in our show report next month.) Bangor is a few hours northeast of Boston, and it is home to a remarkable school called NESCOM, which stands for New England School of Communications (www.nescom.edu). I looked in on Eric Ferguson, occasional contributor to Recording, who will soon author a new fundamentals series for us. After years of being a man-of-all-trades in music and audio, which included lots of touring the world doing sound for the likes of Lee Ritenour, Eric has begun teaching at NESCOM, and he showed me around the school. I was pleased to meet Thom Johnston, President; David MacLaughlin, Exec. Director Audio Engineering (McLaughlin founded the school and developed it from its radio broadcasting origins); and Rodney Verrill, Exec. Director Video Production, among quite a few others. Audio (recording and live sound and broadcasting) is studied by about half of the currently 531 students; these audio classes, and the courses on video production, web media, marketing communications, journalism, photography, and other related topics are being taught on a hands-on basis that prepares students for real-life job situations. This is reflected by the kind of gear I saw in the class rooms and practice studios—it is what’s being used out there “in the real world”. There was much talk about the most immediate upcoming assignments: broadcasting a football game from the school’s fully equipped broadcast truck (with a 6 AM call for the A/V crew...), and recording the local symphony orchestra on the stage of the school’s own concert hall (a 500-seater with a huge stage, orchestra pit and fly system). Assignments like these are testaments to the vocational “learn-what-you-need-to-get-a-job” orientation of the school. This December issue of Recording goes to the printers before the end of October, and despite the fall colors of New England and the bracing low temperatures I’m experiencing as I write this, it doesn’t quite feel like the year’s end is here, yet. Still, next to reviews of a number of new products in this issue, we write up a wide range of items that you may consider as gifts, for others or for yourself, since the season of giving (and taking...) is upon us. This year’s Gift Guide comes to you in two parts; beginning on page 10 we list gear—the kind you can throw in a bag, or mount in a rack, and beginning on page 26 you will find software and soundware. Maybe you’ll make a discovery that enhances your productivity and creativity? I jumped at the opportunity to bring you the story of Electrons, a loosely associated group of highly experienced individuals who, from their individual home studios in long-distance collaboration, took a David Lynch (yes, that David Lynch!) recording and re-created it. We’ve all heard the old saw that says “creativity knows no boundaries” and such truisms, but here the trust and willingness by individuals to defer to the creativity of others, in this case mostly Anthony J. Resta, to finish off their contributions is indeed exemplary. As we are entering Recording’s 25th year, we extend the season’s greetings to you and yours; let’s hope that 2012 will bring many more discoveries, and many more reasons for— Happy Recording!

CONTRIBUTORS Darwin Grosse, Paul Vnuk Jr., Allen Goodman, Mark Hornsby, Michael Schulze, Marty Peters SOCIAL MEDIA Brent Heintz, Paul Vnuk Jr.
ART DIRECTOR: Scott Simmonds PRODUCTION MANAGER: Colin Courtney WEB GOALIE: Colin Courtney

ART & PRODUCTION

EDITOR/PRODUCER:

PLAYBACK PLATINUM SERIES Lorenz Rychner CIRCULATION Tiffany Sepe

CIRCULATION MANAGER:

ADVERTISING SALES AND MARKETING DIRECTOR: Brent Heintz CLASSIFIEDS MANAGER: Stephanie King
ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE:

ADMINISTRATION Stephanie King

PRESIDENT: Thomas Hawley VICE PRESIDENT: Brent Heintz

EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

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RECORDING DECEMBER 2011

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Recording - December 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - December 2011