Troy Germano and Jose Carlos Reyes Look to GC Pro

Pictured L-R: Jose Carlos Reyes (owner) and Troy Germano, who are together developing RG Germano™ Studios Tampico in Tampico, Mexico, and working with GC Pro as their primary supplier.

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, October 24, 2011 — RG Germano™ Studios Tampico is a new state-of-the-art recording facility set to open on March 1, 2012, in Tampico, Mexico. Over the last 14 months, owner Jose Carlos Reyes has worked closely with veteran studio operator Troy Germano to make this dream come to fruition. Germano’s resume is as impressive as his pedigree – from his early years learning from his father, the beloved Ed Germano of The Hit Factory, to his current venture, New York City’s Germano Studios, Troy Germano represents intense expertise and great studios. In the process of developing the new RG Germano Studios Tampico, Germano and Reyes have relied heavily on Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users, for products, service and support.

Germano’s relationship with the GC Pro organization goes back a long way, and it’s only gotten stronger in recent years, as he has taken a role as a member of the GC Pro Affiliate program. “Working with GC Pro makes a lot of sense,” he stated. “I have a 25-year relationship with [GC Pro Vice President] Rick Plushner, from long before he was even involved with Guitar Center. And GC Pro’s breadth of product and customer service/support are second-to-none. GC Pro gets it – we’re all on the same page in so many ways. I deal primarily with Rick, Richard Ash [GC Pro Business Development Manager for the Eastern Region] and Niyi Adelekan [NY-based GC Pro Account Manager], and I trust those three individuals implicitly. I like to know that I am working with a company that watches my back, and that’s what GC Pro does. It’s more than just a gear supplier – it’s a professional and personal relationship. We know we can rely on them, and they can rely on us.”

Reyes has big plans for the studio: “This is going to be an important place for music!” he enthuses. “Not only for Mexico, but for North America, South America, the Caribbean and Europe – all around the globe, really. It’s a very accessible destination, and there are few more beautiful places than the Mexican gulf coast. From the beginning, Troy and I have been planning this with great detail – every aspect from top to bottom, to really make it a top state-of-the-art facility with everything that’s needed to be able to service all types of music clients, in addition to film audio and pretty much anything that involves audio work. And it is going to have a friendly environment that is going to make people want to work here again and again.”

Germano does not take his involvement with this new facility lightly. “It has my name on the door,” he notes, “and I think people associate the Germano name with quality studios! I know that’s why Jose sought out my involvement. He figured that I would make this project culminate in everything that I think a studio should be. I already know that Jose is going to do a great job operating this place, and after we open up, I look forward to giving him bits of guidance on the way, like my father taught me. Everything to do and everything not to do!”

Reyes continues, noting his high regard for GC Pro: “Through it all, GC Pro has been incredibly helpful. Even though GC Pro is in the United States, it is very easy for me to get my stuff across the border to get serviced if necessary, and they send it back to me very quickly and efficiently. It’s nice to be dealing with a small number of suppliers, GC Pro being the primary one. A lot of places only sell boutique gear, for instance, but GC Pro has all that plus Guitar Center’s entire product line – instruments and all – so we can go through them for pretty much everything for our control and our live room. It’s a very wide-ranging palette, and that’s what we need.”

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 at the 2011 AES Show

Last weekend, New York City filled with thousands of audio professionals from around the world as the 131st AES Convention got underway. In addition to being a major sponsor of the show itself, GC Pro's booth was packed throughout the show with people eager to talk to our team of account managers and sales staff.

Allen Sides, holding the new Sterling Audio ST6050 Ocean Way Signature Series Microphone.

Two audio industry legends: producer/engineers Allen Sides and Alan Parsons at the GC Pro booth at AES.

GC Pro VP Rick Plushner and Allen Sides, near the new Ocean Way HR-3 High Resolution Reference Monitor System.

Focusrite's Phil Wagner stands next to GC Pro's Rick Plushner at the Focusrite AES booth.

GC Pro business development manager Dan Scalpone (center), flanked by famed studio owners Troy Germano (left) and Jose Carlos Reyes (right).

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.

New Features for Neve Genesys Mixing Console

Neve Genesys.

131st AES CONVENTION, NEW YORK, NY, October 21, 2011 — Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro) (booth 839), the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users, is pleased to announce new features and functionality for the Neve Genesys, a custom-crafted, expandable analog recording console that incorporates digital workstation control. Exclusively distributed in the U.S. by GC Pro, the Genesys was designed to address the new realities of the modern professional audio industry for music, postproduction and gaming, while building on Neve’s 40 years of accumulated technical heritage.

New features being unveiled at AES include:

New and updated Routing Implementation (L-C-R/Stereo)
Pro Tools track arm/disarm control from the console surface
Apple Logic Pro Integration:
Control of up to 6 Banks of 8 faders each (48 Channels)
Extensive control of Pans/Sends
DAW Metering
Ability to 'Flip' Pans/Sends onto Faders
Channels Encoder in DAW simulates V-Pot
EQ/Dynamics processing can be placed in any order in the audio path using the keyboard/mouse with a graphical representation of the audio chain
EQ/Dynamics Link/Copy/Paste feature
Digital Line Enable on Channels with AES/FireWire
Ability to Lock Monitor Level
Improvements for Gangs/Trims, MTC operation, FireWire clock sync

About the Neve Genesys
With its unmistakable Neve qualities of exquisite design, peerless craftsmanship and legendary Neve sound, the Genesys is a comprehensive, cost-effective solution to the challenges of audio in the digital age. The base configuration offers 16 channels of mic/line preamps, 16-channel DAW monitoring, 32-channel analog summing at mixdown, DAW control for Pro Tools, Logic, Nuendo and more, 8 auxiliary buses, 8 group buses, 2 main outputs, 4 effects returns, comprehensive metering, 5.1 monitoring, 2 cue mixes, talkback services and an internal power supply. What sets the Genesys apart is its remarkable combination of features and affordability — an affordable Neve analog console with Neve’s legendary sound and digital control at a cost of less than $50,000 enables the widest possible range of professionals to make a genuine Neve console the heart of their studios. Furthermore, the Genesys has the ability to upgrade as studio owners’ requirements change — it can be expanded to over 60 channels in a straight or articulated frame, with options including motorized fader automation, recall, mastering-grade A/D and D/A converters, digitally controlled EQ and dynamics, remote mic amp control and much more.

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.

Ocean Way HR-3 Reference Monitor System at AES

Ocean Way HR-3.

131st AES CONVENTION, NEW YORK, NY, October 21, 2011 — Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro) (booth 839), the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users, and the exclusive U.S. distributor of the famed Ocean Way Monitoring Systems, is pleased to announce the introduction of the HR-3 High Resolution Reference Monitor System. Intended as a high-definition reference point to sonically judge and discern intricate musical balances for final mixes, the Ocean Way HR-3 monitors will satisfy the most discriminating audiophile, yet still be capable of meeting the most demanding dynamic range and accuracy required by studio professionals. What separates the HR-3 from other high-end audiophile loudspeakers, apart from its use by professionals, is its capacity to provide virtually unlimited dynamic range while maintaining absolutely matched uniform frequency response between channels.

Designed by Allen Sides, the GRAMMY® Award-winning engineer, producer and mixer who founded Ocean Way Recording, the new HR-3 monitor system is the culmination of almost 40 years of his experience designing high resolution studio speaker systems for his many studios and a wide variety of commercial installations, including George Lucas’ Skywalker Ranch scoring stage; Trevor Horn’s Sarm Studios in London; and Walt Disney’s Hollywood Records, as well as private installations for musical artists like Gwen Stefani, Dave Grohl and Beck.

The two sides from 1k to 20k typically fall within 1dB of each other, creating absolute symmetry in regards to stereo imaging. The HR-3’s uniform dispersion, coupled with very smooth off-axis response from its 15-inch mid bass driver, allows for a very wide listening window, helping to eliminate the narrow “sweet spot” effect. The HR-3’s twin 12-inch subwoofers also produce extended and detailed low end to 20Hz. The unit’s power handling is an impressive 800 Watts continuous for the twin sub bass woofers, 400 Watts continuous for the mid bass woofers and 100 Watts continuous (650 Hz and up) for the high frequency driver. The HR-3 is capable of producing a maximum SPL of over 110 db at six (6) feet, 20 to 20kHz.

The Ocean Way HR-3 (in addition to the HR-2) was deigned to bridge the gap between superb audiophile speakers and accurate professional studio monitors. There is nothing currently manufactured anywhere in the world at any price that looks, sounds or performs like the Allen Sides Signature Series monitors. The monitors integrate brilliant horn designs, never fully realized from the late 1950s, with exceptional wide bandwidth, low distortion drivers and a tri-amplified / equalized electronic package second to none.

Like all Ocean Way monitors, the HR-3 is specially engineered to reveal things in users’ best recordings and mixes they may have never heard and provide dynamics they may have not thought possible. Every nuance is clearly and starkly evident. From a recording engineer’s standpoint, these are invaluable assets, allowing for the best recording and mixes possible, and from the audiophile’s standpoint, their best recordings will sound simply exceptional.

The Ocean Way HR-3 specifications are impressive:
- Frequency response +/- 2dB, 20Hz – 20kHz
- Symmetry between channels +/- 0.5 dB, 1k to 20kHz
- Maximum SPL – Over 110 dB at 6 feet, 20Hz to 20kHz
- Maximum Power Handling Capacity:
- High Frequency Driver Max 100 Watts continuous, 650 Hz and up
(Note: 1 watt in at 1k measured at 3 feet produces 108 dB)
- Mid Bass Woofer max 400 Watts continuous
- Twin Sub Bass Woofers max 800 Watts continuous
- High Frequency horn with a 90-degree by 40-degree dispersion has a 500Hz cutoff
- Crossover points: 650Hz and 80Hz, 18 dB per octave

Component description:
- High Frequency driver has a 19,000 gauss magnetic structure and titanium diaphragm with aluminum voice coil, two-inch throat
- Mid Bass woofer is 15-inch and has an 11,000 gauss magnetic structure with an aluminum voice coil
- Sub Bass woofers are twin 12-inch and have 11,000 gauss magnetic structures

Weights and size:
305 lb, 28" width x 29" max depth x 46" height, each cabinet

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

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About Ocean Way Recording and Allen Sides
Allen Sides, the GRAMMY® Award-winning engineer, producer and mixer who founded Ocean Way Recording, developed these renowned speaker systems. His studios and his Ocean Way Monitoring Systems have since helped artists like The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Eminem, Janet Jackson and Radiohead, to name a few, create milestone music recordings. Through an exclusive arrangement with GC Pro, the famed Ocean Way Monitoring Systems can now be custom tailored and installed in commercial recording facilities, private studios, home theaters and a variety of other critical listening environments.

Mr. Sides designed, built and owns Ocean Way Studios Hollywood, Ocean Way Studios Nashville, Ocean Way Studio St. Barth’s at Eden Rock and Record One Studios Sherman Oaks. Together, these constitute the most award-winning and successful music studios in the world. Mr. Sides has also personally recorded over 500 albums, many of which have become audiophile classics. Albums recorded in Mr. Sides’ studios have sold in excess of 1 billion copies. Mr. Sides brings a new dimension and understanding to what is possible in high-end speaker design, and the Impact is the realization of this experience.


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.

New Sterling Audio Ocean Way Microphone

Sterling ST6050 Front.

131st AES CONVENTION, NEW YORK, NY, October 21, 2011 — Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro) (booth 839), the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users, is proud to preview the result of a new Sterling Audio and Ocean Way Recording partnership — a specially-designed signature edition condenser microphone that is ideal for modern artists, producers and engineers.

Voiced by legendary engineer/producer and multiple GRAMMY® recipient Allen Sides, the ST6050 was inspired by Ocean Way’s expansive collection of microphones, all with exceptional sound quality and unique sonic characteristics that span many decades and musical eras. By combining classic capsule and FET design with modern manufacturing techniques, the ST6050 yields stunning clarity with a rich, warm, open sound and a silky top end that exquisitely captures vocals and acoustic instruments.

“Sterling and Ocean Way Recording have partnered to develop a microphone with a larger-than-life sound in an affordable and repeatable way,” says Allen Sides, owner of Ocean Way Recording in Hollywood, California.

The capsule on the ST6050 is one inch in diameter, eight microns thick and gold-sputtered, built with traditional machining and exceptionally tight manufacturing tolerances. Each is hand-assembled and tested. Select modernization of traditional FET design results in exceptional consistency and extremely tight component tolerances. Optimized PCB ground planes increase RFI/EMI rejection. The ST6050 has a robust transformer design with side-by-side windings that yield an even low-frequency response while maintaining openness and top-end air. The chassis consists of a chrome-plated, woven-brass grill with steel head frame, plus a heavy brass body with chrome plated closing ring. The ST6050 microphone package includes a SM-7 shock mount, attractive wood storage case and windscreen.

The Sterling ST6050 has an MSRP of $1699.99 and will be available for pre-orders through GC Pro for shipment in January. 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.

Converse’s New Rubber Tracks Recording Studio

The live room at Converse’s new Brooklyn-based recording facility, Rubber Tracks, fully outfitted with state-of-the-art equipment and instruments sourced by GC Pro.

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, October 5, 2011 — Converse Inc. recently opened the doors to its new Brooklyn-based recording studio and live performance venue facility, Converse Rubber Tracks. A community-based studio designed to generate interest in recording among young and aspiring artists, the facility is fully outfitted with state-of-the-art equipment and instruments sourced by Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users. GC Pro also provided their technical expertise and consulted on the studio’s wish list to make sure the studio would be equipped with the right high-end recording equipment and gear, to make Rubber Tracks a true resource and opportunity for emerging musical acts. Account Manager Billy Walker from Nashville’s GC Pro location worked alongside GC Pro Affiliate program member Horacio Malvicino and Malvicino Design Group of Forest Hills, New York, who provided acoustical design and treatment for both parts of the facility.

GC Pro sourced gear for both the recording studio and the complex’s live performance venue. For the venue side, they provided a complete QSC Line Array, including QSC KLA-12, KLA-181 and K8 Loudspeakers; an Allen & Heath W316:2DX Wizard Mixer; and a full complement of cables, mics and rigging equipment. On the studio side, GC Pro supplied a vast array of products, including an Ocean Way HR3 Tri-Amplified Monitor System (designed by multi-GRAMMY® Award-winning producer/engineer Allen Sides, and for which GC Pro is the exclusive dealer); a Digidesign Pro Tools|HD2 PCIe Accel system; a Neve 1073DPA Stereo Mic Preamp; Apple Mac® Pro 6 Core Computers; plug-ins from Waves and Universal Audio; a Lynx Aurora 16 analog/digital converter; a selection of microphones from such brands as Neumann, Sterling, Royer, AKG, Shure, EV and others; and much more. Additionally, acoustical treatments and fabric-wrapped panels from Auralex® Acoustics, Inc. were employed to help control the sound in the studio. This included 15 of their ELiTE C24 ProPanels and four CT45 ProPanels.

"GC Pro really delivered for Rubber Tracks," said Brad Worrell, Studio Manager of Rubber Tracks. "We had strong ideas about what we wanted and they were really supportive of that. It was never about ‘product placement’, just about about ensuring that the studio was optimally outfitted. On the instrument side, Guitar Center went above and beyond the basics we’d initially listed. I'll never forget the day that a truck showed up with literally a pallet of Marshall amps. Being able to work day in and day out with young artists in this atmosphere is as exciting for us as it is for them and we are extremely happy with everything in Rubber Tracks supplied by GC Pro and Guitar Center."

Horacio Malvicino, Managing Director of the Malvicino Design Group, who worked closely with GC Pro and Brad Worrell, stated, “It was very special to be part of an initiative of this kind. Rubber Tracks is a great space with an outstanding location and has an incredible staff. This has been one of the most rewarding experiences that I’ve had as a studio designer and consultant in a long time. Rubber Tracks and Converse are providing invaluable help to bands that are trying to break into the music business.”

“This relationship with Rubber Tracks is the perfect opportunity for two like-minded brands to provide musicians a chance to work alongside a team of experienced engineers and create original music,” noted Richard Ash, GC Pro Business Development Manager for the Eastern Region. “We helped them put together their gear list, advising them on the types of systems they should be acquiring and getting the right monitors – that kind of thing. They had a great sense of what they needed for the project, and they turned to us to help move it to the next level. What we all ended up with is a very cool facility – just a great space for young bands to be creative.”

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.