WOODENVILLE,
WASHINGTON: Mobile and location sound recording
experts Open Hand Studios, Woodenville, Washington
has increased their fidelity and decreased their
rack size with three True Systems' Precision 8 microphone
preamplifiers. With eight preamplifiers in the same
league as Millennia, Grace, and Avalon snuggly housed
in a single rack space, the Precision 8 coupled
with a laundry list of Neumann microphone inputs
affords the flexibility and quality film scoring
work demands.
Independent recording engineer Steve Smith has used
the 24 channels of True Systems preamplification
on a number of recent projects including a Joe Jackson
session, the trailer for Denzel Washington's new
movie "John Q," the upcoming IMAX film
"Lewis and Clark," and Dreamwork Interactive's
forthcoming "Metal of Honor" Playstation
II game. "Metal of Honor" has already
attracted considerable attention for its 70-piece,
5.1 orchestral score. The man behind the music for
ABC's Alias, Michael Giacchino wrote the score and
has received numerous awards for his interactive
work in the past.
A seasoned veteran with 27 years under his belt,
Smith got his start as an assistant engineer on
Stevie Wonder's "Songs in the Key of Life."
He went on to work at the Record Plant and to build
Take One in Burbank and Studio X in Seattle. He
has recorded seven IMAX scores and numerous other
films; engineered countless records with artists
such as Garth Brooks, Guns and Roses, and Steve
Miller; and kept current with live Internet broadcasts
and interactive game recordings including Jurassic
Park, Myst III, and Small Soldiers.
"The Precision 8 mic pre's are great,"
Smith said. "They're clean, open, and quiet.
They're transparent. They exhibit an incredible
dynamic range. I love the fact that you get eight
preamps of the highest caliber in a single rack
space! It's especially helpful in all of the remote
work that we do." Smith also noted that the
convenient DB25 output connector saves space and
hassle.
Open Hand feeds the Precision 8s with a wealth of
Neumann microphones. When asked why their microphone
closet is overrun with Neumann, Smith replied, "Because
nothing else sounds like a Neumann! Clients always
burn through the Neumann mics first - they're the
first choice across the board. Neumann mics have
that big sound with great low-end and a clean top-end.
They're very spatial: they give a three-dimensional
quality to a big orchestral recording. You can close
your eyes and say, 'OK, this guy's sitting 20 feet
away from me, this guy's 10 feet away from me,'
and so on. I love them!" Among the Neumann
microphones in their closet are KM 184s for violins
and woodwinds, TLM 103s for cellos, and TLM 193s
for violas and basses.
Neumann's award winning line of microphones has
set the standard in the industry since 1928. In
1999, Neumann received the prestigious Technical
Grammy(r) for their 70 years of innovation in microphone
design and contribution to the music industry. A
continuing commitment to provide innovative, technically
refined products and engineering solutions of proven
quality ensures that Neumann's stature will remain
unassailable.
www.sennheiserusa.com
www.neumannusa.com
