Radio Stars: CTS Audio Provides Sound for Nashville’s CRS 2013 with HARMAN’s JBL VTX Line Arrays and Crown I-Tech HD Amplifiers

NASHVILLE, Tennessee — Nashville’s Country Radio Seminar (CRS) is an annual showcase week for the industry where new artists and music that will be released over the course of the year is presented to top country radio people and industry heavyweights. This year’s CRS took place at the Nashville Convention Center, February 27 through March 1 and wowed the more than 5,000 attendees with live performances by Brad Paisley, Vince Gill, Darius Rucker, Gary Allan, Kellie Pickler and many more--all heard through HARMAN’s JBL VTX Series line arrays powered by Crown I-Tech HD amplifiers.

Live sound for the event was provided by Franklin, Tennessee-based CTS Audio, working with event production company DeLux Productions. CTS staff for the event included CTS vice president Mike Taylor, front of house engineer Jon Schwarz, monitor engineer Scott Heyniger and system techs Jeremy Bayne and Joey Eaker.

“We’ve supplied the sound for CRS for nine years and this is the first time we used JBL’s VTX line arrays for the event, so we were stoked to hear what they could do in this room,” Taylor said. CTS flew nine VTX V25 fullsize line array elements and eight VTX S28 subwoofers on each side of the 30x40-foot stage, complemented by four JBL VERTEC® VT4888 midsize line array elements used as delay speakers.

The V25 speakers and S28 subwoofers were driven by 32 Crown I-Tech 12000HD amplifiers, with 16 Crown VRACK 12000HD and four VRACK 4X3500HD complete amplifier management rack systems powering the VT4888 delay speakers. Because there wasn’t much room for the delay amp racks, the VRACK’s self-contained design, which houses three I-Tech 12000HD amps, an input panel and power management, proved ideal for the application thanks to its high 27000 watts of total power (into 4 ohms) contained in a smaller-footprint package. CTS used JBL HiQnet Performance Manager™ software and BSS Soundweb London BLU-80 signal processors for system control and tuning.

CTS Audio has been a JBL VERTEC user for many years and Taylor was impressed by the VTX line arrays. “We got a tremendous amount of headroom using the VTX, and as much as we continue to rely on VERTEC, the improvement in clarity, coverage and power output from these boxes was noticeable,” Taylor said. He also found the Crown amps to be an ideal match with the VTX speakers, thanks to their built-in DSP and HiQnet compatibility that enabled the amps to be easily and precisely tuned to get the most out of the VTX arrays during the event.

“The system performed flawlessly,” Taylor noted. “We didn’t have a single problem with the audio and got a lot of compliments from the other engineers in attendance. Even the front of house engineer at the Grand Ole Opry was raving about how good everything sounded.”

For more information on CTS Audio, please visit www.ctsaudio.com

Photo Credit: Kristen England

HARMAN (www.HARMAN.com) designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment solutions for the automotive, consumer and professional markets — supported by 15 leading brands, including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon® and Mark Levinson®. The Company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 25 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. HARMAN has a workforce of about 13,400 people across the Americas, Europe and Asia, and reported net sales of $4.4 billion for the twelve months ending June 30, 2012.

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HARMAN’s JBL And BSS Audio Featured In New Zealand-Based Auckland Art Gallery Upgrade

NORTHRIDGE, California – New Zealand's oldest and largest public art gallery, the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, recently underwent a massive restoration that transformed the building into a world-class cultural facility that now features a world-class audio system with HARMAN’s JBL loudspeakers. The upgrade was designed and installed by two New Zealand-based companies, Jands and Provision, working together to provide a networked audio system as part of the AV upgrade.

Opening in February 1888, the gallery has increasingly become a focal point of Auckland's art scene, and now lies at the heart of the New Zealand art experience for both the local community and visitors alike. Stephen Ward, project manager and lead designer for the project, commented, "This project was unique, in that two of the buildings we were cabling were Heritage Buildings over 100 years old, and not linked, while demolition and construction continued around us. I was able to draw from my knowledge and experience from working and maintaining similar heritage sites in the UK, such as the Royal Society of Art and Tait Britain to assist with the planning and implementation of this project, allowing me the insight and understanding as to how the client would ideally use the spaces.”

In total, over 250 HARMAN JBL speakers were installed throughout the complex including Control 26CT, Control 24C and JBL Control 52 satellite speakers.

One of the design challenges was to provide an audio network with up to 25 discrete zones and over 100 patchable inputs (four per zone), as well as a separate BGM and paging level control per zone. Each of the 25 zones then needed the flexibility to be virtually patched to any combination of other zones. Fortunately the BSS Audio Soundweb London BLU-100 signal processors, featuring a 48-channel digital audio bus, gave the flexibility required to make this work within the tight budget.  

Ward continued, "The audio was of high importance due to the changing nature of the open spaces in the art gallery and varying exhibitions and the use of Soundweb London allowed us complete flexibility in its design and linking. This provides the ability to expand the AV systems in a modular way and meet the users ever changing needs.”

Provision went about installing 10 Soundweb London BLU-100 devices between the five AV plant rooms. An audio network was setup between the plant rooms using fiber optic cable, which linked the digital audio bus and Ethernet control.

The mammoth task of mapping the level controls from 10 different Soundweb London DSP devices began.

Logan Bent, programmer for Provision with 15 years’ experience and dozens of existing projects involving BSS Audio went about the task of integrating the whole system. Logan comments, "The actual programming was relatively straight forward once a clear scope of works and client discussions in developing the interface were conducted. The most time consuming component during implementation and commissioning was the grand scale of the project. The greatest challenge with the interface was coming up with a way to overflow any of the inputs to any of the output zones. Along with that a simple way to disable a certain link was needed.”

For more information on ProVision, please visit www.provision.co.nz

HARMAN (www.HARMAN.com) designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment solutions for the automotive, consumer and professional markets — supported by 15 leading brands, including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon® and Mark Levinson®. The Company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 25 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. HARMAN has a workforce of about 13,400 people across the Americas, Europe and Asia, and reported net sales of $4.4 billion for the twelve months ending June 30, 2012.

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HARMAN’s Soundcraft “Mixing with Professionals” Seminars Heads Into Dallas With Barry Manilow Front of House Engineer Ken Newman On May 15

DALLAS, Texas — HARMAN’s Soundcraft continues its popular “Mixing with Professionals” (MwP) series with a stop in Dallas, Texas on May 15, 2013. MwP offers tips and tricks about using Soundcraft Vi Series consoles from some of live sound’s most accomplished engineers. Ken Newman, front of house engineer for Barry Manilow and owner of Newman Audio will conduct the Dallas sessions.

Ken Newman is currently on tour with Manilow and has done live sound for Chris Isaak, Anita Baker, Stevie Nicks, Liza Minnelli, Paul Anka and other top performers. No stranger to a front of house console, Newman began mixing sound in 1972 as a teenager and hasn’t stopped since.

Newman will give MwP attendees in-depth training on the Soundcraft Vi Series consoles in a classroom atmosphere that allows plenty of hands-on training. If participants bring a USB stick they can save their settings and take them on the road for their next gig, or keep working on their settings using the Soundcraft Virtual Vi offline editors, which is available free on the Soundcraft website.

“I really enjoy doing the Soundcraft ‘Mixing with Professionals’ seminars and so do the attendees, who learn a lot about using the Vi Series consoles in the real-world of live performance,” said Newman. “There’s no console I’d rather have in front of me than a Soundcraft Vi6—it puts everything I need at my fingertips and let’s me handle the most demanding live mixing situations with complete assurance.”

The MwP sessions will be held on May 15 at Dobbs Stanford Corporation, 2715 Electronic Lane, Dallas, TX 75220.

Two time slots will be available from 9:00 am – 12:00 noon and from 2:00 pm – 6:00 pm. The course is free to attend but registration is required and space is limited. Details are available at usa.soundcraft.com and participants can register via e-mail at Soundcraft-usa@harman.com.

HARMAN (www.harman.com) designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment solutions for the automotive, consumer and professional markets — supported by 15 leading brands, including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon® and Mark Levinson®. The Company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 25 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. HARMAN has a workforce of about 13,400 people across the Americas, Europe and Asia, and reported net sales of $4.4 billion for year ended June 30, 2012. 

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HARMAN’s BSS Audio Backbone Networks Multiple Lecture Halls at the University of Torino

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TURIN, Italy — In order to allow lessons to be streamed via the Internet at the University of Torino in Italy, integrator Leading Technologies srl (LTech) recently designed a technical AV infrastructure for more than 30 classrooms (and main assembly hall) in the Law & Political Science faculty. At the heart of the network is a complete HARMAN BSS Audio Soundweb London system, which allows for seamless management of the classroom’s audio and video control.  The facilities include six lecture rooms, each containing approximately 150 seats, 28 classrooms — and a grand assembly hall with 300 seats, which is also occasionally used to stage small concerts.

LTech chose to place the system on a BSS Audio Soundweb London network, with its proprietary BLU link digital audio bus, to provide a powerful and rock solid backbone. “Our real achievement was the integration of the Soundweb London audio signals with video and our support for the design and programming of these systems. It was vitally important to have audio, video and web control all from a single brand of product,” explained Mauro Lavazza, Project Manager for LTech.

Playback is all through JBL loudspeakers. In the main hall eight JBL Control29AV-1’s, chosen for their extremely flat, high-fidelity performance, extended bandwidth and well-controlled defined coverage, are driven by Crown XLS1000 amplifiers, while twocompact JBL Control 1 Pro loudspeakers, powered by Crown MA135 mixer amps, act as monitors for the speaker’s table.

In each of the six classrooms are four JBL Control 28 driven by aCrown XLS 1000 and two JBL Control 1 Pro operating with a Crown 135MAamplifier, as monitor speakers. Finally, in each of the 28 small classroomseither two or four JBL Control 25’s can be found — in all cases powered by a Crown XLS 1000 amplifier — with a pair of JBL Control1 Pro, powered by a Crown 135MA, serving as monitors. Equalization of the large lecture hall and six classrooms has been carried out digitally in the Soundweb London processors, which also handle the automatic mixingof all signals and delay lines.

The six 150-seat classroomsshare video and audio signals with the main hall through a central node with a video matrix, and by a Soundweb London BLU link ring consisting of six BSS Audio BLU-100 and six BLU-800 processors, with two BSS Audio BLU-BIB(8-input expander) and BLU-BOB (8-channel output expander) increasing the I/O capability.

The Soundweb London BLU-800 in the main hall shares audio with a Soundcraft Compact 16 via a CobraNet card so that all mic inputs normally handled automatically by the Soundweb London processorcan be mixed in manual mode (plus analogue inputs during live concert performance).

In the smaller rooms, mic EQ is handled from a series of Soundcraft EPM-6 mixers. These have been specified throughout the 28 classrooms to handle mic mixing and computer signals.

In conclusion Mauro Lavazza stated, “This has been a successful integration which fully meets the client’s requirements. They were particularly enthusiastic about the performanceof the Soundweb London processors that make up the heart of the system, for their flexibilityand ease of programming. Without having any previous experience of this platform they have immediately created complete autonomy in the management and maintenance oftheir audio systems.”

HARMAN (www.harman.com) designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment solutions for the automotive, consumer and professional markets – supported by 15 leading brands, including AKG, Harman Kardon, Infinity, JBL, Lexicon and Mark Levinson. The company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 20 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. HARMAN has a workforce of about 13,400 people across the Americas, Europe and Asia, and reported sales of $4.4 billion for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2012.

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David Rosenthal, Keyboardist, Synth Programmer and Billy Joel’s Musical Director Finds HARMAN’s Lexicon PCM Total Bundle Essential Live and In the Studio

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – David Rosenthal has enjoyed a remarkably successful career as a keyboardist, synth programmer, orchestrator, and touring musician and that doesn’t begin to cover it all. Rosenthal is also Billy Joel’s musical director, a role that recently has him performing worldwide at events like 12-12-12: The Concert for Sandy Relief and the upcoming New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival 2013. Besides working with Billy Joel for the past 20 years, he’s also worked with Bruce Springsteen, Enrique Iglesias, Elton John, Cyndi Lauper and many others, provided synth programming and musical direction for the Tony-winning Broadway Musical “Movin’ Out” and runs Sonic Adventures Studio in New Jersey. The sonic adventure continues with Rosenthal’s recent discovery of HARMAN’s Lexicon PCM Total Bundle reverb/effects plug-in.

“I’ve been a Lexicon user since the early ’90s,” said Rosenthal. “In fact I was one of the people who contributed customized Music FX presets for the PCM 80 when they used to sell preset sound cards. I’ve used products like the Lexicon PCM 80, 81, 90, 91 and 480L and they’ve always been a big part of my sound.”

Rosenthal has always embraced the latest musical technologies, but it wasn’t until recently that he felt that computers and software had reached the point where he could forego his outboard effects. He used to use banks of keyboards and racks of outboard effects processors because it was the only way he could get the sounds he needed live. It’s only been in the past year or so that computer technology has gotten to the point where Rosenthal needed it to be.

“The tech has turned the corner, thanks to resources like laptops with 16 GB of memory, better synth plug-ins, solid-state drives, 64-bit operating systems and plug-ins like the Lexicon PCM Total Bundle. Now everything can keep up, I have enough processing power and polyphonic capability and everything responds like a musical instrument.” He hasn’t given up his cocoon of keyboards entirely, he still uses multiple keyboards live because he doesn’t want to map a lot of sounds on a limited number of keyboards. “When I’m on stage I want to think about playing, not about program changes and which buttons I have to push during a song.”

“The Lexicon PCM Total Bundle doesn’t sound like it’s close to the ‘Lexicon sound’ – it is the Lexicon sound,” Rosenthal emphasized. “It has the smooth reverb tails and that beautiful natural decay, and its algorithms don’t ‘smear’ the initial attack of my keyboards.” In live performances Rosenthal primarily uses a tweaked sound based on the Concert Hall algorithm that he calls “Bright Keyboard Hall,” finding that it gives depth and spatiality to his keyboard sounds without getting too boomy in an arena or large hall.

In the studio, Rosenthal is still exploring the sonic possibilities of the PCM Total Bundle. “Other reverb plug-ins have fallen short for me and I have always used Lexicon hardware units for my important studio projects – until now. I also like the fact that the PCM Total Bundle gives me 100-percent total recall of my settings, which is an incredible timesaver in the studio and assures I’ll never lose any of my customized sounds.”

“The PCM Total Bundle is exactly what I expected a Lexicon plug-in to sound like,” Rosenthal concluded. “Nothing else sounds like a Lexicon reverb, and the PCM Total Bundle gives me the same sound quality and musicality I’ve come to rely on from Lexicon that I can’t get anywhere else.”

“We are always excited to work with an artist of David’s caliber, and his use of one software platform in studio, for touring and instrument processing, shows how amazingly versatile these plug-in are,” added Noel Larson, Market Manager for Recording, Tour and Portable PA at HARMAN Signal Processing.

The Lexicon PCM Total Bundle is designed to work with popular DAWs like Pro Tools and Logic, as well as with any other VST^®, Audio Unit™ or RTAS^®-compatible platform. Compatible with Windows^® Vista, XP and 7and Macintosh^® computers, it offers 14 unique Lexicon reverbs and effects, and hundreds of finely crafted studio presets. Its intuitive user interface provides control of key parameters with a graphical real-time full-color display and flexible sonic customization capabilities.

HARMAN (www.harman.com) designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment solutions for the automotive, consumer and professional markets – supported by 15 leading brands, including AKG, Harman Kardon, Infinity, JBL, Lexicon and Mark Levinson. The company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 20 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. HARMAN has a workforce of about 13,400 people across the Americas, Europe and Asia, and reported sales of $4.4 billion for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2012.

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Jason “Malletman” Taylor’s Vibraphone Swings With HARMAN’s AKG Microphones

VIENNA, Austria – One of the few professional jazz vibes players still swinging, protégé of the late Lionel Hampton, Jason “Malletman” Taylor continues on his mission to keep real music alive with his vibraphones on tour, in the recording studio and for clinics across the US.  With HARMAN’s AKG C516 ML instrument microphones mounted onto his vibes, Malletman entertains crowds with energetic, explosive jazz performances.

The 5-time GRAMMY-ballot nominated musician, who is recognized for his unique presentation of jazz, R&B and swing has worked, opened for and performed with a long list of notable entertainers, including Earth, Wind & Fire, Tito Puente Jr., P. Diddy, Bernard “Pretty” Purdie, Wil Calhoun (Living Colour), Chester Thompson (Genesis), Pacquito D’Rivera, and Brad Whitford (Aerosmith).

“I’ve been looking for the right microphone for a long time. Throughout my career, I’ve had all kinds of combinations of sound technicians and microphones that didn’t quite cut it, and the poor sound bugged me. I couldn’t really describe what I was looking for, but I knew I hadn’t found it,” said Malletman. “With the C516’s, my sound is like, BANG! It’s incredible through the mix – crisp, lively, and tight. I move around a lot during my show, so the mics’ durability and ability to remain adhered to the vibes is an added bonus. The C516’s can keep up with me, and that’s saying a lot.”

The C516’s mounting system ensures the mics are always kept in place and out of the way, while the internal shock mounts suppress any mechanical noise from the instrument or stage floor – even the dancing and showmanship of Malletman – keeping the sound of the vibes pure and clean.

Malletman’s performance, in addition to playing the vibes, includes spoken entertainment to his audience and an AKG D5 is on hand for all of his shows. 

For more information about AKG, please visit http://www.akg.com and http://www.youtube.com/AKGacoustics. For more information on Jason “Malletman” Taylor, please visit http://www.malletsplace.com

HARMAN (www.harman.com) designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment solutions for the automotive, consumer and professional markets — supported by 15 leading brands, including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon® and Mark Levinson®. The Company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 25 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. HARMAN has a workforce of about 13,400 people across the Americas, Europe and Asia, and reported net sales of $4.4 billion for year ended June 30, 2012.

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HARMAN’s Soundcraft Si Expression 3 Takes Center Stage at The Parker Playhouse

FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida – Parker Playhouse first opened its doors in 1967 and has played an important role for performing arts in the Fort Lauderdale community ever since. The performance venue, now managed by Broward Center for Performing Arts, fully seats 1,168 and hosts concerts, plays, musicals, and other events. Anton Foresta, Head Audio Engineer for Parker Playhouse and owner of Anton F. Audio Design, recently purchased a HARMAN Soundcraft Si Expression 3 digital mixer for use at Parker Playhouse, as well as other one-off events.

Parker Playhouse hosts various productions for the Fort Lauderdale area and needed a digital mixer that would fit its needs. “We host everything from a single mic production, like a comedian, to a full band. The Parker Playhouse just recently hosted comedian Jim Breuer and Alan Parsons before that,” said Foresta, who is also a touring FOH engineer for “Arrival—The Music of ABBA, Direct From Sweden.”

Foresta required a console offering user-friendliness and excellent sound quality both for personal use and at the Parker Playhouse. “I wanted a small-format console that I could have for myself. I came across info on the Si Expression 3 online and as soon as I read about it, I knew that was what I wanted,” said Foresta. “I have always been a Soundcraft fan. Their consoles provide tremendous ease of use, and even during the transition to digital they kept the consoles simple, especially with their Si Series.”

Since he began using the Si Expression 3, Foresta has appreciated its performance and unique features. “Everything has been solid. I like the I/O, the 32 inputs and 16 outputs. Having a graphic EQ on every single output is an advantage that’s unique to this board as well,” said Foresta.

“At this price for a Soundcraft console, nothing compares,” Foresta concluded. “The preamps on the expression sound fantastic. I’ve used all types of consoles and this is the best-sounding console I’ve found in the small-format category.”

HARMAN (www.HARMAN.com) designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment solutions for the automotive, consumer and professional markets — supported by 15 leading brands, including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon® and Mark Levinson®. The Company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 25 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. HARMAN has a workforce of about 13,400 people across the Americas, Europe and Asia, and reported net sales of $4.4 billion for the twelve months ending June 30, 2012.

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“God of the Small Strings” Indian Guitarist Baiju Dharmajan Relies On HARMAN’s DigiTech for His Signature Sounds

KOCHI, India – Baiju Dharmajan is one of India’s most celebrated guitarists. Known as “God of the Small Strings” to his fans, Dharmajan has been voted India’s best guitarist [at the Jack Daniels Rock Awards for two years in a row in 2008 and 2009]  and was a long-time member of legendary Indian rock band Motherjane before launching his solo career and releasing his first solo album The Crossover in 2012 on the Cochym record label. Strongly influenced by Carnatic music, Indian artists K.J. Yesudas, Ilaiyaraaja, Raveendram and G. Devarajan and guitar heroes like Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck, Dharmajan is known for his extended, Carnatic-inspired guitar solos – and his long-time use of HARMAN’s DigiTech pedals.

“For the last 30 years I’ve been playing, DigiTech pedals have always been my first choice, to the point where it’s hard for me to think about using any other brand,” said Dharmajan. His current pedalboard includes the DigiTech Main Squeeze compressor, Hardwire Tube Overdrive, Harmony Man intelligent pitch shifter, Whammy™ pitch shift pedal and a JamMan™ Looper.

For Dharmajan, DigiTech effects aren’t add-ons – they’re fundamental to his sound, whether on the iconic Motherjane album Maktub, voted 2009 Album of the Year by Rolling Stone India or his versions of the Indian national anthem “Jana Gana Mana” and the popular song “Mile Sur Mera Tamara” promoting national integration and unity in diversity. “One of the questions I get asked most often is how I am able to produce a certain sound or tone. I always tell young guitarists that it has a whole lot to do with the combinations of pedals that you use,” added Dharmajan.

“My DigiTech pedals have played a pivotal role in the tones you hear in my solo album The Crossover and in many Motherjane songs. I should also point out that from a practical standpoint the pedals have helped me greatly at live concerts because they are able to drive a whole gamut of amps very effectively,” Dharmajan noted.

As an artist who has helped define the sound of Indian rock guitar, Dharmajan continues to innovate, blending Indian and Western musical influences in his band Baiju Dharmajan Syndicate, in the group Kashmir co-founded with Santee Thomas, in experimental jazz-fusion band Karnatriix and in collaborations with artists like Susmit Sen of Indian Ocean and electronica act Midival Punditz.

“DigiTech pedals have always been trustworthy, effective and affordable,” said Dharmajan. “They continue to power up my musical dreams.”

HARMAN (www.HARMAN.com) designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment solutions for the automotive, consumer and professional markets — supported by 15 leading brands, including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon® and Mark Levinson®. The Company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 25 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. HARMAN has a workforce of about 13,400 people across the Americas, Europe and Asia, and reported net sales of $4.4 billion for the twelve months ending June 30, 2012.

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HARMAN’s Studer Sets Radio Roadmap for Rural Thailand

BANGKOK, Thailand – The Thai Government Department of Rural Roads is responsible for maintaining the roads that connect to the country’s main highways—this enables them to set up bypasses where necessary to improve traffic flow. To assist them in responding quickly to provide information across the vast network of roads, the Department has now set up its own radio station—initially for internal broadcasting before it becomes a full FM / AM broadcast channel, streaming digital information for the benefit of the general public. To help facilitate live broadcasts and flag up immediate alerts, HARMAN’s Studer’s Bangkok-based distributor 101 Technology (part of the Mahajak Group) has supplied a compact Studer OnAir 1500 production desk. Fitting a tight budget, the desk will be multi-functional, enabling the station to handle live broadcasts and record live sessions—while operating as a dedicated production mixer.

101 Technology reports that this is the first OnAir 1500 to be sold in the country. The company’s Wiboon Lertkultanon explains, “We put all the Studer OnAir 1500 launch information up online. The people involved in the radio station knew of Studer’s reputation and I was contacted immediately after they saw it on our website.”

In fact the OnAir 1500, configured with 12 faders, was designed to provide the versatile hybrid solution for radio broadcasting and production that the studio required … a compact and cost effective production room console. The additional integrated USB playback and record functions make the OnAir 1500 a highly comprehensive desk.

“After initial concerns about the budget they found they could do everything they needed with the OnAir 1500 and still have funding remaining for room decoration,” reports Wiboon. “The fact that the desk could double as a production mixer was a bonus since they don’t have the budget to build another production studio yet.”

The compact form factor provided another compelling reason for adopting this platform. Converted from a small meeting room, the studio measures just 4m x 3m and can accommodate a host and two guests. Notes Wiboon, “The idea of separating the surface from the DSP held the key to space saving. Also the ease of the flash drive plug and play is another highlight.”

Assigned to the faders are a host and two guest mics, solid state player, CD players, automatic play out, and two off-air feeds, a telephone hybrid and production workstation (plus GPIOs). The host microphone can also send out to record in the production workstation and the mixer takes the input from the production workstation back to the studio monitor.

The outputs feed: Internal broadcast; Radio broadcast; Internet Radio Streaming and Production workstation which runs Adobe Audition, enabling it to record and edit files.

Now up and running, the station is performing a valuable public service —spreading information to road users and enabling them to plot alternative routes. Conversely, drivers are able to phone in live reports to the station, flagging up road blocks, accidents and hold-ups.

In summary, Wiboon says, “The Studer name sells itself for the ease of use, reliability and sound quality. But its legendary quality has never come in such a compact box as this before. This, coupled with the 101 Technology support team, means that the OnAir 1500 is in safe hands.”

And one of the radio hosts added “The OnAir 1500 has met all expectations, showing that it can function as a production mixer within a tight budget.” And the sound remains top quality, even when playing MP3 sound files.

Further information from: HARMAN (www.HARMAN.com) designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment solutions for the automotive, consumer and professional markets — supported by 15 leading brands, including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon® and Mark Levinson®. The Company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 25 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. HARMAN has a workforce of about 13,400 people across the Americas, Europe and Asia, and reported net sales of $4.4 billion for the twelve months ending June 30, 2012.

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HARMAN Professional Audio Systems Shine During Guangzhou Professional Audio and Lighting Exhibition

GUANGZHOU, China – With a strong professional audio sales and installation channel in China, HARMAN’s JBL loudspeakers and Crown amplifiers were showcased during the Guangzhou Professional Audio and Lighting Exhibition in Guangzhou for continued outreach into the highly demanding China audio marketplace. Quality, reliability and aesthetics of the products underscored HARMAN’s largely successful presence at the show for distributors, integrators and end users in China.

HARMAN has specialized in the KTV marketplace over recent years and has introduced a range of specialized solutions to address the unique challenges and requirements of integrators and KTV operators.  From its advanced research and development center in Shenzhen, numerous product offerings have been developed, including JBL KS300, KP600, Ki100 speaker series, the Crown XLi amplifier series and the specialized JBL KX100 pre-amplifier for KTV lines. During the exhibition, the JBL Marquis Dance Series was one of the most popular products in the booth.  The Marquis Series addresses the high demand for high-end clubs, nightclubs, discos and many other entertainment applications.

“The Guangzhou Professional Audio and Lighting Exhibition is a phenomenal opportunity for HARMAN to reach out and meet the demand of the rapidly expanding China markets,” stated David Jin, Chairman & President, North East Asia and China, HARMAN. “Our JBL loudspeakers and Crown amplifiers have been successfully installed in many high-end locations in Guangdong, Shandong and Fujian. To showcase these products in a high-demand area is vital to the continued success of HARMAN in China.”

HARMAN (www.harman.com) designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment solutions for the automotive, consumer and professional markets — supported by 15 leading brands, including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon® and Mark Levinson®. The Company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 25 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. HARMAN has a workforce of about 13,400 people across the Americas, Europe and Asia, and reported net sales of $4.4 billion for year ended June 30, 2012.

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