Thursday, September 15, 2011

New York’s Outpost Digital

The control desk at one of the new audio post suites at New York City’s Outpost Digital, featuring gear sourced through GC Pro.


WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, September 14, 2011 — Outpost Digital, a leading New York City audio and video post production company whose clients include Dodge, Champion, ESPN, Cingular, IKEA and others, recently completed a significant expansion of its facilities on Manhattan’s lower West Side. Thirteen new post suites were added in newly available space on the same floor as the company’s existing facility, five of which are full-service audio post studios. This substantial expansion required careful consideration of new technologies and products that would keep Outpost on the leading edge but also integrate easily and smoothly with existing equipment that the company planned to install in the new studios. Outpost found a great resource in Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users.

The team from GC Pro’s Manhattan location was able to help Outpost make informed decisions and create a plan that brought the new rooms on line quickly and efficiently, and GC Pro helped them choose equipment including an Avid Pro Tools|HD 3 Accel system, Blue Sky MediaDesk 5.1 MKII and Prodesk 2.1 MKIII Active Monitoring systems, Studio Tech StudioComm 78/79 7.1 Surround Controllers and Bryston 3BSST2PRO power amplifiers.

Michael Yorky, Account Manager at GC Pro in New York, understood that Outpost’s expansion needed the kind of service for which GC Pro has become known. In addition to depth of inventory and great prices, Yorky arranged additional support services for Outpost, such as complimentary on-site factory calibration of the Blue Sky monitors, and in other cases arranging Skype video calls between vendors and Outpost staffers. “One of the advantages GC Pro can bring to a client is our long and deep relationships with our vendors,” says Yorky. “We go beyond being a one-stop shop – we have our clients’ backs with this kind of vendor support.”

Randy Main, Chief Engineer at Outpost Digital, offers other examples of how GC Pro was the perfect resource. He cites how Yorky spent time on site, watching and coming to understand Outpost’s workflow patterns and needs. As a result, he suggested the acquisition of the Lynx Aurora 16HD DA/AD converter with an LT-HD Expansion card. The Lynx Aurora 16 DA/AD provides full support for Pro Tools with the expansion slot as well as acting as DA/AD for other applications. “He fulfilled our needs perfectly. We were able to combine our vision for our Pro Tools applications and facility-wide applications into a comprehensive system,” Main explains. “Michael really understood what our workflow was about.”

One of the new post suites at New York City’s Outpost Digital, featuring gear sourced through GC Pro.


He also lauded the fact that GC Pro allowed Outpost to test drive demo systems on site, to see how well they would fit into their workflow. “We went through several choices of control surfaces for the Pro Tools systems, and that ability to test them before making a decision meant we always made the right decisions,” Main says. “We got great advice, great equipment and great prices. So going with GC Pro was the right decision, without a doubt.”

For more information, please visit www.gcpro.com.

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About Guitar Center Professional/Guitar Center
Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, Guitar Center Professional is the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users. Its clientele includes recording studios, audio engineers, producers, recording and touring musicians, live sound venues, post production facilities and more. Emphasizing extraordinary individualized service via local account managers, GC Pro offers expert consultation and a comprehensive selection of the world’s finest equipment for music and audio professionals. More information on GC Pro can be found by visiting www.gcpro.com.

GC Pro Provides Advice & Equipment for House-of-Worship

The front-of-house position at the newly opened Sacred Heart Community Center facility at the Knanaya Catholic Congress of Central Florida in Valrico, Florida, featuring lighting and projection technology sourced through GC Pro.


WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, September 12, 2011 — Every house of worship has its own particular needs, and Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users, knows how to meet those criteria better than anyone else. Recently, at the newly opened Sacred Heart Community Center facility at the Knanaya Catholic Congress of Central Florida in Valrico, Florida, and at the Grace Bible Church in Sebring, Florida, the team from GC Pro’s Tampa location designed and supervised the installation of new live sound, acoustical treatment and lighting systems. Notable products included JBL VRX-928 stereo line array PA systems with JBL PRX618XLF subwoofers, Crown XTi 2000 amplifiers, Yamaha LS9-32 digital consoles, Eco-Panel acoustical treatments and Chauvet® LED lighting fixtures. The Sacred Heart Community Center additionally received Altman conventional fresnel and ellipsoidal lighting fixtures. Beyond the deep well of technologies and products that GC Pro brings to the H.O.W. market, it also brings a level of unmatched expertise, like the fact that GC Pro’s Mick Hall, Professional Accounts Manager at the Tampa office, has himself worked in church technology ministry for over 20 years. That combination of great gear, great prices and expertise of the technology and the market make GC Pro the go-to resource for the H.O.W. sector.

“One of the things that characterizes the H.O.W. market is that they often have to work with multi-purpose spaces,” explains Hall. “They’ll need to go from a worship service to a music or theatrical performance to a community function, all in the same room, sometimes in the same day. You need to help them pick the equipment that will let them do that, do it cost-effectively, and not tax their congregation’s ability to operate the equipment. And that’s the GC Pro advantage – we can give them all of that in a turnkey, one-stop package. Because we have access to Guitar Center’s buying power and supply lines, we take the pressure off the customer and give them exactly what they need within their budget.”

The worship space at the Grace Bible Church in Sebring, Florida, featuring JBL VRX-928 stereo line arrays and a variety of other products sourced through GC Pro.


At the Knanaya Catholic Congress of Central Florida, the new Sacred Heart Community Center, which opened in June, was built to accommodate the congregation’s growth. “The new center seats about a thousand, compared to the 200 the previous center held,” says Hall. Working with A/V systems integrator Christian Sound Installation, a member of the GC Pro Certified Affiliate program, GC Pro guided the equipment choices and helped design system layouts that would let the cultural center be used for a variety of applications, including movies shown via the Panasonic PT-DW6300US projector and a 20-foot diagonal motorized DaLite projection screen that can be recessed for concerts and other live performances.

“We purposely recommended the long-throw lens for the projector so that it could be located further away from the stage and keep that area clear for other uses,” Hall explains. “We did the same with the P.A. design; we also chose an Elation Show Designer II lighting control console to give them more flexibility over lighting control.”

James Thomas, Secretary of the Association for Knanaya, was very satisfied with the outcome and GC Pro’s knowledge. “Mick gave us ideas and helped us prioritize our technology choices,” he says. “It turned out to be a great experience, and we’re already enjoying the result.”

Over at Grace Bible Church, GC Pro helped Matt Christian, the church’s Praise & Worship Minister, make similar choices. With a less complex lighting system, they were able to utilize Show Express software that lets them run the lighting from a laptop instead of a console, saving the church considerable cost while keeping control accessible.

“The challenge here, as it often is with houses of worship, was to make the most of a multi-use space,” says Hall. “The design intent was to place all the systems in such a way that they maximized their performance but didn’t have to be moved. That really took advantage of GC Pro as a one-stop solution.”

Minister Christian feels that what GC Pro delivered for the church achieved all of their goals, including great systems for use now and a pathway to upgrade for the future. “We needed up-to-date technology, an expandable strategy going forward, and reliability,” he says. “We got all of that from Mick and GC Pro, along with great pricing.” But best of all, though, Grace Bible Church found a partner. “Mick listened to what we had to say,” Christian says. “Dealing with other vendors was often frustrating – they didn’t listen to what we wanted to do and instead focused on trying to sell us the equipment each of them represented. At GC Pro, we never got that feeling. They listened to us, we got exactly what we needed, and it all turned out great.”

For more information, please visit www.gcpro.com.

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About Guitar Center Professional/Guitar Center
Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, Guitar Center Professional is the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users. Its clientele includes recording studios, audio engineers, producers, recording and touring musicians, live sound venues, post production facilities and more. Emphasizing extraordinary individualized service via local account managers, GC Pro offers expert consultation and a comprehensive selection of the world’s finest equipment for music and audio professionals. More information on GC Pro can be found by visiting www.gcpro.com.

Mixer/Producer John O’Mahony

GRAMMY®-nominated mixer and producer John O’Mahony, with his 16-channel AMS Neve Genesys, sourced through GC Pro.


WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, September 8, 2011 — Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users, has supplied GRAMMY®-nominated mixer and producer John O’Mahony with a 16-channel AMS Neve Genesys mixing console outfitted with Encore fader automation. O’Mahony, who works out of his own room at the legendary Electric Lady Studios in New York, is known for his work with artists such as Coldplay, Metric, Alberta Cross, Kashmir and The Cribs. GC Pro is the exclusive U.S. sales channel for the innovative Genesys, a custom-crafted, expandable analog recording console that incorporates digital workstation control.

“When I set about building a smaller setup for myself and owning my own console, I looked around and thought, what’s close to what I love, and what has all the functions that I need?” says O’Mahony. The Genesys proved to be the perfect companion to Pro Tools and the ideal candidate for his new studio. “It’s so forward-thinking in terms of its setup, with DAW control. It’s all there in one package. And it has Encore moving faders, an option that I had installed. I had spent quite a bit of time working on the Neve 88R, which is the big brother of the Genesys. With Genesys I’m able to automate the analog side of things the way that I was accustomed to on the 88R and on Flying Faders, which was the automation system I grew up on.”

As he elaborates, his console purchase was a response both to the recession and to changes in the record industry. “I work with bands from all over the world. Five or ten years ago bands would have flown to town or would have flown me to their town. Now that happens probably for 20 percent of those artists; the rest work via email. So I had to put together a system where I could work on mixes, send them out to clients, get notes back, and get back to working on them quickly.” With Genesys, he says, “I have all of my automation and full-board recall, because the EQs and compressors can be recalled with one button, even though they’re analog. That means that I can come back to a mix with just five minutes of work.”

O’Mahony initially contacted Account Manager Niyi Adelekan, based at GC Pro’s West 14th Street office in Manhattan, for a demo of the Genesys. “I took a song I mixed on a different console, and I did a quick mix of it on the Genesys at GC Pro. I felt, apart from the time-consuming details, I had sonically beaten the other mix in almost a matter of minutes. The Genesys had what I was really hoping for, which is the stereo bus of the 88R – from an audio standpoint it sounds the same to me. It sounded so much better than the console I’d originally mixed that song on.”

He relates that although his new room, which is located on the second floor with a window overlooking Eighth Street, took longer than planned before it was ready, “Niyi was never pushy. Unlike a lot of other dealers, where you feel like you have to avoid their calls after a while, Niyi was always polite and comfortable to talk to. I have to say the guy is fantastic. I never felt any pressure from him; he would just want to make sure I was happy. That’s pretty rare in the industry.”

O’Mahony relocated to New York from his native Ireland in 1998, initially taking a staff position at Chung King Studios before going independent in 2001, and previously operated out of Studio C at Electric Lady. “It has a decent-sized live room and a big lounge and all this space that I wasn’t using – but I was paying for it,” he says, so he decided to scale back. A project with The Submarines in Los Angeles last year also proved to be a revelation, he recounts: “I mixed on a 36-input console and I loved how it came out. I realized I didn’t need all those faders anymore.”

Another huge selling point for the Genesys is its expandability, he continues. “The first day I sat down with Niyi he mapped out how much it would cost in all the different configurations. You can take it up to 64 channels. I don’t see myself going that far, but my intention is to expand to 32 channels.”

But while his days of working on an 80-input console are over, O’Mahony says, working in the box was never an option. “I’ve tried mixing in the box and I felt it wasn’t getting me to where I wanted to be. I need a console just to put electricity into the music, and to sit behind it so I can feel like I’m in a studio.” Plus, he adds, “I started in Ireland when I was 17 and I got my first tape op job. When you’re a kid – I’m in my 30’s now – wanting to do this for a living, the picture you have in your head is sitting behind a big old console with lots of big knobs on it. I’m just not mature enough to give up on that!”

For more information, please visit www.gcpro.com.
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About Guitar Center Professional/Guitar Center
Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, Guitar Center Professional is the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users. Its clientele includes recording studios, audio engineers, producers, recording and touring musicians, live sound venues, post production facilities and more. Emphasizing extraordinary individualized service via local account managers, GC Pro offers expert consultation and a comprehensive selection of the world’s finest equipment for music and audio professionals. More information on GC Pro can be found by visiting www.gcpro.com.

Guitar Center Professional Appoints Kurtis Ewing

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, August 9, 2011 — Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users, announces the appointment of Kurtis Ewing to the position of Account Manager, based in the company’s Sherman Oaks, California location, effective immediately. In his new position, Ewing will draw on his extensive experience in sound production to help GC Pro expand its presence in the studio, live, post-production and house-of-worship market sectors. The announcement was made by GC Pro Vice President Rick Plushner and further underscores GC Pro’s ongoing commitment to the continuing growth of GC Pro as a turnkey supplier for professional end users.

Ewing brings a wealth of experience in the music production, television and house-of-worship market sectors to the GC Pro team. As a third-generation TV soundman, he knows the unique needs of the Southern California audio industry. With a high level of expertise, Kurtis is passionate about servicing GC Pro’s diverse client base in Los Angeles, including the post-production and composer communities. Ewing has a talent for producing music, and aside from his work in TV sound, he has written music for such hip-hop stars as The Game, Ne-Yo and many more.

“Kurtis, or ‘XL,’ as he’s called, comes to us as a solid veteran of sound production,” stated GC Pro Vice President Rick Plushner. “His ongoing work as a television sound engineer, something that he was exposed to at an early age by his family, places him in a unique position to reach out to the television and film industries to supply equipment and services for their audio needs. And his work as a producer and composer has given him the real-world experience to give musicians and composers the solutions they are looking for. Kurtis is the total package, and we are exited to have him as part of the GC Pro team.”

“Whether you need a specific solution to solve a problem, or want to create a complete world-class studio built from the ground up, GC Pro and I can provide the best options that your budget will allow,” stated Ewing. “I look forward to serving the television and video; and house-of-worship; and music production communities in my position as GC Pro’s latest Account Manager. I am proud to be on board.”

For more information, please visit www.gcpro.com.

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About Guitar Center Professional/Guitar Center
Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, Guitar Center Professional is the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users. Its clientele includes recording studios, audio engineers, producers, recording and touring musicians, live sound venues, post production facilities and more. Emphasizing extraordinary individualized service via local account managers, GC Pro offers expert consultation and a comprehensive selection of the world’s finest equipment for music and audio professionals. More information on GC Pro can be found by visiting www.gcpro.com.

Chicago’s Uptown Recording



WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, July 28, 2011 — Uptown Recording, named for the boom town that blossomed into the entertainment and cultural center of Chicago at the beginning of the 20th century, has been steadily growing since first establishing its roots in the still-thriving neighborhood over 15 years ago. Outgrowing its original basement location, established in 1995, and moving into a state-of-the-art multi-room facility in 2001, Uptown Recording has long considered Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users, its go-to source for pro audio equipment as the studio has grown.

“I call on GC Pro because they've always had the ability to get anything I wanted. If they didn't have it, they found it through their network – and at prices that were cheaper than anywhere else,” says Rob Ruccia, Uptown Recording’s chief engineer. GC Pro always has the studio’s best interest in mind, he adds: “Rather than just sell us stuff, they tell us what our options are and lead us towards the most cost efficient way to keep up. We like to stay on top of things, and so does GC Pro – they are always up on the latest offerings.”

The 5,000-square-foot Uptown facility, which is in a former electronics repair shop, features two studios outfitted with similar equipment, such as Digidesign Control|24 control surfaces and Pro Tools|HD3 Accel DAW rigs with Apogee converters, to allow projects to move easily from one room to the other. Addressing the needs of local and national acts, which account for about 60 percent of the facility’s business, Studio East boasts the larger of the two control rooms, and additionally has an analog focus, featuring a two-inch, 16-track Sony/MCI JH16 tape machine formerly owned by Merle Haggard. The large tracking space encompasses two isolation rooms, and there is also a lounge. To help grow Uptown’s production, voiceover and sound design work for film and television, Studio West is outfitted with a 5.1-surround Genelec monitoring system and plasma screens for video playback.

The control room at Uptown Recording’s Studio West, outfitted with an assortment of gear via GC Pro. Top photo: Uptown's Studio East.


The complement of outboard equipment, a mix of new and vintage signal processors, is also similar in each studio, and includes Empirical Labs, SSL and Universal Audio compressors, for example. Studio East, with its focus on music production, additionally relies on API preamps, EQs and compressors, rather than a large mixing console. Ruccia explains, “Everything in our mindset is ‘the big board is dead.’ Having a giant 80-channel console in our studio is pointless. Instead, we have four channels of classic API, a couple channels of John Hardy, some Avalon equipment, some Universal Audio. We’ve got different flavors for whatever purpose we'll need.” Drawmer, Focusrite and Presonus preamps are also available at the facility.

According to Ruccia, “The John Hardys are a workhorse, and you can use them on just about anything. Also, he is from nearby, so we see him all the time. If anything ever goes wrong, he will come out and fix our gear – he is like a local hero.”

As for microphones, Electro-Voice RE 22, Neumann U87 and TLM 127, Royer phantom powered active ribbon and Sennheiser evolution 900 series models are heavily favored. “The Sennheiser 900 series are amazing on drums. Also, since they are on clips, they save setup time and clutter and are less intrusive to drummers,” Ruccia comments. Available backline gear includes a large variety of vintage amplifiers and drums, a grand piano and a 1950s Hammond organ.

The vibe at the facility, which enjoyed a major makeover in 2006, is still reminiscent of that original basement studio, comments Ruccia, who worked at the studio with his band in late 2001 and never left. “The décor is somewhat ‘basement-like’ – and we do this on purpose. We are going for a less corporate vibe in here because we’re all musicians – we all play in bands in and around the city.”

In addition to the staff’s credentials, Uptown Recording’s location close to historic venues such as The Aragon Ballroom, Riviera Theater, Uptown Theatre and Green Mill Jazz Club – one of the country’s oldest jazz clubs – has also been good for business, Ruccia relates, attracting such nationally acclaimed artists as James Iha, guitarist with the classic lineup of Smashing Pumpkins, and New York-based indie-pop singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson. “She had been playing a gig at the Riviera Theatre, and her label called and said she needed to track a couple of things,” Ruccia recalls. “Being close to those national venues is fantastic and has brought us some great opportunities.”

For more information, please visit www.gcpro.com.

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About Guitar Center Professional/Guitar Center
Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, Guitar Center Professional is the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users. Its clientele includes recording studios, audio engineers, producers, recording and touring musicians, live sound venues, post production facilities and more. Emphasizing extraordinary individualized service via local account managers, GC Pro offers expert consultation and a comprehensive selection of the world’s finest equipment for music and audio professionals. More information on GC Pro can be found by visiting www.gcpro.com.

Geoff Pillar’s New Electric Thunder


WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, July 25, 2011 — After years of carting his collection of outboard gear from one studio to the next, Nashville-based freelance mixer Geoff Pillar opened his first recording studio earlier this year with assistance from Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users. Electric Thunder, which opened in January 2011, features a fully automated 16-channel Neve Genesys analog recording console, which Pillar purchased from GC Pro, the exclusive U.S. sales channel for the custom-crafted, innovative desk.

“Chad Evans is my rep, and he’s great. I can go to him for just about anything I need. Not only does he know the product, but I know he’s worked in studios before, so I trust a lot of his recommendations,” says Pillar. He reports that GC Pro also recommended wiring specialists and other contractors to help complete the studio in addition to supplying equipment.

The Neve Genesys, which is fitted with eight channels of dynamics and EQ, is the focal point of the Electric Thunder control room, which measures 30 feet by 15 feet and is served by three mid-size isolation rooms plus two vocal booths for tracking and overdub sessions. Pillar comments, “The Neve Genesys is great. It’s got tons of gain and good headroom and you can really push it like a large format console. The Genesys really seems to shine on everything, especially on piano and electric guitars.”

The main control desk at Geoff Pillar’s new Electric Thunder studio in Nashville, featuring a Neve Genesys console outfitted via GC Pro.


An Avid Pro Tools|HD2 system handles recording and playback and is paired with two Lynx Aurora 16 AD/DA converters. A Universal Audio 2192 master audio interface provides clocking for the Lynx units. Reference monitor choices include a pair of ProAc Studio 100s, Event Opals or classic Yamaha NS10s.

Pillar, who has been accumulating outboard equipment for over a decade, offers Electric Thunder clients a broad palette of signal processing options. Notable pieces include a pair of original Neve 1073 modules, LA-3As, Calrec PQ 15s, Focusrite ISAs and Universal Audio 1176s. A Gates Sta-Level compressor takes pride of place: “These are the original classics, and they get used a lot here,” he points out. A vintage British-made Chilton QM1 discrete, germanium transistor-based analog recording console is available to provide additional tonal variations.

The mic locker at Electric Thunder includes Audio-Technica 4047s, Sennheiser 421s and MKH 40s and Shure SM 57s. But more likely than not Pillar will reach for his Japanese-made Sanken CU 41 mics first. “They get used on just about anything from vocals, to piano, to drum overheads,” he reports.

Pillar comments, “It took me about six months to get everything exactly the way I wanted, solid to the point where I wanted to bring clients in. I wanted to be able to offer a facility that is comfortable and affordable and that has great gear and great ears. It is very inviting and relaxing here, and people know what to expect when they leave. Clients can be sure that their work will translate very well if they take it somewhere else.”

Of his original business plan, he says, “My basic goal was to cater to up-and-coming artists and be able to mold what I have to offer to people with different budgets and price ranges. I wanted to be able to work on good music and get a good product out for bands that don't have a lot of money as well as acts that have label backing.”

Having previously concentrated on independent mix projects, Pillar is enjoying the diversity of the work coming through the door of his new business venture: “As a studio owner, I am able to take part in a lot of projects that I might not have had exposure to had I still been an independent freelancer. I get to meet all sorts of bands and artists I wouldn't have otherwise had a chance to meet.”

There has certainly been no shortage of work since the doors opened, including a session with noted Nashville producer Rogers Masson, he reports. “All of my clients have come through word of mouth and projects just keep coming through the door.”

That said, Pillar looks forward to attracting more long-term projects: “I want to get more instruments and bands in here and cut full albums. I’d like people to camp out for a month and do a record and make Electric Thunder their own. If I can keep the momentum going that I’ve got now, it will be great!”

For more information, please visit www.gcpro.com.

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About Guitar Center Professional/Guitar Center
Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, Guitar Center Professional is the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users. Its clientele includes recording studios, audio engineers, producers, recording and touring musicians, live sound venues, post production facilities and more. Emphasizing extraordinary individualized service via local account managers, GC Pro offers expert consultation and a comprehensive selection of the world’s finest equipment for music and audio professionals. More information on GC Pro can be found by visiting www.gcpro.com.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Sterling Microphone Sweepstakes


WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, July 20, 2011 — Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users, has launched its latest online sweepstakes at www.gcpro.com. The new contest, featuring a Sterling ST69 Multi-Pattern Tube Condenser Microphone, is now live and will run through September 30, 2011, shortly after which a brand new contest will begin.

Several times a year, GC Pro management selects one particular product from a high-end gear manufacturer to feature on the website and give away as that sweepstakes prize. This latest contest features a Sterling ST69 microphone, a $1199.00 value. The ST69 is an excellent choice for recording engineers and musicians looking for a superior studio microphone. A combination of new and traditional technology, blended with Sterling’s Disk Resonator™ system, yields wide frequency response and quick transient response without sacrificing warmth and tone. It is ideal for capturing the full, detailed sound of vocals, acoustic and electric instruments, and drums. And its precision-machined, brushed stainless-steel finish complements the ST69's technical brilliance.

Greg Riggs, Sterling Product Manager, stated, “Sterling proudly sponsors GC Pro’s sweepstakes contest with an ST69 Tube Condenser microphone package. The ST69 studio microphone is equally suitable for a variety of projects from major label work to serious home recording.”

To enter the contest, users simply go to gcpro.com and click on the “Sweepstakes” tab. There, entrants will complete and submit a short entry form. The winner will then be selected at random and contacted after September 30, 2011. Complete rules can be found at gcpro.com. Past sweepstakes have featured products from such manufacturers as Blue, Apogee, Focusrite, JBL, Mackie and SSL.

For more information and complete rules, please visit www.gcpro.com.

About GC Pro Sweepstakes
ELIGIBILITY: This Sweepstakes is open to legal residents of the contiguous 48 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, except and excluding Rhode Island, who are eighteen (18) years of age or older as of the day before the start of the Sweepstakes and who had Internet access on or before the day before the start of the Sweepstakes. Void in Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. territories and possessions and wherever prohibited or restricted by law. Subject to all applicable federal, state and local laws. Employees and agents of Guitar Center Stores, Inc. and each of its respective parent companies, affiliates, subsidiaries, divisions, and advertising and promotional agencies and their respective officers, directors and agents (collectively, the “Sweepstakes Entities”) and the immediate family members and persons living in the same household of each are not eligible.


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About Guitar Center Professional/Guitar Center
Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, Guitar Center Professional is the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users. Its clientele includes recording studios, audio engineers, producers, recording and touring musicians, live sound venues, post production facilities and more. Emphasizing extraordinary individualized service via local account managers, GC Pro offers expert consultation and a comprehensive selection of the world’s finest equipment for music and audio professionals. More information on GC Pro can be found by visiting www.gcpro.com.

Rick Plushner Appointed VP


WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, July 18, 2011 — Coinciding with its 10th anniversary and a record-breaking sales year reflecting ongoing growth and expansion, Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users, announces the appointment of Rick Plushner to the position of Vice President, effective immediately.

Plushner joined the Guitar Center organization in September 2005 as General Manager of GC Pro. At that time, the GC Pro division employed 18 staff members. His directive was to grow GC Pro’s sales force and develop the infrastructure to enable GC Pro to work in tandem with Guitar Center stores. Rick was promoted to Director of Sales in 2006 and then Director of the division in 2008. Over the past six years, GC Pro has grown into a profitable division with four times the sales that it had in 2005, as well as a team of 75 employees.

Prior to joining GC Pro, Rick held executive positions with several elite pro audio manufacturers, including Solid State Logic (President), where he diversified the company’s operations and set up a dealer channel; Euphonix (VP of Sales), where he facilitated sales growth to support a successful NASDAQ IPO; AMS/Neve (General Manager), where he released a wide range of recording and broadcast consoles; and Sony Digital Audio division (National Sales Manager), where he launched a line of equipment to make professional compact disc recordings. He has worked closely with a wide range of artists and producers, including Bruce Springsteen, Frank Zappa, The Bee Gees and Stevie Wonder.

Gene Joly, Guitar Center Executive VP, Stores, stated, “Rick brings an enormous amount of experience with him that will greatly benefit GC Pro and its clients.”

For more information, please visit www.gcpro.com.

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About Guitar Center Professional/Guitar Center
Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, Guitar Center Professional is the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users. Its clientele includes recording studios, audio engineers, producers, recording and touring musicians, live sound venues, post production facilities and more. Emphasizing extraordinary individualized service via local account managers, GC Pro offers expert consultation and a comprehensive selection of the world’s finest equipment for music and audio professionals. More information on GC Pro can be found by visiting www.gcpro.com.

GC Pro Can Cover All The Bases For A Single Client


WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, July 5, 2011 — Kevin Reed is a busy man. In addition to his supervisory work at the Wilks Masonry Corporation in Cisco, Texas, he has also become the go-to person when it comes to audio technology for owner Farris Wilks’ other endeavors. Reed serves as Music Director at the Assembly of Yahweh Seventh Day church in Cisco, where Wilks succeeded his father as pastor over a decade ago, and which required a completely new sound system last year. Reed is also overseeing the masonry work and the world-class recording studio that Wilks is having installed at his newly constructed family home. There was only one place where Reed could turn that could comprehensively address every facet of both a sophisticated state-of-the-art recording studio and a highly articulate P.A. system that was tuned perfectly for speech intelligibility and musical performances: Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users. Reed is a regular at the North Dallas Guitar Center location, where he keeps the church’s musicians supplied with everything from guitar amps to drum sticks. And when the church needed a new P.A. system and the Wilks family wanted to build a recording studio that would be available for use by their Assembly and other churches in the area, Reed found that GC Pro was right there with all of the answers he needed.

In early 2010, Reed and GC Pro Account Manager Jeffery McDaniel conferred on how best to upgrade the church’s sound system. McDaniel recommended a JBL Array Series system paired with an Avid VENUE SC48 digital live sound console and an Avid Pro Tools LE system, as well as a new complement of microphones, a new Aviom in-ear monitor system for the church band, and other related equipment.

The control room at Farris Wilks’ new studio, featuring a 32-input Neve Genesys analogue console paired with a 8-Fader Avid D-Command digital console, both feeding an Avid Pro Tools HD 4 system, all sourced by GC Pro.


“The sound in the church is now fantastic,” says Reed, who then felt encouraged to discuss the new recording studio with McDaniel, as well. GC Pro was able to bring the same comprehensive array of choices for the studio as it did for the church P.A. system – including a 32-channel Neve Genesys digitally controlled analog console, an Avid D-Command, a Pro Tools HD system and an Ocean Way HR2 monitoring system.

Reed and the Wilks benefited from other services only GC Pro can offer. After doing basic measurements for the studio himself, McDaniel reached out to GC Pro Regional Manager Derek Snyder, who in turn recommended that McDaniel get in touch with Horacio Malvicino, Managing Director of the Malvicino Design Group, a Forest Hills, New York-based GC Pro Affiliate Services Program member. McDaniel scanned his studio drawings and sent them to Malvicino, who put together a plan for the studio and presented it to the team at last year’s AES convention. “He helped me put together a design for the whole system, and then all of us met up with the client and engineer Dewey Wilson at the AES show in November of last year in San Francisco, where Horacio presented his final designs for the rooms. The customer loved it; he was really happy,” McDaniel recalls.

The studio is in the attic of a 20,000-plus-square-foot home. Malvicino has outfitted the control room with a 32-input Neve Genesys analogue console paired with a 8-Fader Avid D-Command digital console, both feeding an Avid Pro Tools HD 4 system. Outboard gear includes GML, Neve, API and Manley Processing; Chandler, Millennia, Universal Audio and API microphone pre-amps; and a pair of “massive” Allen Sides Ocean Way HR-2 monitors with a pair of White EQs managed by a custom crossover and powered using a three-way amplifier system designed by Allen Sides. And, says Malvicino, who was limited to an attic space, it was decided to isolate both rooms using a “Box within a Box” approach and variable acoustics in the live room and drum booth. Variable acoustic panels allow for an RT-60 between 0.4 seconds to 0.8 at 1 Khz.

The main tracking room at Farris Wilks’ new studio, outfitted by GC Pro.


The entire process, from the installed sound system in the church to the studio in the home, was far simpler than it might have been, thanks to the comprehensiveness of GC Pro. “We have been able to use them across the board, from live sound to studio sound, and we didn’t have to shop around the state or the country looking for different expertise in live and studio sound technology,” he states. “Instead, we had a one-stop solution and one salesperson who knew what we needed to or knew who to ask. The church sounds great and the studio is in the final stages of completion, and it’s been a dream come true for all of us.”

For more information, please visit www.gcpro.com. GC Pro is the U.S. distributor for Neve Genesys and Ocean Way Monitoring.

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About Guitar Center Professional/Guitar Center
Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, Guitar Center Professional is the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users. Its clientele includes recording studios, audio engineers, producers, recording and touring musicians, live sound venues, post production facilities and more. Emphasizing extraordinary individualized service via local account managers, GC Pro offers expert consultation and a comprehensive selection of the world’s finest equipment for music and audio professionals. More information on GC Pro can be found by visiting www.gcpro.com.

Backstage “Hay Bale Studio” at Bonnaroo 2011

The Hay Bale Studio backstage at Bonnaroo, outfitted by GC Pro.


WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, June 30, 2011 — For the tenth year in a row, well over 60,000 excited music fans descended upon Manchester, Tennessee, for the Bonnaroo Music and Arts festival, held June 9-12, 2011. Celebrating its tenth anniversary this year, Bonnaroo 2011 was filled with memorable moments from its dozens of performing acts, including Eminem, Arcade Fire, My Morning Jacket, The Black Keys, Widespread Panic and many more. Backstage, many of the festival’s acts were asked to lay down tracks in a purpose-built recording studio, outfitted with the help of Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users. The recorded tracks were mixed and mastered immediately and transferred to the radio tent next door for broadcast on radio stations nationwide.

The studio, appropriately dubbed “Hay Bale Studio” after the dozens of hay bales positioned on the exterior for sound rejection, was again operated by Nashville’s The Toy Box Studio, and Toy Box’s producer/recording engineer Lij was at the helm for the sessions. The whole backstage studio/radio area was overseen by Asheville, North Carolina-based Music Allies. In the weeks leading up to the festival, the studio’s gear equipment list was compiled by Lij, his assistant engineers, and GC Pro’s Nashville-based Account Manager Chad Evans, who was also on site along with other GC Pro personnel.



Among the gear supplied by GC Pro were a Solid State Logic AWS 948 Superanalogue Console (courtesy of Fadi Hayek and SSL); a Pro Tools HD3 system with Apogee Symphony Converters; a full complement of microphones from Shure, Mojave and Royer Labs; monitors from ADAM; Switchcraft Patch Bays; a full cue system; and a backline of instruments and amps from Fender, Gibson and Nord.

All in all, over 35 of the festival’s artists recorded tracks in the studio, including Ray LaMontagne, Amos Lee, Iron and Wine, Mumford and Sons, The Decemberists and many more. The schedule for each session was fast-paced, leaving room for a quick setup and soundcheck leading up to first-take recordings of three songs, before each act was guided to the interview booth, also in the “Hay Bale Studio” trailer, to make room for the next act in the tracking room. Within an hour, the performances had been mixed down to two tracks and prepped for broadcast from the radio tent next door. Approximately 45 radio stations nationwide featured these “Bonnaroo sessions” over the weekend. The multi-tracked sessions were also preserved and archived, as in past years.

“This is our third year helping sponsor the studio at Bonnaroo,” noted Evans. “This year’s festival was another amazing experience. We have developed a great partnership with Lij and crew, and we’re proud to contribute. We look forward to continuing to contribute next year and beyond, because Bonnaroo is such an important place for the music industry and up-and-coming artists.”

For more information, please visit www.gcpro.com.

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About Guitar Center Professional/Guitar Center
Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, Guitar Center Professional is the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users. Its clientele includes recording studios, audio engineers, producers, recording and touring musicians, live sound venues, post production facilities and more. Emphasizing extraordinary individualized service via local account managers, GC Pro offers expert consultation and a comprehensive selection of the world’s finest equipment for music and audio professionals. More information on GC Pro can be found by visiting www.gcpro.com.

Trend Def Studios

Trend Def Studios owner and head engineer Mike Gonsolin (seated) and production partner Vision (standing), in their Hollywood, California facility. Trend Def Studios has acquired a majority of their gear from the Sherman Oaks location of GC Pro.


WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, June 29, 2011 — Production duo Mike Gonsolin and Vision at Trend Def Studios in Hollywood, California, have come to appreciate the prompt response of their go-to audio equipment dealer, Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users. Working with Paris Hilton one day and scoring for a television show the next, it’s not unusual for Gonsolin and Vision to have an urgent need for a piece of hardware or software, and the Account Managers at GC Pro's Sherman Oaks location are invariably ready to respond immediately.

“It’s such a fast-paced industry, especially because I’m the head engineer here and the sole owner, so everything falls in my lap,” explains Gonsolin. “A lot of times clients come in and there’s a certain plug-in that we don’t have or they want a particular piece of gear, and we need to get it right away. GC Pro is just a machine; they get back to me that day.”

Trend Def Studios, located just off of hip Melrose Avenue, is a one-stop shop capable of handling writing, production, tracking, editing, mixing and mastering. The centerpiece of the very well equipped facility is an Avid Pro Tools|HD5 rig with a laundry list of plug-ins, soft synths and sample libraries, racks of new and vintage analog and digital outboard processing, and a live room fully stocked with instruments, amplifiers and stompboxes.

“I probably have gotten 70 to 80 percent of my studio through GC Pro,“ reports Gonsolin, who has been shopping with the retailer for over a decade. Aside from Pro Tools, the room also features ADAM Audio S3A monitors and a Sub10 subwoofer controlled by a Crane Song Avocet and, in addition to outboard processing, stacks of sound modules from companies such as E-MU, Korg, Moog, Novation, Oberheim, Roland and Waldorf. “We have maybe 40 different analog sound modules. We run the Shadow Hills Mastering Compressor, we have a Dangerous 2-BUS analog summing mixer and a ton of compressors. Although we don’t mix into a board we’re known for having extremely analog sounding, in-the-box mixes here,” he says.

One recent purchase is the Antelope Audio Atomic Clock. By eliminating jitter and clocking errors, Gonsolin explains, “It gives you a wider, truer stereo field and much clearer lows with no mud. I was blown away by the performance of it, plus GC Pro let me demo the unit at my studio. Another big thing they just sold us was a Furman balanced power conditioner for the whole studio. It has completely eliminated any noise; we now have the cleanest power I’ve ever heard in my life. GC Pro even recommended the guy that did all our acoustical soundproofing here as well, Steven Klein, who did an amazing job.”

But GC Pro has helped with more than just new gear, he continues. They have also helped him source discontinued equipment: “We’ve got a live room here just filled with amps and stuff like that, and a lot of times GC Pro has helped me track down particular amps, some of which aren’t being made anymore. He’s always been good about running through GC Pro’s used inventory and finding me one that meets the specs that I need.”

Trend Def Studios music clients include Cisco and Shwayze, Megan McCauley (Gonsolin and Vision are working on her sophomore album), Paris Hilton, The Veronicas, Sam Adams and numerous others. Several record labels are currently bidding to sign Gonsolin’s solo project, Trend Def, from which he has already placed a song in a major motion picture, and a music video has been produced for Trend Def’s song “Perdition.” Gonsolin is also currently scoring for Nickelodeon’s “Supah Ninjas” show.

For more information, please visit http://www.trenddefstudios.com/ and www.gcpro.com/.

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About Guitar Center Professional/Guitar Center
Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, Guitar Center Professional is the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users. Its clientele includes recording studios, audio engineers, producers, recording and touring musicians, live sound venues, post production facilities and more. Emphasizing extraordinary individualized service via local account managers, GC Pro offers expert consultation and a comprehensive selection of the world’s finest equipment for music and audio professionals. More information on GC Pro can be found by visiting www.gcpro.com.

Guitar Center Professional 10th Anniversary

GC Pro Director Rick Plushner at Los Angeles’ Record One Studios.


WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, June 27, 2011 — Throughout 2011, Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users, will commemorate 10 years of operation, during which the company has changed the way audio professionals can access equipment sales and service. It has been a decade where the requirements for sound were vastly increased and broadened, as venues such as houses of worship and schools that previously hadn’t paid critical attention to their audio needs began to address issues ranging from P.A. intelligibility to large-space acoustics. The music industry has exploded into a universe of personal and project recording studios that range from large conventional facilities to laptop-based home spaces. The ability to make music, edit audio and take quality live sound into spaces that had never benefited from it became a national phenomenon that needed a comprehensive and consistent solution when it came to technology sales, service and advice. GC Pro was there to provide that solution.

“Ten years ago, Guitar Center made the decision to create a division that could address the business-to-business aspects of the audio industry primarily,” explains GC Pro Director, Rick Plushner. “The division is organized to reach out to communities and address various markets such as recording studios, post-production facilities, house-of-worship accounts, live sound venues, schools for the teaching of the recording arts, and other business-to-business entities, [including] restaurants, clubs and other things like that. P.K. Pandey, a long-time employee of Guitar Center who helped launch our early pro audio sales efforts, actually coined the phrase ‘GC Pro’ – he was calling himself a GC professional and it was the first time it was utilized. P.K. is still with the company today as a Senior Account Manager working out of our Boston location, which says a lot about the dedication of GC Pro associates. Tom Menrath was then hired to pull this idea together within the GC organization, and working with Marek Stycos, gathered the top audio sales professionals in the company to form the original team. I joined in 2005 and took over as Director in January 2008.”

GC Pro’s original home page (ca. 2001, left), and the current site (2011, right).


Plushner points out that before GC Pro became a reality, the then-highly localized pro audio retail sector was moving towards an online paradigm, which offered wider access to more equipment to more users, but left them disconnected from the personalized service necessary when purchasing, using and integrating expensive and complex technology. “In the age of the Internet, you can go to a website, buy a product and have it shipped to you. GC Pro utilizes all the resources of Guitar Center including web based purchasing but that’s were our services begin – we also provide the ability to have a local person in your area that you can visit, converse with and come out to your facility providing onsite consultation. We can bring you demo gear to try out, providing services only done in person,” Plushner explains. “We’re a boutique style operation networked across the country, utilizing the full power of Guitar Center’s infrastructure and reach.”

From a core of less then two dozen GC Pro associates who formed the division’s first few offices, GC Pro grew into a 42-city operation with a staff of 75, three full-time regional business development sales managers and a strong support staff based in GC Pro’s Westlake Village, California headquarters, along with access to nearly every high-end product available for the pro audio industry, as well as full service and support for all the gear they sell. In the process, GC Pro has become deeply intertwined with the pro audio community in the U.S., regularly participating in events and trade shows with the Audio Engineering Society (AES), Consumer Electronics Show (CES), InfoComm, National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) and The Recording Academy® chapters in various cities nationwide. GC Pro is also a partner with pro audio schools and programs, having formed ongoing relationships with over 30 educational facilities that have come to rely on GC Pro for sales, support and educational pricing for their students. In recent years, GC Pro has strengthened its brand via the newly designed website and now offers regular sweepstakes and generates public relations articles monthly featuring their clients. GC Pro has also started an affiliate program that allows customers to access the talents and skills of certified acoustical designers, acoustical architects, systems integration companies and other technical services organizations nationwide. Most recently, GC Pro has expanded its technical support at its New York City and Hollywood, California locations to feature in-house design and integration of customized computer-based recording systems, including components from Avid and Apple, integrating software and hardware to create turnkey recording systems that can be delivered ready to run anywhere in the U.S. Plushner says the continued expansion of locations, services and technology constitutes the best way to celebrate GC Pro’s first decade. “That’s because,” he says, “It’s always been – and will always be – about serving the customer.”

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About Guitar Center Professional/Guitar Center
Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, Guitar Center Professional is the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users. Its clientele includes recording studios, audio engineers, producers, recording and touring musicians, live sound venues, post production facilities and more. Emphasizing extraordinary individualized service via local account managers, GC Pro offers expert consultation and a comprehensive selection of the world’s finest equipment for music and audio professionals. More information on GC Pro can be found by visiting www.gcpro.com.

GC Pro High-End Technical Support

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, June 24, 2011 — As part of its continuing effort to add useful and valuable services and products to its client offerings, Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users, has launched its new Technical Support Group initiative. The program will provide a number of technical support services, including customized Macintosh®-based audio systems solutions for clients in all of the technology areas it serves, including recording studios, post production facilities and installed A/V. The Technical Support Group concept kicks off with the addition of two new full-time GC Pro engineered/installed sound technicians, one based in the New York City GC Pro location starting in July 2011 and another at GC Pro’s Hollywood, California location since May 2011. Additional personnel for the Technical Support Group are planned for other GC Pro locations in the U.S. in the future.

A key area that the Technical Support Group will focus on will be designing and building Mac-based audio systems that are equipped with the customers’ specifications for hard drives, video cards, RAM and other parameters. The Group will also provide the service of loading and authorizing the customer’s plug-in packages and integrating key applications including AVID’s Pro Tools® HD systems and others, creating a complete turnkey configuration recording system in-house that is also pre-tested, fully documented and ready to deliver to the customer in a plug-and-play configuration anywhere in the United States. For customers in areas served by Technical Support Group personnel, on-site installation and commissioning will also be available. And all systems from the Technical Support Group will also be available for integration by members of GC Pro’s acclaimed Affiliate Services Program, which offers the services of certified studio designers, acousticians, systems integrators and other technical services to all GC Pro customers. No other professional audio retailer can offer such a comprehensive package of high-end products and programs.

GC Pro Director Rick Plushner states, “Our customers will be able to order CTO Mac Systems on a nationwide basis with on-site installations in the New York and Los Angeles metropolitan areas. Going forward, we’ll add additional services and locations. These new services are fully integrated with our GC Pro Affiliates program, offering top architectural studio designers, acoustical designers, systems integration companies and technical services outfits nationwide. This provides new synergy enabling GC Pro to better service the audio industry.”

For more information, please visit www.gcpro.com.

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About Guitar Center Professional/Guitar Center
Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, Guitar Center Professional is the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users. Its clientele includes recording studios, audio engineers, producers, recording and touring musicians, live sound venues, post production facilities and more. Emphasizing extraordinary individualized service via local account managers, GC Pro offers expert consultation and a comprehensive selection of the world’s finest equipment for music and audio professionals. More information on GC Pro can be found by visiting www.gcpro.com.

Blade Studios

Pictured L-R: Blade Studios chief engineer, mixer and producer Chris Bell; engineer/producer and Ocean Way studio owner Allen Sides; renowned drummer and producer Brady Blade; and Blade Studios executive producer and media developer Scott Crompton, at Blade Studios after Sides helped the team tweak their Ocean Way Monitoring system. The system and a majority of the studio’s other gear was sourced through GC Pro.


WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, May 2, 2011 — Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users, played a significant role in outfitting Blade Studios, a new world class, multi-room, multi-function production facility that recently opened in Shreveport, Louisiana. The complex, which offers a broad range of music, film and other media production services, features studio acoustics and architecture by Russ Berger Design Group and an equipment list that includes products from ADAM Audio, Apple, Avid, Ocean Way Audio and Solid State Logic, much of it supplied through GC Pro.

The collaboration with GC Pro began even before the construction plans were finalized, according to Scott Crompton, executive producer and media developer at Blade Studios. Crompton is a partner in Blade Studios alongside GRAMMY®-nominated chief engineer, mixer and producer Chris Bell and renowned drummer and producer Brady Blade, Jr., who lends his name to the facility.

“We were really interested in having the Ocean Way Audio monitors in the studio,” says Crompton. “GC Pro helped facilitate a visit for me during the 2010 GRAMMYs at Ocean Way Recording, where GC Pro Business Development Manager Derek Snyder introduced me to Allen Sides. We were fortunate enough to be able to audition the Ocean Way Monitors in the studio with a wide variety of source material that Allen had. One listen convinced me that they were the right monitors for our studios.” GC Pro is the exclusive U.S. dealer for Ocean Way monitors, which are designed by multi-GRAMMY Award-winning engineer/producer and studio owner Allen Sides in Hollywood, California.

Later, when the studio put the final equipment list out to bid, Jeffrey McDaniel, GC Pro Account Manager in Dallas, Texas, submitted a competitive offer. Crompton relates, “It was just really clear that Jeffrey was the guy we wanted to work with, because he knows his business and he’s got a very good disposition. And he’s been great.”

The Blade Studios complex, housed in a high-tech, secure building conveniently located just south of downtown Shreveport, features two identically sized control rooms. Studio A houses a 48-channel SSL Duality console while Studio B features an Avid ICON D-Control ES. Both rooms feature Avid Pro Tools|HD3 systems with a Studer A827 tape machine also available in Studio A. The monitor systems in both control rooms are identical: Ocean Way Audio HR2 main stereo mains plus ADAM Audio monitors in a 5.1 configuration. Both control rooms offer a selection of new and vintage outboard processing equipment and microphones, and new and vintage instruments are available in the 1,350-plus square foot tracking room, which also includes spacious isolation booths.

Nearly all of the equipment was purchased through McDaniel, says Crompton: “We’ve bought a massive amount of gear from GC Pro.” Even though some of the equipment could have been purchased directly from the manufacturer, Crompton involved GC Pro in the deal, he says. For example, “We’ve been buying all of our Apple equipment through Jeffrey because for me it’s great to have one source that completely understands the scope of what we are trying to create in Blade Studios, and to have the power of GC Pro and Jeffrey McDaniel there in the middle of the transaction is wonderful.”

It’s not every day that a world class production facility opens for business in the United States, much less one outside any of the cities more typically associated with music and film production. Blade Studios is offering a deep menu of services together with a well equipped kitchen, lounges and other creature comforts, combined with Louisiana’s generous tax incentives for film and music projects produced in the state, to attract clients to Shreveport. As Crompton relates, McDaniel also understood the wishes of the studio partners to keep as much business as possible in the state. Crompton recalls, “He said, ‘I know you guys want to use Louisiana vendors, so we can run the transaction through GC Pro in Baton Rouge. And I’m going to make sure that store is stocked with what you need.’”

The original idea behind the studio dates back to when Crompton – a marketing executive who had previously performed with blues musicians such as Hubert Sumlin, Bob Margolin, Willy King and Johnny Shines – heard that Blade had returned to his hometown after living and working in Stockholm, Sweden, for some time, and he sought the drummer out. Blade, who is well known for his work with Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle and the Dukes, Jewel, The Indigo Girls, Bob Dylan, Dave Matthews & Friends and a host of other artists, was interested in starting a business in Shreveport.

“We said, the problem is there’s just not a really super-duper, high-end facility in Louisiana,” recalls Crompton. “So let’s make sure that we build the very best studio we can possibly imagine. And we’ve accomplished that. Every screw, every nail, every piece of equipment in this place is the very, very best we could get our hands on. It’s really as fine as any place on the planet. And we have GC Pro to thank in helping make our vision a reality.”

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About Guitar Center Professional/Guitar Center
Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, Guitar Center Professional is the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users. Its clientele includes recording studios, audio engineers, producers, recording and touring musicians, live sound venues, post production facilities and more. Emphasizing extraordinary individualized service via local account managers, GC Pro offers expert consultation and a comprehensive selection of the world’s finest equipment for music and audio professionals. More information on GC Pro can be found by visiting www.gcpro.com.

Guitar Center Professional Expands

The entrance to the GC Pro offices at the Guitar Center store in West Los Angeles.


WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, April 20, 2011 — Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users, is following up a banner 2010 with several expansion initiatives throughout 2011 and beyond. GC Pro now has over 70 staff members located in 42 cities nationwide, three full-time regional business development sales managers and a strong support staff based in GC Pro’s Westlake Village, California headquarters, directing the growing sales force. Acknowledging its 10th anniversary and setting the stage for the next phase of growth, GC Pro has opened new locations nationwide, appointed new key personnel and continues its expansion into additional market sectors.

First, several Guitar Center stores have added GC Pro locations this year, including San Jose, California; Tempe, Arizona; Clackamas, Oregon; Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota; Plano, Texas; Indianapolis, Indiana; and Country Club, Illinois. To support an operation of this size, GC Pro has recently promoted several key individuals from their GC Pro team, and they have added additional management, sales and support staff positions. Dan Scalpone, who previously had the title of Senior Account Manager at the GC Pro Chicago location, has been promoted to the position of GC Pro Business Development Manager for the south-central territory, which expands GC Pro’s team of full-time regional sales managers to three. Chad Evans, who has served as Account Manager at GC Pro’s Nashville location, has been promoted to the position of Senior Account Manager. Another planned new position is the addition of another Senior Account Manager, which will be filled later this year.

In 2011, GC Pro will also continue to expand into the area of engineered/installed sound. In order to effectively grow into this market sector, two new full-time GC Pro engineered/installed sound individuals will be based in New York City and Hollywood, California, respectively. These personnel will be involved in high-end technical support – everything from setting up complex ProTools HD rigs and Custom Apple PC builds to supervising the installation of professional sound systems. This move provides GC Pro’s customers an even greater range of products and services, helping bring to fruition their dreams of a home or commercial recording studio, the building or updating of the A/V system in their worship facility, or the design and commissioning of a state-of-the-art corporate boardroom.

GC Pro Director Rick Plushner stated, “In 2010, we had significant grown across the board, and we are now poised for a real breakout year in 2011. The professional audio marketplace is evolving at a rapid pace, and GC Pro is changing and adapting with it, effectively staying just ahead of the curve. GC Pro could not have grown to this size without the support of our loyal customers and long-term vendor relationships, and as we expand into new markets and tackle new market sectors, our dedicated sales team will continue to provide our customers with the unmatched service they have come to expect. What better way to celebrate our anniversary than by expanding our services, for the benefit of our customers? If you think these first 10 years have been great, just wait!”

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About Guitar Center Professional/Guitar Center
Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, Guitar Center Professional is the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users. Its clientele includes recording studios, audio engineers, producers, recording and touring musicians, live sound venues, post production facilities and more. Emphasizing extraordinary individualized service via local account managers, GC Pro offers expert consultation and a comprehensive selection of the world’s finest equipment for music and audio professionals. More information on GC Pro can be found by visiting www.gcpro.com.

Guitar Center Professional And D.A.S. Audio

Don Rodrigues, Regional Vice President Southeast for Guitar Center stores, pictured with D.A.S. Audio’s Aero line array at D.A.S. USA headquarters in Miami, Florida.


WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, April 18, 2011 — Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users, is pleased to announce that it has substantially enhanced its relationship with D.A.S. Audio, a leading global manufacturer of live sound, installed sound and portable sound systems and components for the past 40 years. Previously, D.A.S. Audio supplied products for very specific sales through GC Pro’s location in Hallandale, Florida. Now, the entire line of D.A.S. Audio flagship products, including the Aero Series 2 and Avant live sound systems, Road Series monitors, and Variant, RF, and Arco Series installed sound products, as well as all components and amplifiers in the D.A.S. Audio product line, are available through GC Pro locations nationally. D.A.S. Audio demo products will be located in four GC Pro centers: Hallandale, Florida; Hollywood, California; New Orleans and Atlanta. Systems at these locations are fully tuned and time-aligned and offer the rare advantage of allowing customers to test-drive an array product in-store. And all D.A.S. Audio products are available through any GC Pro store and representative.

This new level of engagement is a winning combination for GC Pro, D.A.S. Audio and all of their customers. “What GC Pro offers us is the ability to bring our products to a very specific segment of the live sound and installed sound markets,” explains Steve Trimble, Eastern Regional Sales Manager for D.A.S. Audio of America. “There are clients who cannot find the equipment and technology that they need from mainstream retail channels and brands, but are not at budget levels that allow them direct access to manufacturers. Through GC Pro’s network of offices and showrooms, we can connect with that very important and growing part of the market in the U.S. At the same time, GC Pro now has access to our entire line of products, along with the training we’re providing to their sales staff, which lets them offer a premium brand to live sound and installed sound markets nationally. This is a great fit for both companies.”

D.A.S. Audio products and systems offer GC Pro customers in an array of market sectors a well-positioned speaker brand at the right time and price. Observes Carlos A. Henao, U.S. Sales Accounts Manager Technical Support, D.A.S. Audio of America, “The timing is excellent – D.A.S. Audio can offer the high-end kind of brand and products that GC Pro customers are looking for, and GC Pro has considerable focus and expertise in the live sound and installed sound markets, such as houses of worship and theaters, that are our bread and butter. They have the access, the expertise and the resources to help get our products into the kind of venues that we want to see them in.”

Don Rodrigues, Regional Vice President Southeast for Guitar Center stores, concurs, noting that, “We needed to offer our GCPro customers additional options for the church and live sound market, and D.A.S. Audio is a great choice as they are in the top tier of products in this category and a fantastic value that we can pass on to our clients. D.A.S. Audio has great brand recognition worldwide and is a great complement to our offerings. In fact,” adds Rodrigues, “several GC Pro locations have already experienced significant sales with D.A.S. Audio’s Aero and Variant series in a number of live sound and church installations. GC Pro is always striving to offer the best products at the most competitive prices backed up by the most knowledgeable and well trained crew in the country. The addition of D.A.S. Audio significantly expands our audio offering, keeping GC Pro a cut above the rest.”

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About Guitar Center Professional/Guitar Center
Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, Guitar Center Professional is the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users. Its clientele includes recording studios, audio engineers, producers, recording and touring musicians, live sound venues, post production facilities and more. Emphasizing extraordinary individualized service via local account managers, GC Pro offers expert consultation and a comprehensive selection of the world’s finest equipment for music and audio professionals. More information on GC Pro can be found by visiting www.gcpro.com.

Monmouth Worship Center's New Sanctuary


The new sanctuary at Monmouth Worship Center, outfitted with a new state-of-the-art sound and lighting system with the help of Guitar Center Professional.


WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, February 28, 2011 — Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users, recently helped outfit the new location of Marlboro, New Jersey-based Monmouth Worship Center with a new state-of-the-art sound and lighting system. GC Pro and Monmouth already had a working partnership at the church’s previous location. When the decision was made to build a new church from the ground up, Monmouth Pastor Joe Hewes knew they would need impressive lighting and sound to match the new sanctuary, and they ended up turning to GC Pro, not merely for the gear itself, but also for design, installation and commissioning of their facility.

Rick Rivera, East Brunswick, New Jersey-based GC Pro Account Manager, was in charge of much of the project. He recalls, “I had been working with the church for four or five years, at least, in their former facility. They decided to change locations and build a new church from scratch, and we put in a bid, and we got the job – probably because they knew that working with us means a whole lot more than simply gear sales. We’ve been involved every step of the way. Early in the design process, we used a computer algorithm to help us come up with our P.A. solution for them, which became the line array system that they are using now. Once we had the speakers we needed with the appropriate coverage patterns, we went on to accessorize the system with a full complement of power amplifiers and the whole nine yards. Working closely with my Harman rep and our great installer, Banana Sound, based in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, we were able to put together the system completely, and integrate it with some existing gear of the church’s, including a console that they are still using.”

The new gear list included eight JBL VRX932LAWH line array enclosures and two JBL SRX728S subs; an SC64 64 I/O Digital Matrix Processor, two SC A-8IN SC32/64 Analog Input Cards, three SC A-8OUT Analog Output Cards, three ZC1 Wall Mount Zone Controls and a ZC3 Wall Mount Zone Control, all from dbx; three Crown XTi 6000 Power Amps and two XTi1000 Power Amps; various power products from Mid Atlantic; a 64-channel snake from CBI; two EIKI LC-XL200 6000-Lumens Projectors; and a full complement of lighting products from Altman and Elation. GC Pro was also able to provide Monmouth with new Shure Wireless microphones and transmitters, in compliance with the 700 MHz changeover.

A “second-phase” installation is also planned for the near future, with an upgrade to the church’s console, a center speaker cluster, more wireless systems, acoustic treatment and a more massive lighting system. “They are even considering a recording studio, which of course I would be thrilled to be a part of,” adds Rivera.

Pastor Hewes stated, “Of all the vendors who bid on the job, Guitar Center Pro brought the most value to the table. We got the best bang for our buck due to their buying power. We were able to include not only more gear, but a higher level of professional equipment than we thought possible.”

Rivera concludes: “By all accounts, everyone at the church is very happy with everything that has gone on, and it’s a wonderful facility right now. I know they appreciate what GC Pro can do, with turnkey system solutions, design, and ongoing support. That is what separates us from other vendors.”

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About Guitar Center Professional/Guitar Center
Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, Guitar Center Professional is the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users. Its clientele includes recording studios, audio engineers, producers, recording and touring musicians, live sound venues, post production facilities and more. Emphasizing extraordinary individualized service via local account managers, GC Pro offers expert consultation and a comprehensive selection of the world’s finest equipment for music and audio professionals. More information on GC Pro can be found by visiting www.gcpro.com.

GC Pro outfits Green Road Studio


WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, January 27, 2011 — Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users, recently supplied a complete package of audio equipment to Green Road Studio, a brand new recording facility located in the Central American country of Costa Rica. The new studio, designed by Horacio Malvicino of the Malvicino Design Group, was constructed from eco-friendly materials and features a Solid State Logic Matrix console with an Avid Pro Tools|HD3 system, together with a selection of new and vintage signal processing equipment and microphones.

Managing director and studio engineer Federico Hencker’s plan was to build a world-class recording environment capable of attracting clients not only from Central America but also South America and the United States. The modestly sized facility is designed to handle audio post production, sound design and jingle recording for radio and television in addition to music production.

Federico Hencker, managing director and studio engineer at Costa Rica’s new Green Road Studio, which was outfitted with the help of GC Pro.


Hencker and Malvicino met with Account Manager Michael Yorky at the GC Pro showroom in New York City to discuss equipment options for the studio. “He gave me lots of ideas about what kind of equipment to have in Green Road,” says Hencker. “His insight was very useful – if I had any technical doubts or other issues, I would just call Michael and he would resolve them for me.” Malvicino Design Group a New York-based studio design and integration firm, is also a GC Pro Affiliate program member.

The studio’s microphone preamplifier complement includes a four-channel SSL Xlogic Alpha VHD Pre, an API 3124, and units from Millennia Media. A Manley Labs SLAM! and an Avalon VT-737SP provide additional mic preamplification with dynamics processing. A classic Teletronix LA-2A compressor and an Empirical Labs Distressor are also available.

Hencker’s go-to vocal mic is an AKG C12. The studio’s mic locker also includes a Microtech Gefell UMT 70S, which he says is fantastic for miking guitars, as well as several models from Shure, Sennheiser, AKG and others, which he uses to record drums.

“I am very happy with all my equipment,” comments Hencker. “With the SSL, for example, I have greater headroom so my mixes sound louder.” According to Hencker, Green Road is the only studio in Central America to feature an SSL console.

Hencker, who met Malvicino while attending a university lecture in Bogotá, Colombia, wanted the studio to be as eco-friendly as possible. The facility was designed as a “room within a room” and is constructed with floors and wall resonators of bamboo, a sustainable wood, and is finished with environmentally friendly paints and fabrics. The acoustically isolating doors and insulation are made out of recycled plastics. “Obviously, there are limitations if you want to build a studio that is 100 percent green, but we did it as green as possible,” Malvicino reports.

The studio comprises a control room, a live room (or “master suite,” as Hencker refers to it) and an isolation booth partly constructed from stone that is intended for vocal overdubs and other instruments. “I have been experimenting with all the rooms that I have,” says Hencker of the newly completed facility. “The iso booth, for instance, has a very live sound that is great for guitar amplifiers.”

Hencker hopes to leverage Costa Rica’s tourist attractions – rainforest, beaches and agreeable climate – to bring business to Green Road Studio. “My idea is to let people know that they can work here Monday through Friday, and then on the weekend, go to the beach. People can come to Costa Rica and enjoy all the things that this beautiful country has to offer while working in a professional, state-of-the-art studio,” he says.

A tracking room at Costa Rica’s new Green Road Studio, which was outfitted with the help of GC Pro.


For his part, Malvicino, who managed the studio integration process, states that his plan was simple. “We tried to make the studio as flexible as possible. Even though it is small, we followed the same guidelines that we use when building a world-class studio anywhere in the world. In Central America, there are very few studios and, to be honest, many of these are very low quality. With Green Road, we wanted to raise the bar a little bit.”

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About Guitar Center Professional/Guitar Center
Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, Guitar Center Professional is the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users. Its clientele includes recording studios, audio engineers, producers, recording and touring musicians, live sound venues, post production facilities and more. Emphasizing extraordinary individualized service via local account managers, GC Pro offers expert consultation and a comprehensive selection of the world’s finest equipment for music and audio professionals. More information on GC Pro can be found by visiting www.gcpro.com.