GC Pro Helps Church at Viera Keep Up with their Fast Growth

Standing in front of the Allen & Heath dLive S7000 at Church at Viera are (left to right) Pastor of Worship Arts Trevor Hislop, Technical Director Doug Schaefer, Production Director Eli Higginbotham, and GC Pro Account Manager Jeffrey Aldrich. The church recently expanded their audio systems in both their main auditorium and youth sanctuary with the help of GC Pro.

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, February 8, 2017 -- Located in Melbourne, FL, Church at Viera is growing quickly. With the help of Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), the business solutions division of Guitar Center providing highly customized service for professional accounts, the place of worship met their goals of expanding their live sound systems on time and under budget.

The church recently worked with GC Pro’s Jacksonville-based account manager Jeffrey Aldrich, who specified and assisted with the installation and setup of an Allen & Heath dLive S7000, the largest of the company’s dLive family of control surfaces, along with a DM64 MixRack processing and audio I/O stage box. At the same time, new stage trussing was planned and installed.

“I just don’t have the time to deal with all the install logistics,” says Church at Viera Production Director Eli Higginbotham. “I’ve got to prioritize my time and attention to production. Jeff and GC Pro worked directly with the installer and handled the integration. He arranged for the gear to be shipped in advance so there would be time to configure everything and troubleshoot the system. All I had to worry about was learning new gear.”

Higginbotham also pointed out the biggest benefit of the DM64 MixRack, which was the doubling the number of output busses from 16 to 32. For the new stage trussing, GC Pro specified Global Truss for its reliability and flexible designs.

Church at Viera's main auditorium, featuring recently upgraded audio systems specified and provided by GC Pro along with their installation affiliate Stellar Audio Visual.

Aldrich, working with GC Pro installation affiliate Stellar Audio Visual, was happy to help. “This upgrade to the church’s systems was on a very strict timeline. There were events upcoming that meant the entire systems had to be done quickly, so we had the gear shipped from the manufacturer directly to our Orlando store. The church schedule had to stay seamless to not interrupt ongoing services. By having the gear arrive early and held on station in one of our Orlando store locations, it allowed the client and the installer to operate without downtime.”

Church at Viera continued its growth over the course of 2016 when Aldrich and GC Pro also assisted Church at Viera on the expansion of their youth sanctuary with new PA and lighting systems. Aldrich recommended loudspeakers and subwoofers from Electro-Voice, including the EKX-15P, ELX-112P, and ELX-118P. The church chose Shure QLXD as their wireless microphone systems for the sanctuary, as well as high-quality Jands Vista lighting systems.

Church at Viera's youth sanctuary was upgraded with new PA and lighting systems with the help of GC Pro.

Higginbotham continues, “We just came out of the busiest part of our season, December. All the stuff that Jeff was able to do for us put us in a position to host our largest crowd in 25 years, with over 3500 people in attendance. The entire process of working with GC Pro was very, very smooth. The integration of our systems was superb. Jeff made it very easy to perform all the services. I should add that the new system is also volunteer-friendly, which is important to a church like ours.”

Aldrich adds that GC Pro offers a tremendous advantage for houses of worship under typical challenging circumstances. “It’s more than a matter of selecting the right mix of products and arranging for installation. We are often tasked with working within volunteer schedules, taking pre-production time into account, and doing everything possible to not hinder normal church workflow. The only way this can be accomplished is with the flexibility and operational power offered by GC Pro.”

Mic Choice and Techniques for Live Sound

Live sound venues and events can be a chaotic environment where things that seem to work just fine in one place don’t work at all the next night in another venue (or ten minutes after sound check in the same venue). Having a number of microphones and techniques for using them in your bag of tricks can prevent a whole lot of panic when you need immediate solutions.

The overall goals of miking techniques for live sound are easy enough to understand: get a good sound on the source that you’re miking, avoid picking up other sound sources in close proximity and prevent feedback. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? It turns out that choosing and using microphones is both an art and a science that can take years to fully master. Here are a few tips to get you started.

Choosing the Right Mics
Choosing microphones for live sound has different criteria than that you’d use for studio recording. Your first big choice is the main classes of microphone types: dynamic versus condenser. Dynamic mics are more rugged and more likely to handle the rigors of live use. They also handle higher SPL (sound pressure level, a.k.a. the loudness of the signal) better than condenser mics. However, condenser mics as a whole provide a much higher degree of sensitivity and fidelity to the original signal, along with extended high-frequency response.

The most classic live sound reinforcement microphones are the Shure SM58 and SM57. Used on everything from lead vocals to snare drums to guitar amplifier cabinets, nearly every venue, live band, and touring company has a good number of these relatively inexpensive, reliable tools for live sound.

Giving Direction
Each microphone has a specific sensitivity to sound coming from various directions, known as the mic’s polar pattern. In most mics, this is permanently built into its design, while in others, different types of directionality can be selected on the microphone itself.

The main types are omnidirectional (which pick up sound equally in a 360-degree radius) and unidirectional (which pick up sounds from certain directions while rejecting others). These mics have polar patterns like cardioid, super-cardioid and hyper-cardioid. This can be tremendously useful in a stage setting. Let’s say you’re miking a horn section, but the guitar amp is nearby. Simply using a mic with a cardioid polar pattern instead of an omni mic will help reject the guitar from bleeding into the horn signal.

This graphic, courtesy of Shure, shows a 3-D representation of omni, cardioid, and hypercardioid polar patterns. You can see the direction from where each pattern picks up and rejects signals.

Pad It Down, Roll It Off
Some mics have a built-in attenuator (“pad”) that allows you to instantly lower the signal by a preset amount, which is handy when dealing with loud sources like kick drum. Some mics may also have a low-frequency filter which helps to reduce the inevitable background noises—feet stomping on stages, wind, audience sounds and more. Pads and filters can really come in handy in a live setting.

Danger Zones
There are some common problems in live sound that are based on the way you use microphones. One is proximity effect, where a mic behaves differently when positioned very close to the source. When you do a sound check with lead singers, make sure they are using the mic just as they do during the performance.

Another caution area is using multiple mics. Unless you have a good understanding of mic placement, you may run into audible issues like phase cancellation and comb filtering. Problems generally occur when two or more mics are placed on the same source at different distances. Use only the mics you need. Learn the “3-to-1 rule,” which says that the distance between the mics should be three times the distance to the source.

General Good Ideas
First, never point a microphone in the direction of a PA or monitor speaker, which is the fastest way to cause feedback. Second, use directional microphones whenever possible, since you can orient them toward the source, helping to get a good signal, reject leakage from other sound sources and avoid feedback.

Perhaps the most important concept for live sound miking is that even a slight repositioning of a microphone can make a big difference. Don’t be afraid to experiment by moving the mics slightly to solve issues.

Quick Mic Choice and Technique Guide

Vocals: Dynamic mics are still the most popular choice here, and there are a wide variety of impressive handheld vocal mics from manufacturers like Sennheiser, Neumann, Electro-Voice, Beyerdynamic, Audix and Blue, in addition to the ubiquitous Shure SM58. Since every vocalist's voice and mic technique is different, it's good to keep a variety of mics available.

Some live sound vocal mics include the Beyerdynamic TG V96c, Sennheiser e965, Shure KSM8, Audix OM11, Blue enCORE 300, and Electro-Voice RE16.

Drums: While kits can be miked effectively with as few as three mics, you'll get better control over the overall sound with a pair of condenser mics as overheads, and closely placed dynamic mics for the rest of the kit. The kick drum needs a mic that can stand up to very high SPL. The snare mic is the one most likely to be inadvertently hit by the drummer, so make sure it's something especially sturdy, like a Shure SM57. Usually the snare mic picks up enough of the high hat, but you can supplement that with a small-diaphragm condenser for extra sizzle.

Choices in drum mics include kick drum mics like the AKG D12VR and the Heil PR48. A longtime go-to mic for toms is the Sennheiser MD421.

Some snare and tom microphones can be easily mounted to the drum shell or other convenient attachment point, like the Sennheiser e604, CAD TSM411, Audix D2, snd Audio-Technica ATM230.

Guitars: For electric guitars, a unidirectional dynamic mic placed 1–4" from the grill is standard. Close to the center of the cone gives you more highs, and you can mellow a "spiky" amp by moving the mic towards the edge of the speaker or using a modern, sturdy ribbon mic. For acoustic guitars without built-in preamp/pickup systems, try a small-diaphragm condenser about 6" from the sound hole, slanted towards the top edge of the fretboard. Bass guitars are frequently covered with a D.I. (direct injection) box, but if miked, the same type of mic used for kick drum would be preferred.

There are many mics that can be used for miking guitar amplifier speaker cabinets, like the Royer R-122 MKIIL and the Sennheiser e906. Miking live acoustic guitars is a little more challenging; try out the Shure SM81, Neumann KM 184, or the Mojave Audio MA-101fet.

Piano: To cover the full range of a grand or upright piano, you need a pair of mics, usually small-diaphragm omnidirectional condensers. Best placement is inside the lid, about a foot from the strings and about the same distance away from the hammers, one covering the bass strings and the other handling the treble strings. Remember the "3-to-1 rule" when placing these mics.

The final tip is to use your ears and adjust mic positions to try and solve problems before resorting to EQs or plug-ins. The better you get it to sound without adding processing, the better the final sound will be.

Signal Processing for Stage: Dynamics

This "Application Series" article gives advice toward the specific areas of business serviced by Guitar Center Professional, including studio recording/film sound, live sound, house of worship, clubs/restaurants, business sound/lighting systems, and more.

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The proper use of signal processing in many settings can be confusing even for experienced engineers. To be clear, there are creative uses of signal processing with effects like reverbs, delays and more, but we won’t be getting into that here. Instead, we’re taking a look at one type of signal processing that’s necessary for a positive audience experience (and the safety of your sound system) -- dynamics processing.

Getting Dynamic with Compressors
The easiest way to understand what a compressor does is to imagine a tiny little audio engineer who lives in a box. His or her sole job is very clear: to keep the perceived volume (loudness or quietness) within a certain range. Our imaginary little engineer has incredibly fast fingers that are always on a fader, and can react faster than any real human to adjust the signal up or down, keeping it within a range that sounds good for the overall performance.

Let’s look at a specific example. In a rock band, not all sounds are created equally. A bass player can be thumping along and then decide to start slapping in the chorus, creating a much higher perceived volume. A singer can be practically whispering throughout a verse, and then start screaming his way through the bridge. You get the idea. Music itself is dynamic, and we agree that using a full dynamic range is a good practice! However, we’ve all been through the unpleasant experience of hearing a poorly-mixed band, where the drums overwhelm the rest of the music, or the vocals can’t be heard at all over a feisty guitar player. What compression does is help even out the volumes of these individual sources so that the live sound experience is a little bit closer to the smoothness of recorded music.

Compressors are the key to creating this professional live sound presentation. They are particularly important for sources that have the highest levels, such as kick drums and bass. They are also crucial for sources with the widest range of dynamics, like the human voice. Please be aware that a compressor is not just a limiter, which is a device that stops audio signals from going above a certain range. Compressors also can raise the level of quieter sources so they, too, can be heard clearly.

Finally, from a practical point of view for live sound, compressors can be crucial to protecting the rest of your live sound system. A sudden burst of a very loud signal can damage everything from your console or mixing surface to your entire main PA and stage monitoring system, as well as having a deleterious affect on the audience’s ears. It’s very important to use compression for this reason, if no other.

Under Control
One interesting thing about dynamics processing: if a high-quality compressor is set correctly, you shouldn’t hear it working. It will just do its job, and everyone will appreciate its work (whether they notice it or not). Let’s take a look at what kind of controls are offered on a typical compressor, and how they work together.

“Threshold" allows you to tell the compressor the level at which it can start reducing the amplitude of a signal. “Ratio" lets you set the gain reduction with a ratio. Example: a 3:1 ratio means that if the signal is 3dB over the threshold you set earlier, the output will be 1dB over the threshold. "Attack and Release” lets you control how quickly the gain reduction starts and stops working. “Knee” allows you to choose how the compressor responds to signals that cross the threshold. Finally, "Output Gain” or "Makeup Gain” takes the compressed signal and boosts it so you have the right amount of volume to fit into the mix.

The dbx 166XS, an affordable dynamics processor that's popular in live sound, shows many of the common controls of a compressor including threshold, ratio, attack, release, and output gain.

Plug It In, Plug It In
For a long time, live sound was an area where only hardware devices were trusted for their essential purposes. However, like most other areas of professional audio, software-based plug-ins have made their foray into live sound in recent years. Technology such as Avid’s VENUE live sound systems have allowed performers and engineers to take advantage of the software-based signal processing that they use in studios while playing live. Companies such as Waves, McDSP and others have created software-based dynamics processing plug-ins that work exceptionally well.

Recommended Dynamics Processors

A Designs HM2 Compressor Nail

BBE MaxCom

Behringer Multicom

Dangerous Music Compressor

Drawmer 1960

Elysia Mpressor

Empirical Labs Distressor

Manley SLAM!

Millennia TCL-2

Tube-Tech LCA 2B

Universal Audio 1176LN Limiting Amplifier

Software-Based Live Sound Processing Bundles

McDSP Everything Pack HD

Waves Live Bundle

FAQ

Can’t I just have a single compressor that covers the entire mix?
While it’s important to have a compressor available for the complete mix as needed, each source is different in terms of its need for compression. Some instruments and vocalists might not need any compression at all. Others (kick drum, bass, often vocals) need their own types of compressors, each with their own settings, for a professional stage sound presentation. Also, different players tend to play… differently. Some hit the drums or strings harder; others don’t. It’s a wise plan to have compression available based on the style of the player, rather than an overall plan based only on the types on sound sources.

I once used a compressor and it made everything sound terrible!
As we said above, compression is perhaps the most misunderstood tool in the audio engineer’s arsenal. Two things can cause a compressor to do more harm than good: the use of a poorly-made, cheap compressor which doesn’t have enough quality in its parts or design to meet your needs, or (more likely) having an inexperienced engineer who doesn’t understand how to best set a compressor for each source and/or the mix itself. The most common way to mis-use a compressor is to overuse it. Be conservative with your approach to compression, and it will be your friend.

Can software-based dynamics processors really be trusted for live sound applications?
Live sound—both touring and fixed installations—was one of the last holdouts for use of software-based processing, especially for needs like compression. However, over the last decade or so, plug-ins have proven themselves in the largest venues and most high-profile tours. It’s safe to say that if you want to build a system that uses either software exclusively or in combination with hardware gear, you can trust these tools on your most important live sound jobs.

For more information on live sound processors, consult your GC Pro rep. Visit www.gcpro.com to find your local representative.

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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.

Stoneworks Entertainment Upgrades Live Sound Speakers

— GC Pro recommends dBTechnologies DVA T4, offering the right solution in terms of vocal clarity and ease of setup —
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, April 7, 2016 — Stoneworks Entertainment is a Pflugerville, Texas-based event production company that provides live sound, lighting and other services for corporate events, performing venues, weddings and anywhere top-quality music and entertainment is needed. Recent upgrades were implemented with the help of Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), the business-to-business (B2B) division of Guitar Center providing highly customized service for professional accounts. Stoneworks co-owner Six Sanchez had been wanting to upgrade the speakers in their tour sound PA, and an e-mail from GC Pro Account Manager Sean Robertson set the wheels in motion.

“Not too long ago I received a courtesy e-mail from Sean thanking me for a past purchase and asking if there was anything else he could help me with,” said Sanchez. “Sean is great when it comes to this kind of follow up, and as a matter of fact I had been interested in upgrading to line array speakers. However, I didn’t know if I could afford them or work with them.”

Sanchez had a number of requirements, the foremost being speakers that would excel in vocal reproduction. He also wanted speakers that would be easy to set up and have the high-power handling and flexibility to cover every live sound situation he’d encounter, from outdoor shows to small clubs. He also plays guitar and sings in Texas Unlimited, one of the state’s top regional bands for concerts, parties and events, and he wanted line arrays that Texas Unlimited could add to its tour sound system on bigger dates.

Equally important, the speakers had to be easy to transport and set up. “I don’t have a 20-person crew – I have a two-man crew, one of them being me!” Sanchez was concerned that even though he liked the clarity of line arrays compared to conventional trap box speakers, most of the line arrays he’d seen were labor-intensive to rig and required a lot of cabling.

After going over the available options, Robertson felt that the dBTechnologies DVA T4 powered three-way line array module would be perfect for Sanchez’s needs. He notes, “A three-way loudspeaker like the DVA T4 is ideal for vocal reproduction because the vocal range falls right in the part of the frequency spectrum that is handled by the midrange driver, and the crossover points for the drivers are outside the vocal range. In a two-way speaker, however, the crossover point between the woofer and high-frequency driver falls right in the middle of the vocal range and can affect vocal clarity. A good three-way loudspeaker can deliver vocals with superior purity and incredible focus.”

The dBTechnologies DVA T4 line arrays are designed to make setup simple. Four DVA T4s can be mounted in a single DTF-4 professional flight case. Stoneworks purchased eight DVA T4 arrays and two DTF-4 cases, along with casters and covers for the cases, two dBTechnologies DVA S30N dual-18-inch 3,000-watt powered subwoofers and a number of Live Wire, RapcoHorizon and ProCo cables.

“We leave the DVA T4s in the cases and leave the line arrays all daisy-chained and wired together,” Sanchez said, “so all we have to do is roll the case into place, rig the cases to a fly bar, run one cable from the mixer and connect one power cable.” Depending on the venue, Sanchez can either fly the case or stack it, and either ground-stack or fly the subwoofers.

The DVA T4 and DVZ S30N feature built-in Digipro® Class D amplification with sophisticated DSP and sound-tailoring capabilities. “Not having to carry heavy racks of amplifiers is a big plus – I remember the backbreaking days of amps that weighted one pound per watt!” noted Sanchez. “But even more importantly, the speakers’ and subwoofers’ DSP and programmable crossover points make it really easy for us to dial in the optimum sound for any venue.” The DVA T4 offers eight system presets for high- and low-mid frequency correction and the DVZS30N provides crossover and delay presets plus continuously variable crossover adjustment.

“We were able to offer really attractive pricing for Six,” Robertson pointed out, “and work with dBTechnologies to deliver all the products quickly, in time for a particular gig Six really wanted to use the dBTechnologies line for. In fact, Six was able to upgrade to better subwoofers than what he originally thought he needed because we were able to put together a great package for him that fit within his budget.”

Sanchez concluded, “I couldn’t be happier with the sound we can provide to our clients now that we’ve stepped up to high-quality line arrays. Sean at GC Pro was able to take my idea of the sound I wanted to hear – clear, powerful vocals in any indoor and outdoor venue – and translate that into the recommendation of speakers that not only match but exceed my requirements.”

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.

New Sound System for Legendary Jazz Club Blues Alley

The entrance of legendary Washington, D.C. venue Blues Alley.

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, March 2, 2016 — Blues Alley is one of the country’s most prestigious jazz clubs. Since 1965 the legendary Washington, D.C. venue has hosted a who’s who of jazz greats including Sarah Vaughan, Sonny Rollins, Tony Bennett, McCoy Tyner and dozens more. For around 360 nights a year, aficionados can hear the greatest stars in jazz in an intimate setting that feels like a large living room. Until recently, however, the venue was using an older sound system that needed an upgrade, which was achieved thanks to Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), the business-to-business (B2B) division of Guitar Center providing highly customized service for professional accounts.

Blues Alley was in need of a new soundboard and was referred to Scott Schwartz, GC Pro Account Manager based at the division’s Rockville, MD location. Schwartz impressed them with his knowledge and professionalism, giving several recommendations, and even working with brand reps to allow the club to get hands-on experience in practical application by sourcing sample units to use in the club. So when it was time to upgrade the rest of the system, in preparation for the club's 50th anniversary, a call back to GC Pro and Scott Schwartz was a no-brainer. "Scott understood our needs, recognized our challenges and immediately had a team together, ready to get started,” says the club's Operations Director Kris Ross. Schwartz told Ross "You're a world-renowned venue, and I know we can make your system better." The club agreed and gave GC Pro the contract.

Schwartz worked hand-in-hand with installation firm Koko Brothers Entertainment, a longtime member of the GC Pro Affiliate Program. This program includes a growing number of award-winning companies and individuals who specialize in key areas of professional audio system design, integration and installation.

“The overriding consideration was that the system had to sound natural and complementary to the mostly acoustic instruments used in jazz, and to vocalists,” said Schwartz. “Blues Alley needed a system that would enhance the sound of the performers, not impose its own sonic signature over everything.”

The new audio components include a total of five QSC AD-S12 (2-way 12-inch), AD-S8T (2-way 8-inch) surface-mount and AD-S82YM (2-way 12-inch) yoke-mount loudspeakers, powered by QSC PLD4.3 and PLD4.2 four-channel processing amplifiers with built-in DSP. A Shure ULDX24D/SM58 dual-channel handheld digital wireless microphone system, Behringer X32 digital console and Whirlwind MS3210XL 100-foot 32-channel snake complete the main system. In addition, two AD-S82YM speakers are installed in the kitchen area with another AD-S82YM speaker located outside.

A view of the stage at legendary Washington, D.C. venue Blues Alley, with one of five QSC AD-S12 (2-way 12-inch) loudspeakers visible – part of the extensive AV upgrade sourced through Guitar Center Professional.

“We had to overcome significant acoustic, architectural and logistical challenges, not the least of which was having to get the system installed in one day over Labor Day weekend!” noted Angelo Kokkinakos, who with his brother Lou owns and operates Koko Brothers. “There’s a narrow ‘alley’ of seating at stage left, and wider, shallower seating at the center and right. The ceiling is very low and there are two columns in the middle of the room that affect the acoustics. We had to configure the system to ensure there was even coverage everywhere even though the seating of room is so non-symmetrical.”

To this end, representatives from QSC collaborated with GC Pro and Koko Brothers in the design phase of the project. The team determined the AD-S12 speaker would be the best choice to cover the long, narrow ‘alley’ at stage left, while a combination of AD-S8T and AD-S82YM speakers would be ideal for the center and right seating areas. “We were able to turn the potential disadvantage of the two poles into a benefit, as they proved to be good locations for mounting the AD-S82YM yoke-mount speakers,” noted Kokkinakos.

Integrating the main speakers with the ceiling-mounted subwoofer might have been difficult if not impossible if not for the QSC amplifiers’ built-in DSP. “The amps’ built-in presets made them almost plug-and-play in matching them to the main speakers,” said Kokkinakos. “We had to use some serious DSP to get the subwoofer integrated and EQ’ed with the rest of the system, which in fact took the most time. However, the amps’ extensive speaker management and time-alignment capabilities made it possible.” The amplifiers are configured into various zones, which further enabled each amp to be optimized to each speaker.

“The sound is dramatically better with the new system,” said Kokkinakos. “The intelligibility coming off the mics is far improved, and visiting front-of-house engineers love it. And even though the speakers are small and sleek, they cover the entire room, and the sound is smooth and even no matter where you’re sitting.”

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.

TEC Award Winners & GC Pro's Unofficial Runners-Up

Another NAMM Show is behind us, and while we could complain about our sore feet after walking 27 miles of aisles over the past four days, instead we’d like to tip our hat to winners and nominees from the recent TEC Awards, held during NAMM to recognize the technical and creative achievements in our industry. We’re also including our own picks for runners-up in each category, in a completely unauthorized and unofficial way, because we’re like that.

You can get more detailed information on any TEC Award-worthy product listed below by contacting Guitar Center Professional at 877-687-5404.

AMPLIFICATION HARDWARE - STUDIO & SOUND REINFORCEMENT
Antelope Audio: Satori Monitoring Controller

The winner in the amplification category is a worthy one. Satori is a true analog monitoring and summing system that is one of the best ever made. Great for both commercial and project studios, Satori has carefully-designed analog circuits and fast, transparent relay attenuators to ensure the audio integrity throughout the whole signal path. Everything about the Satori, from its gold-plated relays and precise resistors to its features that include four independent headphone amps, analog summing functionality, and eight stereo inputs and four stereo outputs in a 1U rack space should tell you that this is worth our attention.

GC Pro’s Runner-Up: QSC’s GXD Series, power amps that are ideal for portable sound reinforcement applications and installations with demanding DSP requirements and flexibility at a cost effective price.

ANCILLARY EQUIPMENT
Rupert Neve Designs: RNDI Active Transformer Direct Interface

It always seems like “Ancillary Equipment” is a catch-all category for audio products that can’t be wedged into other definitions (because that’s pretty much what it is). But in this case, the winner is something that will be valuable in any studio or live sound environment. The RNDI is a direct box that goes above and beyond the norm with custom Rupert Neve-designed transformers and class-A biased, discrete FET amplifiers. It delivers a powerful and vibrant direct sound capable of reproducing the full harmonic depth of basses, guitars, acoustic instruments, and professional line level sources.

GC Pro’s Runner-Up: Radial Engineering JDX-48 Reactor Guitar Amp Direct Box. We love the wide range of utility products made by Radial, and the JDX-48 is definitely one of them. It captures the sound of both the head and the cabinet of an amp, and works equally well on electric guitar and bass with 100% discrete class-A circuitry.

COMPUTER AUDIO HARDWARE
Universal Audio: Apollo 8p Thunderbolt 2 Audio Interface

Thousands of GC Pro customers already are aware of the power of Universal Audio’s Apollo line of audio interfaces. Since their introduction, this product series has continued to get even better, and the TEC Award-winning Apollo 8p is one of the best ever made. It delivers a 16 x 20 Thunderbolt 2 interface featuring eight onboard mic preamps, making it perfect for mobile rigs and tracking full bands. Apollo 8p also features powerful UAD-2 QUAD Core processing, letting you run UAD Powered Plug-Ins in real time.

GC Pro’s Runner-Up: There were so many great products nominated in this category, like Waves DiGiGrid iOS, Apogee’s Ensemble Thunderbolt, and Dangerous Music’s Convert Series, that you almost couldn’t go wrong no matter what you choose. We’re giving the unofficial runner-up award to Focusrite for the Clarett 8Pre, a box that is renowned for excellent sound with up to 119dB dynamic range, superbly low noise, precision 24/192 conversion and eight specially-designed mic preamps.

HEADPHONE / EARPIECE TECHNOLOGY
Audio-Technica: ATH-R70x Pro

When we found out that Audio-Technica was creating their first pair of open-back reference professional headphones, we wondered, “What took you so long?” And then we listened and understood. They are the new flagship for A-T’s lineup of professional studio headphones, and they feature specially designed drivers and acoustically transparent housings fashioned from aluminum honeycomb mesh, and provide even greater comfort during the prolonged use often required in professional settings.

GC Pro’s Runner-Up: Shure’s PSM 300 is an excellent choice in personal monitoring for musicians, houses of worship, and other live sound situations where a powerful but affordable system is required.

MICROPHONE PREAMPLIFIERS
Manley Labs: Manley FORCE

Mic preamps are extraordinarily difficult to judge... what sounds perfect for one source might not be right at all for another, which is why the best studios and production facilities in the world often have a multitude of preamps to choose from. We certainly can’t argue against this year’s TEC Award winner; EveAnna Manley and her company make fantastic preamps, and Manley FORCE is a meticulously hand-crafted box that offers four channels of vacuum tube microphone preamplifiers, housed in an exquisitely gorgeous chassis.

GC Pro’s Runner-Up: Once again, it’s hard to say that any of the 2016 TEC nominees in this category wouldn’t serve as excellent preamps, from the AMS Neve 1073DPX to the Focusrite RedNet MP8R and the rest. However, our unofficial runner-up is the Chandler Limited REDD.47. Decisively old-school in design, it’s a recreation of the original tube line amplifiers used in Abbey Road Studios’ heralded EMI REDD.51 recording consoles circa 1959-1968, with an unmistakably punchy, aggressive character that you associate with Beatles tracks recorded in the mid-60s.

MICROPHONES – RECORDING
Neumann: U47 FET

It can’t be a surprise to anyone that this recreation of a coveted mic is a winner out of the gate, and voters for the TEC Awards this year apparently agreed. This collector’s edition of the famous Neumann U47 fet is based on the original mic’s production documents and schematics. This world-class condenser cardioid microphone, available via GC Pro, offers a wide dynamic range, a switchable low-cut filter, and switchable attenuation.

GC Pro’s Runner-Up: So... hard... to... choose! Microphones are one area where studios of all sizes should have a variety to accommodate the wildly different vocal and instrumental sources that they may encounter, so there’s rarely a right or wrong answer at this level. The Audio-Technica AT5045 is an outstanding side-address mic with a huge diaphragm surface area. The Blue Microphones Hummingbird is a fantastic small-diaphragm mic that’s both innovative (with a 180-degree rotating head) and super affordable. But we’re going to give our prize to Royer Labs’ R-122 MKll Active Ribbon Microphone. Sure, it may just be an update to the original R-122, but this industry-standard ribbon mic now adds a switchable -15 dB pad and a switchable bass-cut filter, making it even more flexible for more sound sources.

MICROPHONES – SOUND REINFORCEMENT
Shure: 5575LE Unidyne 75th Anniversary Vocal Microphone

Talk about a classic! The Shure 5575LE is a limited-edition mic that you probably associate from its days starting 75 years ago on the desks of announcers and talk shows. Designed specifically for vocal and speech miking, we’re pretty sure that its combination of vibe-filled sound and great design is what captured the votes for this year’s TEC Award.

GC Pro’s Runner-Up: There are many great mics to choose from in a category that can span from hand-held mics for bands up to the podium mics that will spread the word to thousands at a large house of worship. Our pick is the Earthworks High-Definition 40kHz FlexMic, which is a series of some of the finest high-definition podium microphones ever made. Available in multiple lengths and both cardioid and hypercardioid patterns, these mics will handle up to an astonishing 145dB SPL with high rejection of sounds to the rear of the microphone, and incredible gain before feedback.

MUSICAL INSTRUMENT AMPLIFICATION & EFFECTS
Eventide: H9 MAX

Okay, this may look like a typical small stompbox at first glance, but it’s actually like some crazy effects device from the future. The H9 Max includes tons of algorithms from Eventide’s acclaimed effects from over their long history, including Time, Mod, Pitch, and Space, and even includes all future algorithms created for the platform at no additional charge.

GC Pro’s Runner-Up: Two of Moog Music’s great stompboxes in their “Minifooger” range, the MF Flange and MF Chorus, both got well-deserved nominations. But our choice is the Grace Design FELiX Studio Quality Instrument Preamp/EQ/DI, a two-channel design that blends acoustic instrument and mic preamp for working musicians, engineers, sound companies or venues looking for the highest quality solution for amplifying stringed instruments. With more and more venues looking for quality of sound over quantity, FELiX brings open, musical and nuanced preamplification to any performance situation.

MUSICAL INSTRUMENT HARDWARE
Moog Music: Modular Recreation

Moog stunned the synthesizer world last year by releasing three incredible recreations of their classic modular analog synthesizers with the System 55, the System 35, and the Model 15. It’s no surprise that this limited-run return to the original world standard in music synthesis captured the fancy of TEC Award voters and GC Pro customers alike.

GC Pro’s Runner-Up: Roger Linn Design’s LinnStrument is an incredibly innovative 200-pad MIDI controller that captures three dimensions of each finger’s movement for subtle and precise control of note volume, pitch and timbre, polyphonically. It is about as mind-blowing as any kind of instrument controller we’ve ever seen, and opens the door to entirely new areas of creative expression. We love it.

MUSICAL INSTRUMENT SOFTWARE
iZotope: Iris 2

Who said that a great software synth has to be exorbitantly expensive? iZotope’s Iris 2 lets you create sounds that have never been heard before and to discover sounds you've never heard. An inspiring sample-based synthesizer, Iris 2 is immediately playable, combining the power of a sampler, the flexibility of a modular synth, and the fun of spectral filtering.

GC Pro’s Runner-Up: Spectrasonics’ Omnisphere 2 offers a massive variety of new synthesis options, a staggering audio library with over 10,000 sounds, a new interface with an enhanced sound browsing capability, a new and enhanced arpeggiator, 25 new effects units with flexible attributes, and more. For producers, composers, and sound designers, it doesn’t get much better than this. Contact GC Pro for details.

RECORDING DEVICES
Zoom: F8 MultiTrack Field Recorder

Hats off to Zoom for a worthy TEC victory with this 10-track, 8-channel multitrack field recorder, which offers eight XLR inputs with independent gain control, limiting, panning and delay, and support for 24-bit/192kHz audio.

GC Pro’s Runner-Up: A perfect audio recording solution for filmmakers, TASCAM’s DR-70D is a four-track recorder with four balanced XLR mic inputs, and is designed to work in conjunction with DLSR cameras.

SIGNAL PROCESSING HARDWARE
Tube-Tech: HLT 2A Equalizer

Even in a field crowded with great nominees, the Tube-Tech HLT 2A is a very worthy victor. It’s an all-new kind of equalizer, combining high and low shelving EQ plus hi and low cut filters with an innovative T filter “tilt” midrange EQ… the first time this combination of filters has been designed in the analog domain, with a resulting ton of very nice EQ shaping possibilities.

GC Pro’s Runner-Up: Greg Scott of Kush Audio describes his Tweaker Sidechain Shaping Compressor as “... my masterpiece, four years in the making. I haven't found a style of compression it can't do masterfully – clean, gritty, subdued, hammered, whatever.” We can’t argue this. Contact your GC Pro rep to learn more about this fantastic dynamics processor.

SIGNAL PROCESSING HARDWARE (500 SERIES MODULES)
Solid State Logic: 500-Format LMC+

It’s pretty sweet that SSL took their Listen Mic Compressor from the legendary SL4000E console and made it available in a 500 Series format. They also enhanced it with high pass and low pass filters, a side chain feature, and more.

GC Pro’s Runner-Up: 500 Series processors have been among the most popular items for GC Pro customers over the past five-plus years, and this year’s crop of TEC nominees were filled with great products like LaChapell Audio’s 583S mk2 and the Space Heater 500 from Radial Engineering. Our pick for runner-up, if you force us to make one, is BAE Audio’s 1073MPL, a simply stunning hand-wired Class A mic pre in a 500 Series format.

SIGNAL PROCESSING SOFTWARE (DYNAMICS/EQ/UTILITIES)
iZotope: RX 4 Complete Audio Repair & Enhancement

This kind of software blows our collective minds. iZotope’s RX 4 is noise reduction software that allows you to repair, enhance, and restore problematic production audio — from plosives to microphone bumps to inconsistent levels — and dramatically improve sound quality and clarity. iZotope has already introduced an updated version RX 5, by the way.

GC Pro’s Runner-Up: Lots of great nominees in this category, from Focusrite’s Red 2 & Red 3 Suite to Universal Audio’s Neve 88RS Channel Strip Collection. We’re going with the Waves Butch Vig Vocals plug-in that faithfully recreates some of the signature vocal sounds this producer achieved with Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Foo Fighters, Green Day and his own band Garbage.

SIGNAL PROCESSING SOFTWARE (EFFECTS)
AMS Neve: AMS RMX16 Digital Reverb Plug-In For UAD-2 Platform

Designed for the Universal Audio UAD-2 platform, this sweet plug-in offers the reverb sound from thousands of seminal recordings form the ‘80s, with an instantly recognizable lushness found from music by U2 and Peter Gabriel to Radiohead and Rihanna.

GC Pro’s Runner-Up: We are digging McDSP’s FutzBox Rack Extension Plug-In, a distortion and noise generator plug-in for creating low fidelity versions of audio signals, like simulations of radios, cell phones, and televisions. But our unofficial runner-up award goes to Audio Ease’s Altiverb 7.2.6, the latest and greatest version of their industry standard convolution reverb plug-in. It features top quality samples of real spaces to create reverb, ranging from Sydney Opera House to the cockpit of a Jumbo Jet.

SMALL FORMAT CONSOLE TECHNOLOGY
Avid: Pro Tools | S3

No one was surprised at the TEC Awards that the Avid Pro Tools | S3 took home the curvy gold prize at the TEC Awards. The S3 is a compact, EUCON-enabled, ergonomic desktop control surface that offers a streamlined yet versatile mixing solution for the modern sound engineer, delivering intelligent control over every aspect of Pro Tools and other DAWs. It’s the perfect solution for everyone from project studios to the largest, most demanding facilities.

GC Pro’s Runner-Up: If for no reason other than its uniqueness, we have to hand it to Radial Engineering for their Space Heater, an 8-channel tube overdrive that can be used as a stereo summing mixer or as multi-channel studio distortion. With complete control over each tube circuit, the Space Heater can provide everything from subtle transformer warmth to full on harmonic distortion. Your GC Pro rep can fill you in on the rest of the details.

SOUND REINFORCEMENT LOUDSPEAKERS
Meyer Sound: LEOPARD

A company that deserves the utmost of respect in live sound, Meyer Sound’s LEOPARD is ideally suited to everything from mid-sized touring and live theatre to worship and live performance installations, and from symphony music to heavy metal.

GC Pro’s Runner-Up: An excellent and affordable choice for musicians, DJs, houses of worship and more, Electro-Voice’s EKX series combines legendary EV sound quality and reliability with the latest technology, all in a compact package that is suitable for a wide range of sound reinforcement scenarios.

STUDIO MONITORS
Genelec: 8351A SAM

A leader in studio monitor innovation for decades, Genelec took home the TEC Award this year for the 8351A, a totally unique monitor speaker that produces controlled directivity over a very wide bandwidth. It’s an outstanding choice for music studios, post-production houses, edit suites, radio, TV and outside broadcast applications.

GC Pro’s Runner-Up: Here’s a case where a product category is so subjective, it’s impossible to offer a consolation prize to any of the other excellent nominees. But we will say that GC Pro’s account representatives are experts in all professional-quality studio monitors, and can set up a demo or offer suggestions for a system perfectly suited to your space and your tastes. Contact us for details.

WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY
Sennheiser: Evolution Wireless D1

For vocals, instruments, headmics, and lavaliers, Sennheiser’s Evolution Wireless D1 is a simply terrific system for any environment where no-compromise live sound is a necessity. It can run up to 15 output lines in parallel and independently adjust the sensitivity of every transmission.

GC Pro’s Runner-Up: While excellent systems from AKG and Audio-Technica were nominated, we’re throwing our runner-up vote toward Shure’s QLX-D Digital Wireless System. Available in a wide number of configurations, it’s a fantastic wireless system for bands, churches, presentation rooms, and much more.

WORKSTATION TECHNOLOGY
Avid: Pro Tools 12

Come on, what else did you expect? The industry choice for composing, recording, editing and mixing pro audio for music, film and TV remains as vibrant and pervasive throughout the world of audio today as it always has been. More artists, producers, and mixers use Pro Tools than any other DAW. With the redesigned Avid Audio Engine and 64-bit performance, you get multiple times the processing power Avid Audio Engine of previous versions of Pro Tools on the same hardware configurations.

GC Pro’s Runner-Up: Pro Tools isn’t the only DAW in town. There are always more choices than you first realize when looking for the right workstation software platform. Another nominee this year was Steinberg for their Cubase Pro 8/Artist 8 apps, with their exceptionally intuitive workflow in a sleek, efficient environment. GC Pro will help with any question you have regarding which DAW is right for you... contact us today!