Building the Perfect DAW with GC Pro

There are a number of “right” ways to set up a computer for digital audio recording and/or production, but many more wrong ways that could end up becoming a massive source of frustration for you that never allows you to create to your full capacity.

Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro) has a technical services group devoted to the goal of helping you create the best possible digital audio workstation (DAW). The very best DAWs are purpose-built, meaning that it takes into account your exact needs as a music and audio professional. With the myriad combinations of hardware, software, RAM, types of drives, plug-ins and interfaces available today, one of the most valuable services offered by GC Pro is the ability to work with you to help choose and implement those elements to create the ultimate system which functions above your expectations from day one.

In this article, we’re going to look at four distinct Mac-based systems, and give you some suggestions on the various elements that you might specify to your GC Pro rep so that we can handle the often tedious job of setting up your computer, taking care of any conflicts, and ensuring that your system is ready for you to do great work from the day it’s plugged in and turned on.

A typical digital audio workstation (DAW) setup will include a computer, an audio interface, and a means of monitoring your audio. Many factors will come into play regarding how many simultaneous inputs you need, what kind of processing power is necessary for the type of work you do, and the level of quality required.

Singer-Songwriter

In most cases, putting together a recording and simple music production system for a singer-songwriter is easier than most people think. These types of artists don’t need an elaborate amount of inputs and outputs. Often a simple, user-friendly tabletop solution suits the purpose. In some situations, we take into account that a singer-songwriter might benefit from a setup that allows for travel and mobility. In this scenario a laptop, a high-quality yet portable interface (like the Universal Audio Apollo Twin), and some quality headphones may be the best solution.

While your choice of DAW software is important in terms of the way you prefer to create music, you’ll find that for singer-songwriters, there are plenty of options that are very affordable, or even free. Entry-level software like Avid’s Pro Tools | First, Apple’s Garageband, and Cockos’ Reaper can get you rolling with almost no investment required, and you can save your money for the important interfacing and monitoring tools you’ll need.

Singer-songwriters rarely need an extravagant amount of inputs and outputs for their audio interfaces. Manufacturers like Universal Audio, Apogee, Focusrite, PreSonus, MOTU, and others offer the combination of affordability, portability, and quality you want to capture your creativity.

Film Composer
Modern day film and television audio composition tends to be quite resource intensive. Many of today’s composers utilize a variety of virtual instruments and sound libraries. These critical applications heavily rely on RAM, along with the fast read and write specs of Solid State Drives (SSDs). For example, when loading a virtual instrument (VI) within a DAW, many VIs cache (buffer) into RAM. This great increases the responsiveness/triggering of the given instrument. That’s why we set up computers for film composers with the RAM maximized for the most beneficial results.

On the other hand, many VIs require a substantial amount of disk space to store and access their libraries. The good news is that solid state drives have become much more affordable and larger in capacity over the last few years. Utilizing SSDs for library storage drives is a huge benefit when switching through a collection of thousands of samples. If you’re a working film composer, there is no such thing as too much RAM, or too large a hard drive.

One of the best technological advances in recent years for audio professionals has been the advent and continual price reductions of SSD (Solid State Drive) drives. With faster read and write times than any standard HDD (Hard Disk Drive), SSDs have been of tremendous benefit to film composers, who often need immediate access to thousands of sounds.

Music/Sound-for-Picture Engineer

There was a time not very long ago that recording sessions were limited to the amount of tracks and channels available in an analog or early digital recording and mixing system. With the exponential growth and advancements of modern day computers and audio hardware, sessions have concurrently grown larger in size and complexity. Audio engineers, whether they work on music or in the sound-for-picture realm, are dealing with more track counts and amounts of layered plug-in processing than ever before. At GC Pro, we can help build a system that makes use of external DSP solutions such as Avid Pro Tools | HDX or Universal Audio Apollo to yield world-class results. These systems go as far as possible to allow you to work with larger sessions and more plug-ins while still maintaining low latency performance to maximize the speed and efficiency of your workflow.

For large-scale projects, some engineers turn to multi-computer setups that allow each processor to focus on specific tasks to speed up the workflow and get jobs done more efficiently. GC Pro’s technical services group can be of tremendous assistance in putting together a multi-computer system; you’d be amazed at what a bank of several affordable purpose-built Mac minis are capable of.

If you’re like most people, you haven’t had to use multiple computers running in parallel, and might not have an understanding of how to set up and make the best use of such a system. GC Pro’s technical services group are experts at this kind of advanced method to go beyond the limitations of a single computer.

For serious professional engineering, you never want to accept compromises in how music and audio gets created. Interfaces and digital converters of the highest level of audio quality and with plenty of inputs/outputs are of paramount importance in pro studios. Some systems also offer external DSP processing, taking some of the load off of the computer itself.

Music Producer

The role of producer bridges the gap between the creative and technical aspects of music making, and modern music producers use a variety of technologies to achieve their desired results. The focus of these resources can be divided into several categories, starting with the signal chain. This is where one of the most critical steps in the process happens: analog to digital conversion. Selecting the correct combinations of microphone and preamplifiers can be a big part of this, but the end result is only as good as the conversion process that allows the audio to get into your DAW as flawlessly as possible.

Both the quality and price of professional-caliber A/D converters have have become much more financially accommodating in recent years. Brands such as Apogee, Universal Audio, Lynx, Antelope, Prism, and others offer some great choices in this regard. Available in both large and small form factors, and with a variety of connectivity options, the right conversion selection can yield noticeable quality results.

The second part of this choice is the digital audio workstation itself. This is rarely a “one size fits all” situation. Start by doing your research, and look into your own way of working. Is the DAW merely a tool to capture and manipulate audio, or do you plan on having it be the centerpiece for all your work in music creation as well? Start by doing your research, and then talk to your GC Pro representative, who in many cases can arrange for you to test-drive DAWs including Pro Tools | HD, Logic Pro, and Digital Performer, or can answer any questions that might come up in the process.

In a serious music or film/TV post-production studio, even the form factor of the computer itself comes into play for maximizing your workflow. Companies like JMR Electronics, Sonnet Technologies, and others make rack-mountable chassis solutions with easy access to removable drives and more. GC Pro can tell you about your options and help you choose the right solution for your facility.

The Next Step
As you can see, there’s no single solution for “the best DAW” for music and audio applications that can address everyone’s needs. GC Pro and our technical services group are here to help in every step of the process. Whether you are starting from scratch or building up from an existing system, contact us for a personal consultation.

Ocean County Vocational Technical School System

A student from the Audio Technology Program at the Ocean County Vocational Technical School System, in Lakehurst, NJ, works at a workstation comprising gear sourced through GC Pro.

— GC Pro has been the Ocean County Vocational Technical School Audio Technology program’s partner since its inception, providing it with the right products, platforms, systems, advice and support to enable it to expand and increase its accreditation —
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, August 31, 2016 — The Audio Technology Program at the Ocean County Vocational Technical School System (OCVTS), in Lakehurst, NJ, provides a challenging academic curriculum for college-prep and adult courses, along with a major in audio production for full time students. The program is literally in its second generation: it was established in 1997 by the late Dennis Bourke, a noted studio owner and engineer in the region and since 2015 has been led by his son, Bill Bourke, along with Zack Slater, himself a graduate of the program and a former student of Dennis’. The mission of the Ocean County Vocational Technical School system is to prepare students for careers or further education, and to that end, the Audio Program has always strived to keep its curriculum and its equipment at the cutting edge, to ready students to enter careers in a fast-changing industry. Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), the business-to-business (B2B) division of Guitar Center providing highly customized service for professional accounts, has been its close partner for that entire time.

“GC Pro has been our go-to for equipment and expertise for years now, first for my father and now for me,” says Bill Bourke. “Most recently, they were here to upgrade our two Pro Tools systems to Pro Tools HD, which has enabled us to become an Avid Learning Partner and able to provide certifications for our graduates. But my dad was an old-school analog guy, and GC Pro had everything he needed, too. As we grow, they’re there for us.” That’s evident in TechFest, an annual live music festival, a fundraiser that provides scholarship money for the Audio Program. Its sixth edition was held last April in nearby Brick, NJ, and GC Pro provided most of the live-sound technology for the 20 local bands on two stages that operated by the Audio Program’s students. “Now, our students are learning audio for the studio and live, and GC Pro is a big part of that,” says Bourke. Slater adds, “We have always dreamed of giving our students the best real-world experience we can while they are still in high school. GC Pro has helped take our production to the next level and has really enabled us to achieve our goal.”

Students in the Audio Technology Program at the Ocean County Vocational Technical School System, in Lakehurst, NJ, get real-world experience in all aspects of audio engineering, including tracking live bands in an acoustically treated environment with gear sourced through GC Pro.

The Audio Program’s growth has been considerable: the two-year, fulltime day course is offered to high school and post-secondary students who can now receive college credit for taking the course. In 2017 it’s scheduled to expand to a four-year full-time academy through the OCVTS Performing Arts Academy. Rick Rivera, GC Pro Account Manager based in East Brunswick, NJ, says it’s been a pleasure to have served the program for so long and watch it grow. “Their TechFest is a great event — the music is great and it helps provide scholarship money for the students, so we’ve been contributing gift certificates and other things to help it along,” says Rivera. “We have more than just a sales and buyer relationship — we care about what they’re trying to do, which is give students a first-class audio technology education that really prepares them for a career in music or theater or live sound or whatever they want to pursue.”

The Audio Technology Program at the Ocean County Vocational Technical School has one very unique aspect that students won’t find anywhere else: This campus of the school is located in Hangar One on the Lakehurst Naval Air Station, the very hangar where the ill-fated Hindenburg zeppelin crashed on landing in 1937 (historically seen on the cover of the Led Zeppelin II album). That disaster took place nearly 80 years ago, but what it left behind is intriguing: a massive hangar whose walls produce incredible reverb effects that Bourke has been sampling over the years, using microphones and systems purchased through GC Pro. “We’re talking about ten-second reverb times,” he marvels. “It would make an amazing plug-in — we’ll call it the Hindenverb.”

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

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About Guitar Center Professional/Guitar Center
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.

Calvary Community Church Chooses the Right Console

The Avid® VENUE | S6L console setup at FOH at Calvary Community Church in Westlake Village, CA.

— GC Pro helps Calvary Community Church find exactly the audio mixing platform they needed to handle live FOH mixing and recording —
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, March 31, 2016 — Launched in 1976 in a Hungry Tiger restaurant in Thousand Oaks, California, the Calvary Community Church moved into its 235,000-square-foot building on a 17-acre site in nearby Westlake Village in 1999 and have kept on growing ever since, now seeing an attendance of about 3,500 people each Sunday. One of the hallmarks of the church’s success has been careful management of capital costs, something that extends to its AV systems infrastructure. And just as the journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step, the road to replacing major sound and video platforms at the church began with the decision to replace its aging FOH console last year. For that, they enlisted the aid of Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), the business-to-business (B2B) division of Guitar Center providing highly customized service for professional accounts, which was brought into the decision process at a point when the church leaders thought they had already come to a final decision.

“The console they had decided upon was a fantastic desk, but it also would have made it difficult to achieve all of their goals for the new console,” explains Neil Penninger, the Account Executive based at GC Pro’s Los Angeles location. “Part of what they were looking to do was increase the I/O count and facilitate recording directly to a Pro Tools system. The interface on the console they were considering would have made that complicated.”

Instead, Penninger recommended an Avid® VENUE | S6L, a modular system with onboard industry-standard plug-ins and Pro Tools integration. “We arranged for Avid to come out and put on a special semi-private demo — one of the first in Southern California for this console,” says Penninger. “The church leaders were all very impressed.” He pointed out how this console allowed them to have 64 channels of Pro Tools recording and playback and put it all on a single strand of AVB-networked Ethernet cable. “The console is also very user-friendly to operate, which is important to a church that often brings in outside acts with their own FOH engineers to run sound,” he says.

John King, the Pastor for Worship Arts at Calvary Community Church, says what GC Pro was also able to do was offer a better long-range strategic solution for them. “We’ve been using two of the consoles by the manufacturer of the first console we had been considering, because we were familiar with its operation,” he recalls. “But what Neil showed us is that the Avid was a platform that would continue to evolve, that it was an ecosystem that would be with us for five or ten years because it would be more upgradable. That kind of thinking is important for a church because of the need to spend so carefully.”

King says they’re looking forward to working with GC Pro over the next several years. “Every sale isn’t just a transaction — it’s the building block for a bigger, long-term relationship that benefits all of us,” says Penninger. “That’s what we do at GC Pro — build relationships.”

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

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About Guitar Center Professional/Guitar Center
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.

Junkie XL Outlines His Workflow Built with the Help of GC Pro

Tom Holkenborg, aka Junkie XL.

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, February 3, 2016 — Tom Holkenborg, also known as Junkie XL or JXL, is one of the top film composers working today, and he took a unique route to get there – aided in part by the sourcing power and expertise of Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), the business-to-business (B2B) division of Guitar Center providing highly customized service for professional accounts. Having achieved worldwide success as electronic artist Junkie XL, licensing music to video games, films and commercials, and topping the charts in 24 countries with his remix of Elvis Presley’s “A Little Less Conversation,” he decided it was time for a change. Twelve years ago, the Dutch multi-instrumentalist, remixer, producer and engineer relocated to Los Angeles to add a “film composer” credit to his name. And the move was attempted somewhat naively, admits Holkenborg. “I came here and said, ‘Let’s score movies!’ I sat in with Harry Gregson-Williams — still one of my favorite film composers — and saw how he worked, how he combines the orchestra with other elements, and how he dealt with meetings with the studios, and I realized that it is not as easy as it looks.”

So Holkenborg decided to take a back seat, working as an assistant for various composers while also composing music for projects as they came. And more and more came in, and Holkenborg steadily built a reputation as one of the hardest-working and talented composers in Hollywood. By 2015, those 12 years of hard work have more than paid off, with composer credits on several major motion pictures: for example, Run All Night, Mad Max: Fury Road, Black Mass, Kill Your Friends, and Point Break just in 2015 alone. As 2016 gets underway, his music will be heard in Deadpool and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, with more to come as the year progresses.

The point at which a film composer is brought into a project can vary. “I’m now working on a science fiction movie that comes out in a year or so; I got the script in March 2014. Fury Road I got almost two years ago,” he says. “But then there are movies like 300: Rise of an Empire or Black Mass that come in five weeks ahead. That’s a whole different set of challenges.” If no film has been shot yet, he says, “If you’ve got a script your head takes you to places that are not connected to the images yet. I start to think about the story and what would fit the characters and the movie.” Initially, he says, he would read a script, put it down, and immediately start working. But now, “I tend to take more time to think about it. At a certain point it starts playing in my head, which comes after years of making music. Then I start working.”

Holkenborg and his family recently moved into a house in L.A.’s San Fernando Valley, converting an entire wing into a series of studios, including his main writing and mixing room, which features two enormous modular synthesizers. “I’m particularly fond of rooms that have a liveliness to them, like this room,” he says. “When I mix here, at first it sounds very cluttered because of the reverb and slapback, but if I can get a mix really tight in this room then it will sound really awesome in a theater.”

As for a DAW, “I’ve been going between Cubase, Pro Tools, and Logic since the beginning of time. For the last three and a half years it has been Cubase. It’s been really wonderful; I’ve been able to build a massive template that runs really smoothly. The Cubase machine is a super-fast PC. Linked to that are six server units running VSL [Vienna Symphonic Library] Pro. Cubase comes with a ridiculous amount of plug-ins, so I pretty much have everything that’s available.” He continues, “The speakers are very important to me. I’ve had the Dynaudio AIR 25s almost 14 years. They really work for me. I get good mixes out of them, and it’s a pleasure to listen to them for a long period of time.” Holkenborg also has racks of hardware, including a pair of early-1980s Yamaha REV7 reverbs and a Korg DRV-3000 multi-processor, but notes, “Outboard gear is essentially irrelevant when it comes to working in-the-box. But it’s super important when creating sounds or during recording.”

GC Pro has been a key partner throughout. Holkenborg notes, “I've known Derek Snyder [currently Director, GC Pro Business Development] at GC Pro for 14 years now. He has always had my back for any technical or gear challenge that I have faced. To have a relationship like that is very important to me. It keeps the creative energy flowing. Whether its guitars, amps, software or hardware, I always rely on his expertise.”

He has no standard approach to composing: “I love to be as original as I can. I usually end up with a score that is quite left of center.” But composing music for motion pictures is not like making a record, he stresses. “It’s not about the music, it’s about the film. Your prime responsibility is to enhance the film and come up with something that really fits the film.” Once he is confident with his direction and has some music recorded, Holkenborg sends what he calls his sketchbook to the film director. “As a music product it’s finished, but it’s a sketchbook in the sense that I want to show my ideas to the director. We’ll use that as a template. I’ll ask, do you recognize your movie in this? It’s not even to picture. We start a discussion. I’ll take chunks of the music and rework it to a scene and see the director’s response. It’s teamwork. There are people who think that the composer can determine what’s going to happen in a film score. That’s not true — the director steers the ship.”

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

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About Guitar Center Professional/Guitar Center
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.

Yaniv’s Studio Again Turns to Guitar Center Pro

Yaniv Farber, seated in Yaniv’s Studio – a facility outfitted from top to bottom by GC Pro.

— Loyal GC Pro customer acquires AMS Neve Genesys G32 console —
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, January 19, 2016 — Woodland Hills, California-based recording facility Yaniv’s Studio is the dream project of Yaniv Farber, also known as the longtime proprietor of Sandy Ceramic and Stone, Inc., a high-end tile, granite and marble installer in southern California. In the decades spent building up Sandy Ceramic and Stone, Farber was diligently recording in a home space, and the time was right a few years ago to take the plunge and create a state-of-the-art studio space. And it was outfitted from top to bottom with equipment sourced through Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), the business-to-business (B2B) division of Guitar Center providing highly customized service for professional accounts. The studio features a great collection of microphones, preamps and outboard gear, and recently Farber made another big leap: he upgraded his studio by acquiring an AMS Neve Genesys G32 console, featuring 32 inputs, 16 Neve 1073 mic pre’s, eight 88R EQ’s, eight 1084 EQ’s and 16 VCA compressors – and again he turned to GC Pro for the consultation, gear and support.

The Genesys joins the existing products purchased for the studio by Farber through GC Pro in the last few years: an Avid Pro Tools HDX system, Apogee Symphony I/O converters, Focal SM9 monitors and a wide microphone and outboard collection from Manley, Universal Audio, Tube Tech, Lexicon, Bricasti, API, SSL, AKG, Neumann, Blue, Royer and Telefunken to name a few.

“We can do live sessions here, and it’s a great-sounding room to record in, so I am doing a lot of tracking of trios and smaller groups, all the way up to very large bands or sometimes just a vocal session,” stated Farber. “As work picked up, it was clear to me that the time was right to move to a more powerful console. I called up Ziv [Gross, GC Pro Account Manager], and we explored a few options. After testing out some different products, the Neve Genesys was the clear solution for what I needed.”

Farber has been able to streamline his workflow with the new console: “With the Genesys, I got it pre-loaded with EQs and compressors – as a result, the audio doesn’t route around to different components as much as it used to, so there is more integrity of sound, and more headroom overall. It gives me a stronger ability to really tweak the sound, and it makes recording and capturing audio a real pleasure. Also, I really appreciate the recall ability when mix time comes around. I’m pleased with every aspect of it. And when a client steps in the room, the Genesys sends a very strong message that they are in a truly professional facility with someone who takes his work – and their music – very seriously.”

Farber expands on his affection and respect for GC Pro: “I cannot express how appreciative I am to the fact that Ziv is only one phone call away, and basically every time I needed anything, he just finds the time to basically show up and walk me through any issue! Ziv is my man, and the others at GC Pro I have dealt with are great too. Working with GC Pro continues to be a very positive experience.”

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

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About Guitar Center Professional/Guitar Center
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.

Central Baptist Church Gets a Makeover with GC Pro

— GC Pro Account Manager Brad Lyons and GC Pro Affiliate Program Member Commercial Sound And Video take Central Baptist Church into the era of contemporary worship with new sound system including digital audio console, in-ear monitoring and upgraded backline —

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, October 29, 2014 — The last time the Central Baptist Church of Americus, Georgia, got a new sound system, the church’s music was focused around the traditional elements of choir and organ. Times changed, and so did the church’s style of worship, which has expanded to encompass more contemporary forms of praise and worship music, with electric guitars and drums joining the joyful noise. These changes, however, made the inadequacy of the original sound system readily apparent. That led the church to Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users.

Atlanta-based GC Pro Account Manager Brad Lyons spent time listening to the needs of the church and helped design a completely new sound system, including connecting them with locally based AV systems integrator Commercial Sound And Video, which provided installation services. And it was a big project. Lyons summarized the situation: “Some areas were too loud, others you could barely hear anything at all, and no bass response,” he says of the sanctuary’s sound system. “On-stage monitoring for the band was a hodge-podge at best. We transformed their entire sound system, customizing it to the unique challenges in their large worship space, but we also re-designed the stage layout and provided a state-of-the-art personal monitoring system for the large praise team and orchestra.”

A new system using four Electro-Voice EVF1152D 15-inch cabinets was flown above the main floor in a 90x60 coverage pattern, and each with an Electro-Voice EVU1082 8-inch downfill cabinet mounted. A total of eight Electro-Voice EVU1082 fill cabinets were placed in the balcony, four per side. A pair of Electro-Voice EVF2151D Dual 15inch subwoofers fills the entire sanctuary with powerful bass. The power amps are Electro-Voice CPS-series power amps, with control using an Electro-Voice DC-ONE system processor. The existing 48-channel analog mixer (with 16-channel auxiliary mixer) was replaced with a 64-channel AVID S3L console with four independent stage boxes. Three racks on-stage and one at the FOH booth completely bypass the original analog patching system, providing a superior upgrade in sound and eliminating cable mess on the stage. The AVID S3L also provides 64-tracks recording to Pro Tools connected via CAT5 to the supplied Apple iMac computer and Glyph hard-drive, designed for playback in virtual sound check mode. This allows them to record rehearsals, then play the tracks back to fine-tune the individual channel settings for a better mix.

“With the S3L there is full recall of all settings and scenes,” stated Lyons. “Every Easter they have a big production and this will allow them to have total control of the production.”

Based on Lyons’ design, Commercial Sound And Video installed a PIVITEC 32-input personal monitor system controlled via Apple iPad Minis with a total of nine independent mix stations and the ability to add as many more as they wish. There were many custom touches, with the goal of making the operation as simple as possible. One such feature was a customized patch panel consisting of eight XLR Male and eight SPEAKON connectors that took the guesswork out of connecting a stage monitor into the system.

Lyons adds, “Although the PIVITEC in-ear system was an amazing upgrade for the worship band, we still needed to provide traditional monitors to the choir, instruments, lead vocals and other musicians. Typically I would have to go find a speaker, a power amp and the cables, route a channel out of the console into the amp, connect a speaker cable to the speaker, and so forth. But here I designed the panel to take any confusion or error out of the situation. The process is simple really — I designed eight specific outputs from the VENE S3L console for MONITOR MIX OUTPUTS, labeled MONITOR 1 through MONITOR 8. Patching into any of the XLR Inputs of the panel fed directly to a specific amplifier channel on the Electro-Voice CPS8.5 power amp (eight channels at 500-watts power per channel), and that speaker output then fed back to the SPEAKON out below the XLR connector. You can simply plug in a speaker cable to the desired speaker, and voila!”

The result was a total success and everyone associated with the church is extremely happy with the new system.

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

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About Guitar Center Professional/Guitar Center
Founded in 2001, 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 Helps DCP Productions

The interior of the mobile rig for DCP Productions, outfitted with gear sourced through GC Pro.

— Boutique Baltimore commercial production house created a mobile production rig that, like their six-suite studio, was built with both equipment and expertise from GC Pro —
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, September 22, 2014 — Don Cherel, the Founder and Director/Producer with DCP Productions, created the iconic Motorcycle Money Man for commercial client GEICO, along with spots for Planet Fitness, the Washington Nationals MLB team and the Washington Capitals NHL team. Now DCP Productions, like their mobile GEICO creation, itself is ready to go on the road, with a flypack rig that will let it shoot, record, edit and mix on location, vastly increasing the boutique shop’s productivity while giving it access to new sights, sounds and talent. And that road rig, like DCP Productions’ six-room video and audio production facility in Baltimore, was sourced with a combination of technology and expertise provided by Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users.

Eight-year-old DCP Productions’ business model is predicated on Cherel’s “concept to completion” notion, which enables clients to work with one entity for concept creation; original music creation; and pre-, field- and post-production. “By simply eliminating the layers of multiple companies in the advertising development process, DCP is able to create content and transform it into quality advertising media much less expensively and faster than traditional ad agencies,” Cherel explains. “That savings is passed on to the client.”

The new mobile rig, which tackles its first official project in July for the next GEICO campaign, is made up of two 12-space racks that hold gear including a Universal Audio® Apollo high-resolution interface, an Avid Pro Tools system with Thunderbolt connectivity, an Avid MC Mix controller, an API 550 EQ, Crane Song Falcon compressor and two Rupert Neve Designs 542 tape emulators.

All of this equipment was sourced through GC Pro Account Manager Mitch Shaivitz at GC Pro’s Baltimore-area office. The mobile rig’s make-up grew from Shaivitz’s conversations with Cherel about what the producer/director wanted to accomplish. “I called up Mitch and said, here’s what I want to do,’ and he came back with equipment suggestions that matched our workflow at the studio,” Cherel explains. “This mix of equipment and systems really make the mobile rig an extension of the studio — our workflow remains the same on the road and in the studio, so the end product is totally consistent.”

“Every product choice was well thought-out,” says Cherel. “With the exception of cameras and lenses, virtually every piece of equipment we have, in the studio and on the road, came through GC Pro. “They have the products and the expertise. But mostly, they get what we’re trying to do.”

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

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About Guitar Center Professional/Guitar Center
Founded in 2001, 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.

Introducing the Avid S3L System

CALL 877-687-5404 NOW FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO PLACE YOUR S3L ORDER!

Get the performance, sound quality, and features that countless live sound professionals have come to rely on in a system architecture that’s built for the future. Available now at GC Pro, the modular S3L System is comprised of a high-performance HDX-powered processing engine running AAX plug-ins, scalable remote I/O that can live on stage or in a rack, award-winning VENUE and Pro Tools® software, and a head-turning compact control surface that’s built for the road, but equally at home in the studio. A fault-tolerant Gigabit Ethernet network connects all devices and uses the open Ethernet AVB and EUCON™ standards for maximum performance and flexibility.

For unmatched Pro Tools integration, simply connect your laptop (with Pro Tools or other DAW installed) to the system’s Ethernet AVB network (using a single Cat5e cable) for up to 64 tracks of audio recording/playback. VENUE Link makes it easy to control your live mixing and recording/playback setups as one. What’s more, with EUCON functionality coming soon, you’ll be able to use the control surface to mix Pro Tools and other DAW sessions, making the system the ultimate solution for both stage and studio. Your GC Pro representative will be glad to answer any S3L questions you may have... contact us at 877-687-5404!

Feature highlights
• Experience uncompromising performance with HDX-powered processing
• Re-create the sound of the studio with integrated Pro Tools AAX plug-ins
• Configure the modular system with up to 64 mic pres
• Get reliable Ethernet AVB connectivity, without the cable bulk
• Record directly to Pro Tools (or other DAW) through your laptop’s Ethernet port
• Control Pro Tools and other DAWs using the S3 control surface as a EUCON controller (feature coming soon)
• Fit the system anywhere and transport with ease—perfect for fly gigs and bus tours
• Get the celebrated hallmarks of Avid live sound systems
• Take your VENUE show files with you on a USB key for use on any Avid live system

The S3L System Includes:

• S3 control surface:
- Compact 16-fader surface, with six bankable layers
- 32 touch-sensitive encoders and high-resolution OLEDs
- Multicolor Channel Control parameter section for fast mix adjustments
- Full complement of I/O (see Specifications)
- Dual Gigabit Ethernet AVB ports, featuring latching etherCON connectors
- EUCON-enabled for Pro Tools and other DAW control (feature coming soon)
- USB connections for a keyboard and mouse (not included)

• E3 engine
- Runs VENUE software, mission control for the entire system
- High-performance, HDX-powered processing engine (supports AAX DSP plug-ins)
- 24 aux busses, LCR, plus 8 mono matrixes and 8 VCAs
- 2-track recording/playback using standard USB Flash drives
- Local and ancillary I/O (see Specifications)
- Three Gigabit Ethernet AVB ports, featuring latching etherCON connectors
- Separate Ethernet port for remote control using a laptop or tablet

• Stage 16 remote I/O box
- 16 analog inputs (XLR) with remote mic preamp control
- 8 analog line outputs (XLR)
- 4 channels of AES3 digital output
- Ruggedized design with dual-purpose rack ears/handles for use as a stage box or rack-mounted
- Power and status LEDs, with device Identify feature
- Sliding Mute switch silences all box outputs
- Two Gigabit Ethernet AVB ports, featuring latching etherCON connectors

• VENUE software

• Pro Tools software

• Plug-in bundle

• Cables, accessories, and guides

GC Pro is your source for the new Avid S3L System! Our account managers and sales staff are fully trained in S3L technology and implementation, and can arrange for a demo at your convenience. Call us at 877-687-5404, or click here to find your local GC Pro representative!

Special Avid Offers from GC Pro

Between now and March 15, you can save a lot of money with these special offers from Avid and GC Pro.

1. FREE PLUG-INS!


For a limited time, get up to four AAX plug-ins at no cost with these purchases:
• Buy Mbox or Mbox Mini—get Eleven and Moogerfooger
• Crossgrade from Pro Tools Express to Pro Tools 10—get Reverb One™ and Tel-Ray®
• Buy Pro Tools 10 software and get Reverb One and Tel-Ray
• Buy Mbox or Mbox Mini and a Pro Tools 10 crossgrade—get all four plug-ins
• Buy Mbox Pro, Mbox Pro Artist Bundle, or Eleven Rack—get all four plug-ins

NOTE: Once purchased, you must register your purchase with Avid by March 15, 2013 to be eligible to receive your complimentary plug-ins. This promotion does not apply to Academic/education versions of these products.

2. HUGE SAVINGS ON THE AAX PACK!


For a limited time, get the new AAX Pack, featuring the following plug-ins, for just $1,295.00 USD. Check out this amazing collection:
• Avid ReVibe®
• Avid Tel-Ray® Variable Delay
• Brainworx bx_limiter†
• Brainworx bx_XL V2†
• Crane Song Phoenix II
• DUY MagicEQ
• elysia alpha compressor†
• Kush Audio UBK-1
• Maag EQ4†
• McDSP 4040 Retro Limiter
• Metric Halo Character
• Metric Halo HaloVerb
• Pro Audio DSP Dynamic Spectrum Mapper V2†
• SPL TwinTube†
• Softube Bass Amp Room
• Softube Passive-Active Pack
• Softube Summit Audio TLA-100A
• Sonnox Inflator

NOTE: Offer expires March 15, 2013. This offer is only available to registered Pro Tools|HDX and Pro Tools|HD Native owners, and requires Pro Tools 10 software—upgrade to Pro Tools HD 10. † Please note that these plug-in licenses (sold as part of the AAX Pack) are non-transferrable and do not include AU or VST versions. Once purchased, you will need to register these plug-ins on the Plugin Alliance website to activate.

3. Buy Sibelius 7, Get a Pro Tools System on Us



For a limited time, get an Mbox® Mini + Pro Tools® Express system on us when you purchase the full version of Sibelius® 7. If you compose music or score films, nothing enables you to create faster, smarter, or easier than Sibelius.
• Write, play, print, and publish pro-quality notation with speed and ease
• Work with tools that are sophisticated enough for professional demands, yet simple enough for students
• Glide through score creation with the streamlined task-oriented interface
• Hear your music play back in ultra-realistic detail with the massive 38 GB sound library
• Collaborate with others through full MusicXML support

NOTE: Offer expires March 15, 2013. Please note that Sibelius 7 upgrades and Sibelius Academic are not part of this special offer.

Contact your GC Pro rep today and take advantage of these incredible offers. Don't delay; by March 15, it's all over!

Morehouse College at the Cutting Edge of Sound

— GC Pro’s Atlanta office has been the key resource for one of America’s most prestigious African-American colleges, as they have equipped the college’s Ray Charles Performing Arts Center and King Chapel with live sound technology —
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, December 3, 2012 — Morehouse College, a beacon of men’s liberal-arts education, particularly for African Americans, has given the country its share of Rhodes Scholars, ministers, economists and doctors, but it seems to have a special affinity for the arts. Graduates include filmmaker Spike Lee, actor Samuel L. Jackson, and rapper Lil Jon. So not surprisingly, the college has tried to keep its performance venues, including the King Chapel and the Ray Charles Performing Arts Center and Music Academic Building, at the cutting edge of live-sound technology. Helping them do just that is Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users, which has become the first-call provider of live-sound equipment and advice for Morehouse College over the last several years.

Most recently, GC Pro’s Atlanta office provided a dB Technologies DVA T4 line array sound system for the college’s King Chapel, which regularly hosts musical performances in addition to religious events and ceremonies. The system is configured into two six-box hangs on either side of the stage. And last year, GC Pro was the resource to which the college turned to upgrade the sound for the Ray Charles Performing Arts Center and Music Academic Building, a $20-million, 76,000-square-foot facility built in 2010. There, GC Pro provided a new Avid Venue D-Show FOH console with an integrated Avid Pro Tools HD multitrack recording system with FOH and stage racks as well as a large selection of microphones. GC Pro also outfitted the Center’s recording studio with a new SSL AWS 900 analog recording and mix console. Whatever the college’s needs when it comes to pro audio technology and products, GC Pro has been there with the resources, prices and advice that they needed.

“We pointed out to the college that they could save a considerable amount of money by buying a new PA system for King Chapel rather then continuing to rent systems, as they had been doing,” explains Eugene McNair, Jr., Account Manager for the Atlanta GC Pro office, who has had a close relationship with Morehouse College for years. “They were familiar with the dB Technologies system so we went with that one. We also sold them cases for the system, which lets them take it down as needed and store it, which gives them that much more flexibility with the system.”

McNair says this sale underscores the kind of relationship that GC Pro has developed with Morehouse College, and with many of its institutional customers. “They’re sensitive to price, of course, but anyone can offer a better price,” he says. “What Morehouse College is most interested in is service from someone who understands their needs and the technologies and products that can best fulfill those needs. They want service, honesty, knowledge, and even some personality. It’s not just about the sale – it’s about the relationship. I’m local, we’re local, we’re here for them when they need us.”

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

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About Guitar Center Professional/Guitar Center
Founded in 2001, 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.

The Studio at the Palms

Studio X at the Las Vegas-based Studio at the Palms, recently upgraded with a new Avid Pro Tools HDX system, sourced and supplied through GC Pro.

— GC Pro continues to be the first call for The Studio at the Palms for its
professional audio technology needs —
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, November 29, 2012 — Las Vegas-based Studio at the Palms, located at the fabulous Palms Casino Resort and which has hosted such artists as Lady Gaga, Ne-Yo, The Killers, LMFAO and others, recently upgraded with three new Avid Pro Tools HDX systems. The new systems were installed in Studio X and Studio Y, along with a “floater” system that lets any space in the studio become a fully compatible recording environment. The HDX systems, sourced and supplied through Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users, join the other gear that GC Pro has sourced for the facility over the years.

“We really pride ourselves on being state-of-the-art here and always ready at a moment’s notice to serve our clients,” says Studio at the Palms Director Zoe Thrall, noting that artists working on long-term projects or just passing through Las Vegas for performances or for awards shows often use some of their time there to record new tracks or finish up existing ones. “They expect the best from us, and that’s what we strive to deliver.”

Thrall, one of the most respected studio managers in the entire industry (prior to coming to the Studio at the Palms, she supervised operations for The Hit Factory and Avatar Studios in New York City), says GC Pro has been an invaluable resource in keeping her studios at the cutting edge of music technology. “They really know their stuff, and they can get me what I need quickly and cost-effectively,” she says, noting that she’s purchased DSP and software system through GC Pro, as well as used them as a portal to the vast inventory of musical instruments and equipment available at Guitar Center itself. “My relationship with GC Pro goes back to the New York days, and wherever I’ve worked with GC Pro, it’s always been a great experience,” she adds.

Las Vegas-based GC Pro Sales Associate Don Hartley, who handles the Studio at the Palms account, says that clients at that level need the kind of attention only a full-service, high-end pro-dealer can offer. “We give a facility like Studio at the Palms a concierge level of service, because that’s what they require in order to serve that caliber of clientele,” says Hartley, who will often personally bring equipment to the studio on short notice when necessary. “The Studio at the Palms has a huge inventory of great equipment, and a fantastic tech specialist in Brent Spear, who did the entire installation of the new Pro Tools HDX systems himself. But GC Pro is always here to fill in any gaps they may encounter – from a console to a guitar stand – any day, any time.”

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

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About Guitar Center Professional/Guitar Center
Founded in 2001, 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.

FALL 2012: Amazing Avid Deals!

From now through December 14, GC Pro has some incredible savings to pass on to you from Avid! Whether you're getting your first Pro Tools system or are already a Pro Tools owner, take advantage of these deals now... contact your GC Pro rep today!

• Purchase Mbox or Mbox Mini (includes Pro Tools Express) and get Eleven and the Moogerfooger Bundle at no cost!
• Purchase the full version of Pro Tools 10 software and get Reverb One and Tel-Ray Variable at no cost!
• Crossgrade from Pro Tools Express to Pro Tools 10 and get Reverb One and Tel-Ray Variable Delay at no cost!
• Purchase Mbox or Mbox Mini (includes Pro Tools Express) and a Pro Tools 10 crossgrade and get Eleven, the Moogerfooger Bundle, Reverb One, and Tel-Ray Variable Delay at no cost!
• Purchase Mbox Pro, Mbox Pro Artist Bundle, or Eleven Rack (all include Pro Tools 10) and get Eleven, the Moogerfooger Bundle, Reverb One, and Tel-Ray Variable Delay at no cost!

As if that wasn't enough, current Pro Tools|HDX and Pro Tools|HD Native owners can get limited-time special pricing on a must-have collection of 18 superior-sounding, studio-essential Pro Tools® AAX* plug-ins that will not only help you capture brilliant performances, but also give your mixes that special presence and polish you crave.

• Avid ReVibe®
• Avid Tel-Ray® Variable Delay
• Brainworx bx_limiter†
• Brainworx bx_XL V2†
• Crane Song Phoenix II
• DUY MagicEQ
• elysia alpha compressor†
• Kush Audio UBK-1
• Maag EQ4†
• McDSP 4040 Retro Limiter
• Metric Halo Character
• Metric Halo HaloVerb
• Pro Audio DSP Dynamic Spectrum Mapper V2†
• SPL TwinTube†
• Softube Bass Amp Room
• Softube Passive-Active Pack
• Softube Summit Audio TLA-100A
• Sonnox Inflator

* This offer is only available to registered Pro Tools|HDX and Pro Tools|HD Native owners, and requires Pro Tools 10 software.
† Please note that these plug-in licenses (sold as part of the AAX Pack) are non-transferrable and do not include AU or VST versions. Once purchased, customers will need to register these plug-ins on the Plugin Alliance website to activate.

Remember, these Avid deals end on December 14, so don't delay. Contact GC Pro right now and get your Pro Tools system rocking!

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About Guitar Center Professional/Guitar Center
Founded in 2001, 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 Extends Tech Support Group to Nashville

— GC Pro continues to expand this acclaimed service with the addition of technical support personnel in Nashville, which joins GC Pro’s location in Hollywood to offer access to complex systems design, installation and integration services —

— The initiative will also be fully integrated with GC Pro’s acclaimed Affiliate Services Program to create a truly comprehensive turnkey system solution —
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, October 22, 2012 — 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, today announced the extension of its successful new Technical Support Group initiative to the Nashville professional audio market. The program, which provides a number of technical support services, including customized Macintosh®-based audio systems solutions for clients in all of the market sectors it serves (recording studios, post production facilities and installed A/V), will now benefit Nashville’s music recording and production community. The Technical Support Group was initially launched in May 2011 at GC Pro’s Hollywood, California location. Additional personnel for the Technical Support Group are planned for other GC Pro locations in the U.S. in the future.

In the newly opened Nashville location, GC Pro Technical Services Technician Frantz Verna says that key services have already been provided for a range of professional clients there, such as loading and authorizing customers’ plug-in packages and integrating key applications including AVID’s Pro Tools® HD systems and others, and designing and building Mac-based audio systems equipped to the customers’ specifications for hard drives, video cards, RAM and other parameters. Such clients include producer/drummer Mike Marsh of the band Dashboard Confessional, legendary vocalist/composer/actress Bonnie Bramlett and Sound Emporium Recording Studios.

Verna says that many of these tasks, such as loading and authorizing software, are time- and labor-intensive, and pull music professionals away from their real work. “Musicians in Nashville definitely have better things to do with their time,” he says. “The advantage we bring to them, that they cannot get at a computer store, is that GC Pro understands how to optimize and maximize computer hardware, software and peripherals for music applications and integrate computers with their outboard equipment. We know how a computer best fits into a professional audio system. We’re able to give our clients a computer that’s ready to plug and play, which is exactly what they want and what no computer store could ever offer.” 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.

“We are proud to expand our Technical Support Group endeavors to the rich market of Nashville,” stated Rick Plushner, GC Pro Vice President. “Nashville’s music community is growing larger and larger every day, and with such a large concentration of artists, players, composers, producers, engineers and post-production professionals, it is the type of market that can clearly benefit from the services of our Technical Support Group.”

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

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About Guitar Center Professional/Guitar Center
Founded in 2001, 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 Part of Texas Church’s Ongoing Upgrades

Assembly of Yahweh 7th Day near Cisco, Texas, featuring upgraded AV sourced through GC Pro and installed by Affiliate Program member Malvicino Design Group.

— GC Pro has been regularly working with the Assembly of Yahweh 7th Day near Cisco, Texas, and after providing systems and installation services for the church’s most recent AV upgrades, it’s now in the plans to build a dedicated recording studio —
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, September 20, 2012 — The last three years have been busy ones for the Assembly of Yahweh 7th Day near Cisco, Texas, and the Dallas-area office of Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users. In that time, GC Pro has helped the church and its pastor, Farris Wilks, and his family build a recording studio at the Wilks’ home in Cisco and significantly upgrade the church’s AV. In 2011, after initial plans, GC Pro contracted Horacio Malvicino, Managing Director of the Malvicino Design Group, a Forest Hills, New York-based GC Pro Affiliate Services Program member, for design and construction of the studio. GC Pro sourced and supplied technology 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. After the studio was finished, GC Pro then was asked to update the church’s AV systems.

In 2012, GC Pro brought in GC Pro Affiliate Services Program member Omnicoustics, based in McKinney, Texas, to install new Robe and Chauvet lighting systems; Panasonic video cameras and live-video switcher; a NewTek Tricaster video switcher for recorded video content for post production applications; and Eiki video projectors.

Jeffery McDaniel, GC Pro Senior Account Manager, says this is the second major systems upgrade that GC Pro has done for Assembly of Yahweh 7th Day – In 2010, GC Pro upgraded the church’s sound system with 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 -- and it underscores the kind of relationship that GC Pro has with many of its customers. “We come to know our customers pretty well, because so many of them are repeat customers,” he says. “We have a pretty good idea of what their needs are and how best to meet them.”

Another reason that GC Pro clients are so loyal is the lengths the GC Pro staff is willing to go for them. When it turned out that the dongle sourced for the new lighting system didn’t have the right amount of channels, McDaniel set out to find one that did, working under an extreme deadline. The only vendor who had what they needed was in Canada. As the event for which the lighting controller would be critical drew near, McDaniel told the Canadian supplier to use FedEx’s premium same-day delivery service – the supplier got the new dongle to their local airport at 11 a.m. the same day, and it arrived at FedEx’s freight station at Dallas-Ft. Worth Airport that same evening. McDaniel then drove it the three hours to Cisco, arriving at 11 p.m., and had it ready to use for the church’s worship service the next morning. McDaniel also helped participate in their first service, running their newly purchased computer program to display the music’s lyrics. “Whatever it takes to make it work for the customer, that’s what we’re willing to do to make it happen,” says McDaniel.

That same philosophy will apply to the new recording studio, named Seven Pillars Studios, that GC Pro will help design, build and equip, for a planned opening in 2013. Much of the equipment that GC Pro provided for the Wilks’ home studio will migrate to the new facility, which is also being designed and commissioned by the Malvicino Design Group, and which will feature two control rooms around a single large tracking room, with an SSL AWS948 console in the B studio. “We really get to know our clients,” says McDaniel. “And they really get to know us, which means they know we’ll be there for them year in and year out.”

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

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About Guitar Center Professional/Guitar Center
Founded in 2001, 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 Lends a Hand to Stonehand Studio

Engineer/producer Chris Jones at his Florence, Kentucky-based Stonehand Studio, pictured with some of the gear he has acquired through GC Pro.

— New music facility in northern Kentucky aims for an organic sound with carefully chosen technology, sourced and installed by GC Pro —
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, September 12, 2012 — When Chris Jones does something, he doesn’t do it halfway. The engineer/producer is about to open his own music studio in Florence, Kentucky, near Cincinnati, and he spent considerable time and effort researching how to achieve what he wanted in the way of sound. Jones’ wish list was long and detailed, but it was just what Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users, loves to do: help audio professionals bring their visions to life.

Stonehand Studio, which will open in the fall of 2012, is conceived by Jones as a natural-sounding space where acoustics and technology combine to create a wholly organic ambient environment for music recording. “I want it to be a place where people will enjoy taking their time, choosing microphones and picking mic placements to get exactly the sounds they’re looking for,” he explains. Stonehand’s equipment list was put together to help achieve what the studio’s acoustics will bring about naturally, and Jones has a clear rationale behind each piece. For instance, he says he selected the Vintech 473 4-channel mic preamplifier because it approximates the sound of vintage Neve pre amps, and the API 3124+ 4-channel mic pre for what it brings to drums, guitar amps and vocals. Jones researched these and other specific pieces of gear, looking for the combinations that would give him the kind of sonic sensibilities he wanted, but he also consulted with the GC Pro office in Cincinnati, where Account Manager Jim Kinney helped Jones narrow his choices, sourced products and helped him get competitive prices.

And when the time came, they also helped commission the studio, too. Marcin Nowak with GC Pro Technical Services handled the Pro Tools 10 software and Universal Audio Nevana software installations, PCIE card installation, Apogee Symphony installation, RAM upgrades and Apple Mac Pro computer set-up and registrations. GC Pro’s Pres Maxson was invaluable behind the scenes, making sure all the pieces were ordered correctly and arrived on time.

“GC Pro has an awesome team mentality, and it really shows when we get to work on a project,” says Kinney. “Chris was willing to do whatever he could to get the highest performance for his budget from every aspect of the gear. He had clear goals for himself and wanted expert help getting there. We spent a lot of time discussing many options and he seemed to value my input and considered my advice in his equipment decisions.” Jones agrees. “When I started researching, I talked to a number of retailers, including GC Pro,” he says. “But as it went along and the project grew, I found myself talking more and more to Jim at GC Pro. He was always on the job, always there when we had a question, and he always had an answer – they were very, very knowledgeable. GC Pro understood what I was going for, what I was trying to achieve, where I wanted to go with the studio. Those guys have been there themselves, so they know how to help me get where I want to go.”

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

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About Guitar Center Professional/Guitar Center
Founded in 2001, 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.

New Avid Pro Tools|HD Native Thunderbolt

GC Pro is happy to offer you the brand new ProTools|HD Native Thunderbolt, a new generation of Pro Tools|HD system that enables you to compose, record, edit, and mix music and/or sound for picture with great speed and ease. Consisting of an HD Native Thunderbolt interface or PCIe core card, Pro Tools HD software, and Pro Tools HD Series interface, Pro Tools|HD Native harnesses the power of your Mac or PC to deliver pristine sound, incredible performance, and the lowest latency of any host-based DAW.

Choice of HD Native Thunderbolt interface or PCIe card
Unlike USB- or FireWire-based DAWs, which are inherently prone to latency, Pro Tools|HD Native employs either a high-speed Thunderbolt interface or PCIe core card to connect Pro Tools HD Series interfaces with your laptop or desktop computer. By eliminating distracting monitor latency while recording, increasing your I/O capabilities, and providing 64-bit floating-point processing for more headroom and a higher mix resolution, you get a professional native solution that meets the highest audio standards.

You can now choose an Avid Pro Tools|HD Thunderbolt interface that's best for your application... PCIe card for desktop systems, or the new Native Thunderbolt interface (perfect for laptop and mobile systems).

Pro Tools HD software
Award-winning Pro Tools software has been the industry-standard digital audio production platform for years. The software tightly integrates your HD Native hardware and computer together as one, delivering exceptional performance and reliability—even with large mixes. And it comes with all the tools, advanced workflows, virtual instruments, and plug-ins you need to compose, record, edit, and mix music and/or sound for picture.

One or more Pro Tools HD Series interfaces
Capture and play back audio in stunning clarity and easily work with a wide range of analog and digital gear. Whether you want to streamline your setup with an all-in-one interface, provide mic or MADI connectivity, or need a tightly integrated, flexible system that can handle complex productions with up to 64 channels of I/O, there’s a Pro Tools HD Series interface that’s right for you—choose one or more to complete your system and customize it for your needs.

GC Pro: Your Pro Tools Experts
For over a decade, GC Pro's reps have received special training in specifying the perfect Pro Tools system for your needs. From project studios to commercial rooms, post-production facilities, and more, Pro Tools is now more flexible and powerful than ever before.

Visit www.gcpro.com or call 877-704-2776 to find your local GC Pro representative and order your new Avid HD Native system today!

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About Guitar Center Professional/Guitar Center
Founded in 2001, 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.

Mark Isham Turns to GC Pro to Outfit His Studio

Composer Mark Isham, pictured in his home workspace, outfitted with the help of GC Pro.

— As he creates scores for programs like ABC’s Once Upon a Time, Isham looks to
GC Pro for products, service and support —

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, July 12, 2012 — Award-winning composer Mark Isham has an impressive list of credits: scores for such films as Crash, A River Runs Through It, The Black Dahlia, Blade and dozens more, as well as TV shows such as Chicago Hope; a number of GRAMMY®-winning solo albums; and a number of other highly regarded collaborative projects. Recently, his focus has been on composing the music for the hit ABC television series Once Upon a Time, a unique recasting of fairy tale conventions in a semi-modern setting. As he composes at his home studio for this project and others, he again and again turns to Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users, to source gear and provide ongoing service and support.

“I have had a long relationship with GC Pro,” Isham says. “A lot of my equipment has come through there. The GC Pro branch in Hollywood has been our go-to shop for years. I love working with them, because if I want to try something out, they just get it to us. They have a great department there.”

The home workspace of composer Mark Isham, outfitted with the help of GC Pro.

For each episode of Once Upon a Time, Isham composes in Apple Logic, adapting his established character themes and creating new ones when necessary, and records in Avid Pro Tools. A demo then gets sent to his producer and the show’s creators, who send their comments. Once the material has been approved, the show goes into production, and an orchestrator generates the full scores from Isham’s themes.

As one might expect, the layout and components of Isham’s main writing room have been fine-tuned over the years to be perfectly conducive to creativity and productivity. A Logic/Pro Tools setup faces one wall, and a mixing console faces the opposite wall. He has multiple sets of monitors for a TV-type setup as well as a fuller theater setting. The mixing room features an Avid-Euphonix console, accompanied by a 10-way speaker system with Class A amps. He uses M-Audio digital audio and MIDI solutions, plug-ins from Universal Audio and Tannoy monitors, among other gear.

Southern California-based GC Pro Account Manager Bill Learned has been one of Isham’s main contacts. He states, “Mark is a pleasure to work with. As an artist, musician and composer he stands apart from the herd. He continues to push himself to explore new territory musically and in doing so stays on the cusp of what modern day recording has to offer. We are proud that he chooses to rely on GC Pro for his various needs.”

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

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About Guitar Center Professional/Guitar Center
Founded in 2001, 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.