News

David Koteles takes a tour of the new audio system in the A.A. Fredericks Auditorium at Northwest State University of Louisiana. At the heart of the system is an Aviom Pro64 audio network, which allows arts faculty and students to quickly reconfigure the theater to support a wide range of productions.

Aviom’s CEO Carl Bader discusses the design challenges and goals behind the company’s Pro64® A-Net® technology and highlights the performance advantages of networking technologies designed specifically for audio.

Richard Forte reviews Aviom’s 6416m Mic Input Module as part of Pro64 digital snake used with a Yamaha console at a large corporate event featuring an acoustic jazz quartet. Forte says, “In live use, the 6416m, 6416o, and 6416Y2 integrated seamlessly with the LS9-32 console and did a great job conveying all the nuance of the acoustic jazz band and providing pristine output quality to the mains, delays, and stage monitors. The system was a pleasure to use and performed flawlessly.”

Shawn Parr, sound designer/system designer in the department of theatre and dance at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, LA, reviews Aviom’s 6416m Mic Input Module. Parr says, “The Aviom Pro64 snake system is incredibly easy to use, deploy, and work with.”

Tom Young, mix engineer for Tony Bennett, and Karl Bader, engineer for Washington DC-based Entertainment Sound Production, review Aviom’s Pro64 6416m Mic Input Module and its Remote Control Interface and Mic Control Surface.

In this article, Aviom’s director of marketing, Chandler Collison, describes the advantages of moving to digital audio connectivity and discusses what you should consider before switching to a digital workflow. Topics include setting up and reconfiguring a system, physical layout, and audio performance.

This system snapshot explains why Shawn Parr, head of the sound department at Northwestern State University in Louisiana, chose an Aviom Pro64 audio network to upgrade the sound system in the school’s A. A. Fredericks Auditorium. Parr chose Pro64 for its simplicity and flexibility. Parr explains, “The Aviom system is so simple to use. I walked a student through the system in five minutes.”

Ty Ford describes how RGEAR Worldwide’s Gregg Kita uses both Aviom’s Pro16 and Pro64 technology to record multiple audio channels for many of Hollywood’s reality TV shows. Kita has used both Pro16 and Pro64 digital snakes to distribute the audio on set and Aviom’s monitor mixing technology for the story departments to follow the action. Ford concludes that the Aviom gear “provides solid functionality and allows good decisions to be made during production.”

Gregg Kita, the sound engineer for many of Hollywood’s biggest reality TV productions, explains how his company’s move to Aviom has simplified his on location recording setup. Regarding the setup for reality TV shows, Kita says, “Once we saw what Aviom was doing, it was clear that there was an easy, simple way to build out these houses.”

Engineer and producer Wes Maebe reviews the 6416m. His conclusion: “It’s the main component of an extremely flexible audio networking system, with a very clean signal, loads of headroom and all the functions you expect to find on a mic preamp. This big blue box is a reliable work-horse—a full-blown remote-controllable mic preamp that will hold its own in any recording situation.”

This field report explains how ATK Audiotek uses Aviom’s audio distribution technology for both monitor mixing and as a communications network. Staff engineer Andres Arango at ATK Audiotek describes his experience with Aviom for American Idol as “just the beginning. As production demands for live broadcasts increase, we will look at new ways to refine the system and adapt it for future events.” ATK Audiotek has done just that. So far this year, they have used their Aviom gear for the Neighborhood Inaugural Ball, the Grammys, and the Academy Awards.

In this field report, Christopher Holder interviews Julian Spink and Nick Reich of System Sound in Australia. System Sound, the leading sound company for the musical theatre market in Australia, uses a complete Pro64 setup. After talking to Spink and Reich, Holder concludes, “Any live venue…happy with its analogue console, that needs to upgrade its multicore should check out a Pro64 system. You’ll hear the difference immediately and it will afford you the flexibility of scaling and re-configuring your system as and when that’s required.”

Gregg Kita of RGear Worldwide describes how he uses Aviom’s Pro16 digital snakes to record location sound on many of Hollywood’s popular reality TV shows, including VH1’s Rock of Love with Bret Michaels, ABC’s The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, TV Land’s She’s Got the Look, among many others. The Aviom gear has helped Kita streamline his production.

This article explains the technology used to make the new sanctuary for Mile Hi Church flexible enough to accommodate the various needs of the church and its community. Among the audio gear used to accomplish this design was an Aviom Pro64 digital snake and monitor mixing system. The remote control features of Aviom’s 6416m Mic Input Module made an Aviom digital snake the best solution for the church’s audio backbone.

An Aviom Pro16 digital snake has become a key tool for production sound mixer Mark Ulano. In comparing the digital snake to an analog one, Ulano says, “The concept is so elegantly simple and powerful that it makes me wonder how I ever lived without it. . . With the Aviom gear, I am able to physically free myself from the hardware interface that I had to deal with before.”

John McJunkin, a consultant in the development of studios and installations, reviews the remote-controllable 6416m Mic Input Module for Sound & Video Contractor. McJunkin describes the system in detail and says, “The Aviom 6416m gives you 16 dead-quiet mic pres that sound great and the ability to introduce them to a digital networking and distribution system.”

Craig Palcisko, the front-of-house engineer for Legends in Concert, describes the advantage of using Aviom’s monitor mixing system in a live tribute show that features a range of performers, from a Garth Brooks to a Tina Turner to an Elvis to a Dusty Springfield. He says, “The Aviom system is beautiful because it allows musicians to dial in their own mix in real time.”

This German article is a detailed overview of how German broadcaster ZDF covered the EURO 2008 games this summer. Aviom’s A-16II Personal Mixers were among the gear used at the Seebühne in Bregenz (an open air screening location for all ZDF football broadcasts) to manage the incoming audio from various stadiums throughout Austria and Switzerland where the games were played.

Production sound mixer Mark Ulano discusses how he has used an Aviom digital snake for location sound recording in movies such as Rocky Balboa, State of Play, and the upcoming Terminator. Ulano describes how he has relied on an Aviom digital snake to overcome the challenges of some tough environments on the set.

Historic St. Matthew’s Catholic Church in Campbellsport, WI upgraded its audio system using Aviom’s Pro16® Series. Upgrading to digital transport over Cat-5 saved time and money by eliminating the need for the church to drill through cement floors and walls to run wiring. Not only did Aviom simplify the installation and setup, but the flexibility of the system allows the church to adapt to different setup needs.

This German article explains how broadcast station ZDF used Aviom’s Pro16® Monitoring System to manage the incoming audio from football stadiums throughout Austria and Switzerland where the EURO 2008 games were held. Stationed at the Seebühne stadium, which served as an open air screening location for the live broadcasts, the ZDF helped bring the popular sporting event to life for millions of viewers.

The Charlie Hall Band has been touring the world with Aviom’s personal monitor mixers. Drummer Dustin Ragland explains how the Aviom system simplifies their travels because it “is flexible enough to travel everywhere, fitting into the myriad of sound systems we use.”

The longest-running independently owned production show on the Vegas Strip, Legends in Vegas, is celebrating its twenty-fifth anniversary, and the musicians and FOH engineer are grateful for their Aviom Personal Mixers. Musical director Joe Escriba says using the mixers “just makes the job so much easier.”

Wisconsin’s historic St. Matthew’s Church is using an Aviom system to distribute audio between front of house and stage. Using Aviom, system designer Brian Christ was able to avoid the difficulty and expense of drilling holes in the 1905 church. Not only was the system easy to install, but it is also easy to use.

Aviom’s director of marketing, Chandler Collison, explains the best way to approach the switch to in-ear monitors from open-air speakers. Learn how to get better sound quality and a better mix, with less noise and clutter on stage.

Mark Ulano is one of the elite Production Sound Mixers in Hollywood (see our story about Mark's use of Aviom gear on the film Iron Man here). Film & Video Magazine caught up with Mark on the set of Terminator 4, where he discussed a variety of topics, including how Aviom digital snake technology has "really changed the way we work."

Lakewood Church’s Monitor Mixer, Danny McVey, discusses how the church uses a multi-zone Aviom monitoring system to meet the needs of its large performances, including personalities such as Joel Osteen. “It literally went from a weekend where I was doing everyone’s mix and it was always something,” says McVey, “and we put Avioms in on the next service and it was like ducks to water.”

For Shelter Cove Church in Modesto, CA, Aviom’s Personal Mixers provided a simple solution to reducing stage volume. Isaac Gibbs, technical team leader at Shelter Cove, also noted the flexibility provided by the A-16D Pro because “anyone who needs to use one of the A-16IIs can get signal and power from one connection.”

When John Godenzi helped design the setup for Barry Manilow’s show at the Las Vegas Hilton, he “was able to lend expertise gained working with Aviom monitoring systems on [James] Taylor’s tour to help transition from dual monitor engineers and consoles to a single monitor desk and operator.”

Mark Cochi’s RDR Location Recording business brings a state-of-the-art recording studio to its clients. According to Cochi, a key piece in the recent recording of moe.’s Sticks and Stones was RDR Location’s Aviom Pro16 Personal Mixers. Cochi chose Aviom “because it sounds amazing.”

The March Studio Spotlight in Pro Audio Review features Ray Benson’s Bismeaux Studios in Austin, Texas. Chief engineer and studio manager, Sam Seifert, explains how studio sessions have improved with the use of their Aviom Personal Monitor System. The A-16II Personal Mixers free up time for the engineer by allowing musicians to create and control their own monitor mixes.

The Worship Audio feature in January's Pro Audio Review explains how Nashville’s ClearView Baptist Church adapts their facility and audio system for a variety of uses, with an Aviom monitor system playing a key role. An interesting tip about using a headset mic for communication with musicians is included.