AudioMedia - November 2008 - (Page 16)

geo focus: I taly Danilo Pao Sings SSL’s Praises ver the past 13 years Danilo Pao has worked extensively with a huge range of artists, including Niccolò Fabi and Raiz, and in that time his studio has grown to match his expertise as both Producer and Composer. He has recently purchased a Solid State Logic AWS 900+. For Pao, the AWS 900+ not only represents the very centrepiece of Lasugo, his noted recording facility, but also fits in with the studio’s main ethos – to be compact and versatile. His latest project has seen him working with singer/songwriter Nelly Furtado on the track Win Or Lose, where Nelly duets with multi-platinum selling Italian duo Zero Assoluto. But this is no flash in the pan for Danilo – this latest hit production merely adds to his already impressive tally of five platinum albums and a dozen gold discs. Big results for a studio that measures just 4m2. O Within that compact environment Pao has streamlined his equipment to just the pieces that he knows he can rely on, but with the arrival of the SSL AWS 900+, everything in his studio has been lifted to the next level. “Over the years I’ve been lucky enough to work with a great many desks, be they analogue or digital. But through it all there’s only one that has a sound that gets me excited, and that’s SSL. Yes, there are many others to choose from, but within the compact footprint of the AWS 900+, nothing can touch it in terms of sound, features, and versatility. “That versatility is key to the way we work. We always have a few projects on the go at any one time, so the console we use has to be able to keep up with our demanding schedule. And thanks to its exceptional routing possibilities and the indispensable Total Recall, the AWS makes life very easy for us. We can manage our workflow easily, so really the only limit for us is our creativity. “For us the AWS 900+ represents a huge leap forward in terms of sound, but with the built in DAW controls, it also gives us much more than that. We now have total control over our software as well as the quality SSL EQ and dynamics that the console offers. In the short time we’ve had the SSL, it’s become the absolute centre of everything we do here at Lasugo.” Agorà Invests In DiGiCo R ental company Agorà has taken delivery of four DiGiCo SD7 digital mixing consoles, the biggest single delivery to date. Based in L’Aquila in central Italy, Agorà’s high profile client list, which encompasses the majority of the country’s top tours, means that its inventory of consoles needed to be augmented. Enter the SD7s, the purchase of another two of which are planned for 2009. DiGiCo’s Managing Director, James Gordon, visited Agorà’s premises to head up a training programme. “Agorà has a long association with DiGiCo,” says Stefano Cantadori, President of Audio Link. “It was one of the first companies to invest in the D5 and has an impressive stock of both digital and analogue desks. Agorà already had the edge in the Italian market and the purchase of the SD7s has reinforced that.” Media Matters Italy’s heady blend of politics and media has made headlines inside and outside the country, with watchdogs and some politicians pointing to Prime Minister Berlusconi’s influence over both public and private broadcasting. The public broadcaster, Rai, has traditionally been subject to political influence, and Berlusconi’s Mediaset empire operates Italy’s top private TV stations. Between them, Rai and Mediaset effectively control Italy’s TV market and are a potentially powerful political tool. A media law, passed in , heralded the creation of new digital TV channels and the partial privatisation of Rai. Critics said the bill reinforced Berlusconi’s hold on the media. Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp secured a virtual monopoly of the pay-TV sector when it launched Sky Italia in July . The service was created through the merger of two existing pay-TV services – Stream and Telepiu. Around , commercial radio stations broadcast in Italy. A few of them have national coverage; most are music-based. They share the airwaves with public broadcaster Rai’s radio stations. V I TA L S TAT I S T I C S : I TA LY F U L L N AM E P O P U L AT I O N C A P I TA L LARGEST CITY AREA MA J O R L A N G UAG E M O N E TA RY U N I T MA I N E X P O RTS Italian Republic 58.9 million (UN, 2007) Rome Lisbon 9301,338km (116,346mls ) Italian 1 euro = 100 cents Machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, clothes, wine US $30,010 (World Bank, 2006) .it +39 G N I P E R C A P I TA I N T E R N E T D O MA I N I N T E R N AT I O N A L D I A L L I N G CO D E Italian Trade Association Relocates he new offices of Italian entertainment technology trade association APIAS recently hosted the first meeting of the new APIAS Board of Directors elected for the 2008-2010 period. The APIAS development project, which began just over a year ago with the launch of the ShowWay exhibition and the introduction of associate membership, has been completed with the relocation of the association’s offices to a new furnished building just outside Milan, at 128 Viale Fulvio Testi, Cinisello Balsamo. The site is already home to the offices of UCIMU (Association of Italian Manufacturers of Machine Tools, Robots, Automation Systems and Ancillary Products) and other associations. APIAS says the new location fully meets the association’s requirements, providing conference rooms, meeting rooms, a parking area, a restaurant, a bar, an on-site canteen, a concierge and reception area, and general services. The new offices may be easily reached from the Milanese suburban motorway T system and from Milan itself both by car and public transport. These services will also be available to APIAS members who need to arrange meetings in Milan. “It is my hope,” said Augusto Andraghetti, chairman of APIAS, “that with the new offices and the programmes we are pursuing in the training and trade fair sectors, a period of greater intercommunication with members will commence and all members will have more frequent relations with the association.” Augusto Andraghetti will be supported in his work by the new Board of Directors, elected at the members’ meeting on 26 June last consisting of: Lanfranco Meoni (Bestlight), Pasquale Quadri (Clay Paky), Renato Molinari (Coemar), Giorgio Biffi (Outline), Roberto Meggiolaro (Proel), and Franco Bertini (Studio Due). The first meeting of the newly-elected Board took place in the new offices at the end of August, and led to the launch of new member services, which will be announced in the near future. 16 AUDIO MEDIA NOVEMBER 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of AudioMedia - November 2008

AudioMedia - November 2008 Contents Recording News Post News Broadcast News Geofocus: Italy What's Up UK AES Review For the Record Studio Snapshot: Aquarium Abbey Road Plug-ins Brilliance Pack Neumann TLM67 Mercenary Audio KM-69 IZ Technology ADA Final Cut Special: Bond TC Powercore 6000 EP Productions Nagra VI Product Sampler: Location Tools Video Guide AMSR News Shure KSM9 Big Beach Boutique 4

AudioMedia - November 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.