Shure supports The Music Producers Guild Awards 2012

The MPG is the first of its kind in the UK and aims to celebrate the often unknown heroes of music; from  music producers and engineers, to mixers and re-mixers.

Shure not only provide the awards themselves (a lovely limited edition gold version of our classic 55SH), but we also sponsor the Award for ‘Live Production of the Year’.  We’d like to send our congratulations to Radiohead who took the prize for the excellent ‘Live in Praha’, and fought off stiff competition from Jools Holland and The Who for their Live in Leeds/Hull production.

Full list of the 2012 Music Producers Guild Winners

The Shure Songwriting Award 2012, judged by Anna Calvi is now live…

Shure, in conjunction with The Institute of Contemporary Music Performance are delighted to announce the launch of the 2012 Shure Songwriting Award. Previous judges have included KT Tunstall, Amy McDonald, K.T. Tunstall, Paloma Faith and Everything Everything, and we are very pleased that Anna Calvi has agreed to judge this year.

Anna was included on BBC’s Sound of 2011 and gained critical acclaim for her poetic filled album A Velvet Wall of Sound, which  was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize  and a BRIT Award.

If you are a songwriter looking to make a career out of your talent, why not take part in this year’s award competition? First prize is a unique opportunity to attend, free of charge, the fantastic one-year Cert HE in Songwriting course at the Institute worth over £5,000!. This will obviously be accompanied by some Shure goodies!
To enter, all you have to do is upload an original song to the award website before 16th March 2012. You will then have four weeks to try and gain as many public votes as possible. Finally a combination of an expert panel of judges will select a top 8 and then Anna Calvi will be making her selection for this year’s winner!

Shure Drum Mastery finalists announced….

Those of you who have been following our Drum Mastery competition will be pleased to know that the finalists have just been announced. With 18 countries participating, almost a million page views, thousands of track downloads and hundreds of entries we’d like to thank everyone who entered, thought about entering (!), and everyone who voted.

The five finalists will be flown to Iceland in March for a masterclass with Darren Ashford, followed by a Drum Battle where they will all go head to head! View the entries from the five lucky finalists 

 

Shure wins a coveted TEC Award for the Beta 181

Shure are very proud to announce that we won a TEC Award for the Beta 181 microphone during the NAMM Show 2012. The TEC foundation awards companies for technical excellence in audio.

The Beta 181 is a multipurpose instrument microphone and can be used on a wide variety of applications including guitars, bass and drums (overheads and snares). The beauty of the Beta 181 microphone is there are a total of four different interchangeable capsules available (Cardioid, Super Cardioid, Bi-Directional and Omni-Directional, allowing you to change the capsule according to your application.

 

We have had amazing feedback for this microphone, with some of the current users including Pete townshend, Sinead O’Connor, Snow Patrol & Ziggy Marley.

 

Shure Montreux Jazz Festival Voice Competition now accepting entries…

The Montreux Jazz Festival was founded in 1967, and  has become an unmissable event for music fans around the world. Its stages have been graced by all of music’s greats, from Miles Davis to Ray Charles and from David Bowie to Prince.

The 10^th Shure Montreux Jazz Voice Competition is now accepting applications for entry. The competition provides aspiring jazz singers the opportunity to perform in front of a jury and international audience. In past years, famous artists such as Quincy Jones, Al Jarreau and Patti Austin presided over the jury.

The competition is open for all candidates born after January 1, 1977 who must submit their applications before March 1, 2012. Semi-finalists will compete against each other during the Montreux Jazz Festvial, taking place from June 29 – July 14, 2012. More information on the competition.

In addition to sponsoring the Montreux Jazz Voice Competition, Shure again supports the Montreux Jazz Festival as Official Technical Supplier of Microphones and Wireless Systems.

 

 

Shure product testing revealed…

Shure has long had a reputation for building not only excellent sounding products, but ones which are built to last. There are hundreds of stories of bands dropping their Shure mic into their pint glasses, accidentally dropping a 20kg mixing desk onto their mic, or in the case of The Who’s Roger Daltrey, actually going out of his way to try to destroy his Shure mics. In addition there are lots of videos showing just how tough an SM58 is. Try searching for ‘Shure drop test’ on youtube for even more videos of an SM58 being shot, dropped from a helicopter, and even being run over by a bus!

Having said all this, the actual process every single Shure product goes through before appearing on the market is something not a lot of people know about. Wired Magazine’s latest issue  includes a in-depth look at the type of tests Shure products have to pass, and includes products being scorched, smashed, frozen, and even bathed in synthetic sweat. It makes for a very interesting read…

Wired Magazine – Making of an Audio Icon: Inside Shure’s stress-test gauntlet 

 

Shure launches new open-back headphones – SRH1440 & SRH1840

Following multiple awards for our SRH Headphone range, we are proud to announce the launch of the new SRH1440 and SRH1840 headphones. These are the first  professional open back studio headphones from Shure.

The new headphones are designed for professional engineers who require a reference sound comparable to near-field monitors to achieve the best mix and production quality. Leveraging superior sound, comfort, sleek design, and legendary Shure quality, the SRH1440 and SRH1840 are engineered to withstand the rigors of everyday use, while creating an exceptionally natural sound, wide stereo image, and increased depth of field. The open-back, circumaural design of the new SRH models enables sound to move more freely and with minimal distortion.

The SRH1440 is suited for recording applications delivering full-range audio with rich bass. Its open back, circumaural design offers an exceptional natural sound, a wide       stereo image and increased depth of field. The dual-exit cables with gold-plated MMCX connectors provide secure connection, are detachable and easily replaced.

The new flagship headphones SRH1840 feature individually matched drivers for unparalleled acoustic performance with smooth, extended highs and accurate bass, appealing to studio pros as well as audio enthusiasts. Developed with premium materials and precision engineered, the custom-crafted design is extremely lightweight and durable. The premium-padded headband of the SRH1840 provides maximum listening comfort – even during long recording sessions.

Both SRH1440 and SRH1840 offer legendary Shure quality and come with a comprehensive selection of accessories such as cables and adapters, a spare pair of velour earpads plus a metal storage case.

The RRP of the SRH1440 will be £339.00 + VAT, and the  SRH1840 £499.00 + VAT. Both headphones are expected to be shipping in the spring of 2012.

Keep an eye on Sound on Sound, Music Tech and various Hi Fi titles over the next few months for some reviews.

Aerosmith use an array of Shure microphones on new album

Aerosmith producer Jack Douglas recently took some time away from recording Aerosmith’s 14th studio album to give us a little insight into what equipment he is using and why. In addition to every band member using Shure headphones, below is a small summary of the Shure mics that are being employed…..

For guitars Jack Douglas had the following to say:

“I had a KSM313 and a KSM353, and boy, did they get used! I absolutely love them. The 313 is interesting because it has a bright side and a brighter side, which is really cool. During the actual tracking session, that was on Brad Whitford’s guitar rig. I just used one of them inside the iso box, but because it’s a ribbon, it was hearing all four amps. So it’s multiple voicing in real time, and the sound is absolutely amazing.”

For Joe Perry’s rig, Douglas selected the KSM353 for a more neutral sound. “Same deal as Brad in terms of setup,” he notes. “It was just killer – big and fat and everything you want in a ribbon. Those mics lived in those iso boxes forever. I was knocked out by how great they sounded and how much sound pressure they could take. Both those mics are well worth the money. I want to try them on vocals, and I will be going back to them.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

In terms of recording drums for the new album, it is no suprise that a trusty Shure SM57 has been used on the snare.

“I have always used the 57 on snare and always will,” says Douglas. “For me, the SM57 has always been the absolute go-to mic for just about anything. If I was stuck on the moon and wanted to record, I know I could do everything with a 57 and still get a great sound. It just never fails you.”

Douglas also used a Beta 91A boundary mic as part of his kick drum setup, deployed on the floor right in front of the kick drum to capture the overall drum kit while augmenting the kick sound. The cardioid version of the Beta 181 side-address condenser handled ride cymbal. “That Beta 181 is a really nice mic. I positioned it about four inches above the ride. It had good rejection outside the pattern & gave me a clear, crisp ride sound.”

For hi-hat, Douglas employed a dual microphone setup recommended by engineer Warren Huart, with a KSM137 condenser and an SM7B. “It’s a neat trick. The KSM137 has a great sound, and I really like the SM7 on hi-hat because I don’t like it to be over-bright. I’m a big SM7 fan. In fact, I used three of them during the course of these sessions.”

 

 The vocal mix of choice to capture Stephen Taylor was the Shure SM7B:

 

“I used them on Steven Tyler’s reference vocals, which he sung in the main room at the piano,” Douglas explains. “With the rejection and accuracy of the mic, he could get real close and go as hard as he liked. The third SM7 was on Tom Hamilton’s backing vocals, which also have a great sound. There’s just something magical about that mic.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last but not least, the Shure KSM44A’s were used to capture room ambience:

“For me, the ambient sound of the studio is one of the most important things in capturing the overall sound of the band,” says Douglas, “because I’m picking up the whole band with them, particularly the drums. And the one thing that never moved throughout these sessions was that pair of KSM44As as my high room mics. Physically, they were about 12 or 14 feet up in the air as a stereo pair, covering the whole cacophony that is Aerosmith.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Songs were written during sessions at Pandora’s Box, the band’s studio complex in Boston. Final vocal tracks and overdubs will be done in Los Angeles after the holidays, working around Steven Tyler’s American Idol commitment. “It’s kind of a classic ‘70s approach, writing in the studio, everyone playing live and recording as we went,”

Pro Audio Myths- True or False……..Part 2

We really hope you enjoyed our part 1 blog on this story and found some of the information helpful. This is part 2 dishing out more truths and reasoning behind some of the myths.

Myth #7- USB mics have inferior sound quality vs. their analog (XLR) counterparts

Not always true. Many USB mics feature the exact same condenser mic element as the XLR version used in studio recording. USB models provide the same high quality sound signature; the primary difference in the models is the interface to the next device. The analog to digital converters in the USB mic also affect the quality of the recording.

Myth #8- Sound isolation is the same as noise cancellation

False. Active noise cancellation is most commonly found in over-the-ear headphones, and uses a microphone to “hear” the noise around you. It then reverses the polarity of the noise and reproduces the out of polarity noise into the headphone signal to cancel out those particular frequencies, sometimes adding artifacts into the listening material. The active circuitry needed for “noise cancellation” requires batteries or a power supply.

Sound Isolation is passive, meaning there is no need for any powered electronic circuitry. In the earphone world, “sleeves” are used to create Sound Isolation. A sound-isolating earphone will have an earplug style sleeve around the nozzle. Once this sleeve is inserted in the ear canal, it passively blocks out unwanted sound from the surrounding areas without introducing any unwanted artifacts, or degrading the listening material in any way.

Independent studies have shown that passive sound isolation is significantly more effective at reducing outside sounds than active noise cancellation.

Myth #9- Phantom power damages dynamic microphones

False for several reasons. Phantom power by definition puts a DC voltage on both conductors of a balanced microphone cable; Pin 2 and Pin 3, if you actually looked at it. In a dynamic microphone, Pin 2 and Pin 3 are hooked up to the opposite ends of the voice coil that’s part of the microphone cartridge. Since the DC voltage in phantom power is by definition equal, there’s no voltage difference across the voice coil. No current will flow from through the voice coil from the phantom source. The voltage is the same at each end.

If the dynamic microphone is wired properly and the phantom power is operating normally, the phantom power has absolutely no effect on the behavior of the mic.

Note, though, that if there is a fault with the internal wiring of the dynamic microphone or the cable that’s being used, there’s still no possibility of damaging the microphone because even if a wiring fault causes current to flow through the voice coil of a dynamic microphone, the phantom power sources are current-limited. That means the maximum amount of current that you can draw from a phantom power supply even into a complete short circuit is not enough to damage the voice coil. It will sound funny – typically, the level will go way down and the low end will disappear and it will sound thin and nasty. The user will know that the microphone sounds terrible. Fix the wiring fault and the microphone will be fine.

Myth #10- The higher the transmitter power, the better

False. The truth is that high power can have detrimental effects, particularly when using multiple wireless systems. In that case, the lowest power setting should be used.

Multiple transmitters interact with each other to create interfering signals called intermodulation products.  The higher the power of the transmitters, the higher is the level of interference from these products.  The net effect is that the total number of wireless systems you can use is greatly reduced.  An example: with a typical transmitter power level of 10 milliwatts  (ten-thousandths of one watt) you may be able to use up to 30 or 40 systems at one time.  If you bump them up to 100 milliwatts (10 times the power), the increased intermodulation products may reduce the usable number of systems to as few as 10.

This is why in theatrical applications where they are 30 or 40 channels at a time, low-power transmitters are used. High power transmitters are only recommended when there are a few transmitters, or maybe even just one. They’re not concerned about interfering with other equipment – they are trying to cover a very long range or there may be a high level of background radio noise to get above.

Shure’s UHF-R system, for instance, is switchable from 10 to 100 milliwatts. We run into problems sometimes with customers who set all their transmitters to 100 milliwatts and run into all kinds of problems. The other obvious effect of high power is that it drains the batteries much faster. High power users are generally broadcasters.

The Dube

The Dube is a stylish Cube Percussion Instrument which comes in four sizes and can be totally customised in colour schemes and tones. It’s ideal for musicians, in schools and even DJ sets.

With four different sizes comes a huge range of tones, useful for amateur to professional musicians. When buying a Dube you can select the ‘Pro’ version which has a PG52 already installed in the instrument. Having the advantage of a Shure mic inside allows you to control the volume and quality of sound, great for performances.

Using the Dube is simple, hitting the different sides of the Dube with your hand creates a variety of  sounds as shown by Dion Dublin the Inventor of the Dube

 

Many people from well known artists, music classes in schools and even The Royal Shakespeare company are already using the Dube!

To find out more information and see the Dube in action, click here