Dangerous Music Users :

Snowblind's "Lord of the Rings" Video Game Gets Dangerous
Game Audio Guru Craig Duman adds Dangerous 2-Bus and Monitor ST/SR to his Mix

Edmeston, NY - June 22, 2010 - Craig Duman is the sound design and music expert at Snowblind, a Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment Company that specializes in video games. Duman has over fifteen years experience in game audio and has worked on over 75 games for many of the top companies in the industry including Interplay, Shiny and Rock Star. Duman is currently in the midst of creating audio for "War in the North," a Lord of the Rings themed game that is highly anticipated by fantasy game players. It features all the latest in graphics and sound technology, including the audio in 5.1 surround. At Snowblind Duman has recently installed the Dangerous Music 2-Bus LT analog summing amp and the Dangerous Monitor ST/SR stereo and surround monitor controller.

"One of the main reasons I went with the Dangerous Music equipment was because I was on an 'analog kick' - I learned on 2-inch tape and a traditional console," explains Duman. "I was looking to bring that analog sound and feel to the projects that I work on. The Dangerous equipment was a natural solution to that. I've been mixing-in-the-box on Pro Tools for about 15 years, and I was looking for something that could increase the headroom in the mix environment as well as bring back the clarity and the punch - the 2-Bus does all that along with delivering a lot more depth too.  We have 16 D-to-A outputs from the Digidesign 192's and we feed them to the 2-Bus which sums them to stereo. The 2-Bus is simple to use - there's no bells and whistles to degrade the signal path, and its recall is easy and instantaneous, which I like. I don't have to write everything down like with other analog equipment."

"With mixing in the box in order to not clip the internal stereo buss you have to bring your faders down pretty far, so you're not using all the bits, whereas with the Dangerous 2-Bus I can leave tracks set pretty hot. It doesn't clip, it doesn't distort, and it blends the audio in a nice way. I like the Mono function on the 2-Bus too, a lot of the game sounds I do are mono sounds, so I just hit the switches and there it is. It's just so much more punchy and powerful sounding than mixing in the box. I had to go back and rework a bunch of sounds that I did before I had the 2-Bus because they just didn't have the punch and sound quality that the newer sounds did."

Describing his initial reaction to setting up the Dangerous Music equipment in the Snowblind studios, Duman recalls, "I got the 2-Bus and the Monitor ST installed at the same time and immediately I could hear that they made a really *^#@! big difference. I didn't think it was going to sound this good. I was very, very impressed."

Snowblind has given Duman and his audio group a new level of power allowing them to actually program the sound elements into the game 'code' and the Monitor ST plays a big part in making that work successfully and smoothly.  "These days sound design and implementation are tightly woven together art forms. We really want to punch up our games and make them stand out, we've got to implement the audio in the game ourselves,' says Duman. "When I first got started in games we'd hand the music and sound effects to the programmers and they'd often come back with the music in the wrong place and the wrong sound effects. Taking complete ownership of sound implementation makes our games stand out and is done right the first time," states Duman.

Once he found the Dangerous 2-Bus and looked over the other products, Duman realized with the help of his salesman Ryan Sloan at Sweetwater Sound he could also get the monitoring system he needed from Dangerous, and that it was a system he could build on. "In addition to the 2-Bus, I was also looking for a surround monitor controller, but initially I wasn't focused on the surround elements because it was early in the development of the game.  The modular design of the Dangerous system was perfect for us.  We got the stereo Monitor ST first and added the SR unit for surround later.  I was asked by accounting if I could buy some now and some later - and I could.  It worked out great for my department budget."

"I was using a low-cost monitor controller at the time," adds Duman. "The Dangerous Music Monitor ST made my existing speakers sound better. The ST added a lot of depth perception and I really like the repeatability of the volume control. Also my old controller wasn't very movable because all the cables connected to the back of it. I like that the Dangerous remote is easily movable. You can pick up the remote and move around the room and check your mixes in different spots, and that's something I really like. You can put it wherever you want, it makes it real easy to check your mix and work in different parts of the studio and still have control of the volume and speakers.
 
Duman uses the Monitor ST/SR to listen to the game in actual play mode because that's how the sounds he creates and programs into the levels and game actions are generated: during game action. "It all depends on what is going on in the game. Sometimes the character is in front of you and sounds come out the front speakers and sometimes that same character is behind you. I have to monitor in surround and then adjust the in-game parameters for that mix to happen in surround. I'll play the game, as for example the warrior guy, I'll go into a level and play-test the whole level."

Having the Monitor ST's latch and quick press "solo" speaker buttons really help with their work, Duman explains, "I'll hear a problem going on in the game, 'But where is it?' Now I can quickly solo out a channel and find out what's going on. Another example is 'Why does the dialog sound terrible?' - we can easily diagnose the problem and fix it. Find out that it's playing in the wrong speaker. Because we are implanting the music and sound into the game itself, there are so many places for it to go wrong, the Monitor ST helps us zero-in on where it's going wrong. And we can find it a lot faster than with other monitor controllers - I hit the buttons really fast, other controllers may have speaker solo buttons on them but they are not like the Monitor ST. The Monitor ST buttons don't stick!!! It's easy to work with. I didn't think the latch and quick press solo functions would be as helpful as it they are!"

Visit the Snowblind website to find out more about the "War in the North" Lord of the Rings video game: http://www.snowblind.com

Producer Anthony J. Resta Gets Dangerous
Hybrid analog and digital studio mixing hits with the Dangerous Music 2-Bus

Edmeston, NY - April 19, 2010 - From their "Bopnique Musique" studios north of Boston, Producer Anthony J. Resta and his mix engineer Karyadi Sutedja have made their impressive list of clients into fans of their unique style and sound - and platinum and gold records. Some highlights of artists they've worked with include production and mixing for Duran Duran (30 tracks), Collective Soul, who are 10-year clients, Megadeth, Guster, Shawn Mullins, Perry Ferrall among many others. Although the 3700 square foot studio space has a lot of key equipment, Resta gives special praise to what the Dangerous Music 2-Bus analog-summing amp brings to their sound.

Describing how the Dangerous 2-Bus fits in to their Pro Tools-based mixing system, Resta says, "Basically we send out stereo stems from the mix to our outboard gear - we use pairs of Neve 1072's and 1073's,  pairs of Focusrite RED and ISA 110's, Universal Audio 610's. We have a bunch of different configurations that we use to buss audio out of Pro Tools, through the outboard and then to the Dangerous 2-Bus, where the final mix is summed to stereo. Naturally we do the automation all in Pro Tools so it's super easy to recall a mix. The Dangerous 2-Bus makes the stereo image wider and there's much more headroom, and we notice a tighter low-end - it's made a huge difference in the sound of the records we've been making!"

Engineer Karyadi adds, "The analog summing process of the Dangerous 2-Bus brings back the true depth of a mix - space perception created in the mix and/or recording by using reverb, echo, or actual room mic'ing - that was missing when the mixing was done 100% inside the box.  When using the 2-Bus the stereo image becomes much clearer, the spatial placement of tracks in the mix are more pin-pointed, and the mix will not collapse even when it is getting dense, something that we used to only be able to get when mixing on a high-end analog console. The 2-Bus has massive headroom and definitely feels like you're working on a high-end analog board. The low-end is tighter and a lot more focused. One of the factors that made us choose the Dangerous 2-Bus over other analog summing devices is its simple signal path design and high quality components - it has none of the unnecessary bells and whistles (pan, mute, individual level trim pot or fader, etc) that line mixer-style summing devices have, so it makes it possible and very easy to accurately recall mixes, which a very important factor for us."

Analog equipment and the sound of analog gear like the Dangerous 2-Bus is important in Resta's process for mixing, "We are known for making very analog sounding recordings, a lot of people can't believe what we are doing is not tape. We use the  EL-7 Fatso Jr; we use the Phoenix Crane Song software, and the old Magneto plug-in with the 30ips and 15ips settings. We work really hard to get that sound, even just in the way we mic drums. We didn't switch over to digital until 2001. We've been hardcore analog all the way."

But times have changed and the Dangerous 2-Bus coupled with classic analog outboard gear has allowed Resta to enter the digital world while retaining that analog sound, "It just became a thing of convenience with being able to edit performances, and to keep up with the pace that people expect you to make records. There's no way you can sit there rewinding two 24-tracks waiting for them to sync up to do vocal rides when people want the song done in two days!" Resta added about the sound of the 2-Bus, "I am not a scientific wizard or anything, I just know what I like and this box has made a big difference in the sound of our mixes. We're not a cookie cutter mixing operation, like a lot of these guys that do 6-hour mixes, copying the master to a specific mixing template, essentially having the tracks come up on the same faders and processing chains, and the mix is almost ready to print. We don't work like that, it takes us about a day and half to do a mix - we start from the ground up. We treat it like a specific piece of art for each and every song. Music can be commercially viable but it can also be innovative and take some chances."

The studio recently paired the Dangerous 2-Bus with new D-to-A converters by Lavry that Resta had heard at Vlado Meller's mastering studio and liked, which is also where he first was introduced to Dangerous Music equipment, "I started attending mastering sessions at Vlado's and noticed that there were a lot of Dangerous Music components in his system. I started asking Vlado about it and basically he turned me onto Dangerous Music. Seeing Vlado using Dangerous gear, I figure a guy who has 21 records that he had mastered up for Grammys in one year, if he's using the stuff it's gotta' be good."

Right now Resta uses the 16-channel Dangerous 2-Bus to sum his stems, but he sees more inputs in his future, "We're going to be moving up to 32-channels very soon, because we find ourselves saying 'If we just had and couple pairs...' I definitely plan on adding another 2-Bus."

Resta has been working side by side with his mix engineer, Karyadi Sutedja, (who was on the Grammy ballot in 2008 in the 'Best Engineered Non-classical' category for Collective Soul's "Afterwards") and credits him with being the man behind the cool and unusual routing and other technical aspects of Bopnique, "Karyadi is very innovative with the way he uses outboard gear and stem mixing, he's got a lot of tricks up his sleeve. He's a big fan of Tony Maserati, who it turns out is another long-time 2-Bus user."

On the way mixes get from his studio to mastering, Resta comments, "We've been printing mixes outside of Pro Tools from the Dangerous 2-Bus main outputs to the Alesis Masterlink at 44.1 24-bit, and our mastering engineer Vlado Meller really prefers that to the tracks recorded back to Pro Tools. He finds that the Masterlink mixes sound more open."

"The summed stereo signal is patched to Millenia NSEQ-2 (with J-FET setting), then to a Dramastic Audio Obsidian stereo bus Compressor," explains Karyadi. "The compressor is side-chain triggered by EQed Beats and Drums. The EQ setting and level for the side chain is customized according to the song and to how I want the compressor hit; the compressor is set at 2:1, or occasionally 4:1 with fast attack and release; no make up gain is used as it only adds noise; attenuation is usually between 1 and 3 dB. Then the signal goes to the Lavry Blue A-to-D converter, then back to Pro Tools. We use a limiter plug-in to add 2 more dB of loudness.  When printing final mixes, however, the final output signal is sent to the Alesis Masterlink at 24 bit and 44.1k sampling rate from Pro Tools via AES/EBU with the Limiter BYPASSED, so our mastering engineer Vlado Meller can do his own signal boost.  We choose to record the Dangerous 2-Bus summed output back to Pro Tools because a lot of times when doing mix recalls we find the need to subtly add more EQ and/or compression on the final signal chain that is better when done with plug-ins.

Returning to his producing philosophy and its connection with recording and mixing Resta says, "Being a producer and multi instrumentalist, in the end for me it's the right singer and right song. At the end of the day, that's what makes a great record. People can talk about gear until the end of time, but until you record something that's worth recording you don't have anything. I like to emphasize that."

A multi-instrumentalist, Resta often surprises clients with anything from adding or replacing entire drum performances, adding extra guitar overdubs and custom modular synthesizer sounds, to flutes, clarinets, accordion, and toy piano. "The element of surprise is one factor that keeps my mix clients sending their projects to Bopnique," says Resta.

Resta and Karyadi of "Bopnique Musique" studios have worked with many amazing artists, some highlights include production and mixing for Duran Duran (30 tracks), Collective Soul (10-year clients), Megadeth, Guster, Shawn Mullins, Perry Ferrall, Green River Ordinance, Need To Breath, Blondie, Del Marquis (of the Scissor Sisters), TV Mania, The New Collisions, along with an entire roster of new 'Post Indie' artists that are creating an entire sub-culture. Contact Bobnique at (978)-853-7579, Email: studiobopnique@gmail.com or visit their website at: http://www.bopnique.com

Detroit Mastering Engineer Noël Jackson Gets Dangerous

Unique Mastering Service Offers Stem Mastering and Mixing with Dangerous System

Edmeston, NY – March 9, 2010 – Mastering engineer Noël Jackson began getting into music and recording and then moved into mastering when he realized just how good music could sound. Jackson recalls when he was a teenager growing up, “Instead of watching TV, I listened to records.” And listening on a great system inspired Jackson. “That’s how I got into mastering and what I love about it.” Jackson’s studio is filled with handpicked gear from many of the top names, including Dangerous Music. He has the Dangerous Monitor ST monitor control, Dangerous Master analog transfer console, and two Dangerous 2-Bus LT analog summing amps.  

Jackson says, “I love all the Dangerous Music equipment.  I use the Monitor ST as my monitor section, the Dangerous Master as my mastering transfer console, and two Dangerous 2-Bus LTs for my mixing and stem-mastering path, which is fed by two Lynx Aurora 16s for 32-channels of input and output. That sounds like a lot of outputs but that’s what got me hooked on mixing and mastering - being able to replicate the analog console sound and headroom while simultaneously allowing me to use a DAW and all the capabilities of the computer. I started using computers 20-years ago, I’m an ultra-geek. I program a lot, I do a lot of recreational activities on the computer aside from music. Being able to use the computer and still get the analog sound is the best thing for me and my clients.”    

Having started by mixing using the analog summing process with the Dangerous 2-Bus, Jackson now provides a similar service for mastering clients who provide stems, but also continues to master from stereo mixes. “I do both. If a client has stems I will run them through the 2-Bus and show them what their in-the-box mix sounds like summed in analog. When they hear it, without having to remix it, just running separate [stem] channels of audio, they are extremely surprised and very happy with the result. Sometimes I’ll go that route. For other clients I’ll do complete mixing with them, however in the end it’s always a mastering job.  Sometimes I’ll need to do mixing to get the song to the point where it is ready to master. I focus on mastering, but with a mind to the changes that I’ve seen in the recording industry. There are your superstar label artists, but most of the music you’re hearing today is independently produced.”

“Control of the final summing process lets me deliver better mastering results. Mixing and mastering from stems gives me a lot of flexibility. For instance if a client mixes down a song in the box and says to me ‘I really want these highs to sparkle’ but the vocals and snare have tones in them that would be accentuated in a bad way through the processing required for the rest of the song to sound good, without having the stems you’d have to go back and ask them to remix,” states Jackson.

Jackson adds, “I have clients coming to me that are creating pop tunes and other styles with a lot of layers, a lot of harmonies, and being able to run 32-channels of audio through the 2-Busses is a great thing.  It produces sounds that you can’t get anywhere else. From there I run straight into the Dangerous Master. The Master is such an obvious choice after the 2-Bus path. The transparency of the Master allows me to select the highest quality gear on the market and insert it at various stages to achieve the sound I’m looking for. The Manley Massive Passive is my go-to equalizer, for too many reasons to list, and likewise the Manley Variable-Mu is my go-to compressor. After that, I have a whole gang of inserts to really have fun, some Empirical labs equipment, some old Alesis compressors and some Drawmer gear. The Dangerous Master is precise and really brings an extremely transparent sound to the table while easily and simply allowing me to carve out the sound I’m looking for.”

Jackson continues, “Another great function on Master is the ‘S&M’ mid-side processor — I use it all the time. You can use it for affecting your sides and your middle independently, and it also can act as a stereo widener to give it a little more ‘oomph’ and kind of pan things around your head a little bit more. The Master sounds great, has really good craftsmanship, it’s cost effective, and it’s going to last forever.”

“One thing that I really love about the Monitor ST is the fantastically functional [remote] controller.  I put my Focals and other speakers on the outputs and easily switch between them right on the remote. It’s really an awesome piece of gear - the attenuator for the volume control in the Monitor ST is all analog and stepped - every time you change the volume you can hear relays click in the rack mount box. The volume doesn’t drift or waver at all because each of the output channels is changed very precisely by the same amount, and it is repeatable.  I’m not aware of any other monitor section that offers this capability. That’s one thing that I really love. It’s very precise, very easy to use, the remote looks cool and it lets me A-B and C-D all my mixes.”

“A client of mine, Deastro, does all his recording at home, he records in his bathroom or his closet for vocals. The shift to ‘do-it-yourself’ has changed the need to mix in a big studio now that people are getting good results at home. A lot of hip-hop artists are do-it-yourself, they make their beats and they record their vocals. Being able to do an analog mix for them is a huge shift. Lots of professional musicians who have worked in the big studios are realizing that they would rather be home -  they want to be in that environment, but they still have all this music that they want to get mixed down sounding the way it did in a studio on an analog console. The Dangerous Music products have allowed me to turn the shift in music production into a business and a service that’s really needed. People need to have their music mixed down, but have it sound like a professional studio,” says Jackson.

Placing a high priority on the company behind the products, as often is the case in the audiophile world that Jackson knew from his early listening experience, he is impressed with Dangerous Music’s customer service too, “I’ve never had a company be so responsive to questions and inquiries. I sent Dangerous a question through their website and within about 4 hours I got a response that was 6 paragraphs long, explaining in detail exactly what I needed to know about the specific question that I asked. Their equipment is really good, and there’s a lot of companies that produce quality equipment, but there’s not a lot of companies that give support on this level,” adds Jackson. “The people at Dangerous are phenomenal. They are real people that know what they’re doing, they make really good gear, and they treat customers really well. My studio is small, I do mostly smaller record labels, not your Virgin, more like Ghostly Records and small electronic labels. My studio is not a million-dollar studio, but Dangerous Music treats me like a million-dollar client.”

Jackson is busy with a variety of clients, he recently worked with techno legend and DJ Kevin Saunderson, who was a pioneer in Detroit dance music, and essentially created the ‘techno’ genre along with a couple partners back in the day. Phil Agosta is a DJ and electronic music producer and remixer who came to Jackson for both mixing and mastering. On Ghostly Records is Deastro, a “Lo-Fi” artist that Jackson has been mastering tracks for. On Palms Out Sounds, a big Indie Electronic label is Melt, an experimental project, from two incognito artists producing ambient house music, as a vinyl project. Jackson has been mastering big-name remixes for electronic dance music artists Urchins Urchins. A hip-hop group called Detroit CYDI is putting out a 12-track remix LP that Jackson mastered. It was a challenging project with 12 different people doing the remixes, he had to match the sound to make it all cohesive as a record.

Jackson has also turned people onto other Dangerous products like the Dangerous D-Box, a single-rack space combination of 8-channels of analog summing, monitor section with speaker switching, D-to-A converter, dual headphones amps and more, “Everybody that I talk to that’s tried out a Dangerous product like the D-Box, they say ‘This is awesome! This is the coolest thing since the computer!’ It’s cool to bring artists’ production level up in their own studio. It gives them more power to create good music,” says Jackson.

You can reach out to mastering engineer Noël Jackson at: http://eeeqd.com/ <http://eeeqd.com/> and http://noel.io <http://noel.io>

Hit Remixer Morgan Page Gets Dangerous
With multiple Billboard Chart hits, Morgan Page tunes up his studio with Dangerous D-Box

Edmeston, NY - January 12, 2010 - Morgan Page is a Billboard dance chart-topping remixer and producer who works in his own computer-based studio full of software plug-ins, hi-end audio hardware and most recently the award-winning Dangerous Music D-Box. Page's remix of Jody Watley's "I Want Your Love," was his third #1 Billboard hit following his remixes of "Angelicus" by Delerium and Nelly Furtado's "Maneater," and with La Roux "Bulletproof" he achieved 6 Number One Billboard hits. In 2009, "The Longest Road," (Deadmau5 Remix) was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Remix category, and he launched his latest single "Fight For You" which has steadily climbed the Billboard Club Play charts to #4. In February 2010, Morgan Page will release "Believe," an album that makes good on his International Dance Music Awards nomination as Best Breakthrough Artist, and typifies his journey from bootleg remixer to award-winning producer and DJ.

The new Dangerous Music hardware Page recently added to his system, the Dangerous D-Box, is designed for the compact studio and the modern workflow of computer musicians. The 1U rack-mount box combines 8-channels of the world-renowned Dangerous Music analog summing technology and an integrated programmable monitor control section with analog and digital inputs, on-board 24 bit/96KHz D-to-A converter, talkback, dual headphone amps, speaker switcher and more. Just the thing Page needed to take his own studio to the next level.

While recording and mixing in his studio recently, Page found a piece of equipment lacking, "I was unhappy with the monitor control situation I was using with my Digidesign 002 audio interface. I kept hearing a good buzz in the press and on the web about the Dangerous D-Box. It has a combination of features that I wanted, and I bought the D-Box initially to have a really clean and reliable way to monitor that would sound great, and wouldn't futz around when I turned the volume down. With my old setup the speakers would cut out and I'd hear static because it was a cheap monitor controller. So I started out just using the monitoring parts of the D-Box but more recently I've gotten a lot more into the summing."

Page uses Pro Tools software and has a slew of soft-synths and plug-ins, but the center of his studio now is the Dangerous D-Box, "I use both of the headphone outs while I'm tracking, one for me and one for the vocalist. I don't use a vocal booth, I always have the vocalist behind my shoulder.  I can get really quiet recordings with everyone in the room just using their headphones. I like to work quickly, so when we both have headphones on, the built-in talkback system keeps things flowing."

"When I don't have a singer in the studio I pump the second headphone amplifier output to a cheap Sony clock-radio player to check what a mix sounds like, to hear a sober version of the track. Just to hear it in a relatively mono soundstage. You can definitely hear when the bass is distorting; it's just a more common denominator listening environment. I think it's important that the D-Box has such a good signal path because you know what you are going to get later down the line. I have my Mackie 824s plugged in to the D-Box Main Speaker outputs and then occasionally I reference on the Sony clock-radio. I really want to get a second pair of speakers, I plan to get a pair of Mix Cubes or AuraTones to check the mixes on."

All the key pieces of the latest incarnation of his studio are carefully connected, Page says, "I'm using a Digidesign 002 and version 8 of Pro Tools. I have a D-sub Mogami snake from my 8-channel Prism Orpheus converter. I use the ADAT output of the Digidesign 002 to connect to the Orpheus converter. The 8 Orpheus D/A's convert the mix stems to analog, and these signals are summed to stereo in the D-Box.  Then it goes back to a pair of Orpheus A/D converters to record the mix. I use the D-Box's built-in D-to-A to monitor the final mix at the end of the chain - it's connected to the S/PDIF out of the Digidesign 002. It makes a difference to go through nicer converters because sonic quality can get lost along the way."

Describing how he breaks out tracks from Pro Tools to the 8 channels of Analog Summing in the D-Box, Page says, "I have a template in Pro Tools so I don't have to think about the plumbing and re-routing everything. Outputs 1 and 2 are always drums, 3 and 4 are always vocals, 5 and 6 are always bass heavy stems, and 7 and 8 are any keyboards, pads and effects. If it's an instrumental track, 3 and 4 will just be another set of keyboards or something. I'd like to get more analog summing channels in the future. I think it's exciting now with summing to apply it to soft-synths to get that warmth and that width in the mix. It's a new world to explore."

Sometimes Page just experiments with the analog summing to affect the sound of a track, "A lot of the experiments I've done are taking Spectrasonics Stylus loops, sending them out to some dirty compressor, summing that, and sending it back through good converters. You just get different textures that way," he says.

"What I like about the D-Box is that the transients sound really good. Everything sounds punchy and clear," adds Page. "In terms of the sound of the summing, I like that it's neutral, and how the summing world makes my plug-ins sound better. I like that fuller sound - there's more width to it. One of the biggest benefits of the summing section is that I don't have to compress mixes as much. I bring the summed stereo mix back into Pro Tools on an auxiliary channel and put the mastering plug-in Ozone 4 on it, but I don't have to slam it as crazy as I used to. It's sounding louder and fuller, but with less extreme threshold settings. This sort of 'triple-threat' of the D-Box, Orpheus, and Ozone has been awesome. I also use the Vintage Warmer plug-in, which is unbelievable, I use it for a little bit of coloring. With the summing I spend less time with my tracks 'pulling teeth' trying to get the sound right than with mixing in the box," concludes Page.

Because the D-Box is a super-compact single rack, and his other key recording gear is small and rack-mounted, Page talks about traveling with his system, "Eventually I want to take the D-Box on the road, for producing other artists, or just tracking session players. I love how you don't need so much gear to record anymore. I can bring the D-Box and the Orpheus and 002 in a rack, and track a session anywhere with my laptop. You have an incredibly powerful system, and you have your summing."

The kind of companies he works with make a difference too; Page was very happy to connect with Dangerous Music, "I like working with boutique companies like Dangerous Music. I like the whole aesthetic, where I don't have to go through a huge phone tree just to talk with someone. I contacted Bob Muller at Dangerous and he immediately replied. He suggested I get the D-Box. I liked that sort of business attitude, 'We're available, we're accessible and we make great products.'"

Visit Morgan Page's website for the latest info on his music releases and remixes: http://www.morgan-page.com

Guitar Heroes Steve Ouimette and Ryan Greene Get Dangerous
Musician & Engineer use Dangerous Music 2-Bus and D-Box on
Blockbuster ‘Guitar Hero’ Games

Edmeston, NY – December 18, 2009 – It’s not every day that a single videogame generates one billion dollars in sales. In fact, Activision’s Guitar Hero is the first. In the music industry when the words ‘one billion dollars’ and ‘guitar’ are connected, people listen up! A couple of the heroes taking care of the musical and mixing gigs behind the game’s success are composer and guitarist Steve Ouimette, playing amazing guitar solos among much else, and producer and engineer Ryan Greene, former Chief Engineer for EMI Music, mixing all the tracks. Both depend on their Dangerous Music hardware, Greene now mixing through the Dangerous 2-Bus analog summing amp — switching from mixing through his SSL 9000J large format analog console; and Ouimette, in his studio for hours-on-end, with his Dangerous D-Box, a combined monitor controller, headphone amp, summing amp, input switcher and more.

At his previous Arizona studio, ‘Crush Recording,’ Greene describes the moment of truth while trying out the Dangerous 2-Bus, “I had an SSL 9000J and because of the work that Steve and I were doing — a lot of stem mixing for quite a few video games — he suggested I try the Dangerous 2-Bus. I went out and bought it, and the console went away very quickly after that!”

“Steve and I shared the engineering of the Guitar Hero games and I did the mixing at ‘Crush Recording’ – that’s where we did almost everything. We started off mixing through the SSL, but when it came to recalls it took 45 minutes to an hour recalling a mix. So we were trying to work smarter and faster. The stems were broken out into stereo guitars, vocals, bass and drums — that’s where the 2-Bus came in.” continued Greene.

Ouimette and Greene did a comparison between the sound of the Dangerous 2-Bus and the SSL, “When we went back and forth, I was prepared for the console to sound better, but I’ve got to say I didn’t really notice a difference between them. I thought the mixes sounded fantastic on the Dangerous 2-Bus. You would have fooled me if you told me they were done on a big console, I would have said, ‘Sure.’ And probably more important is the fact that it is just infinitely faster and easier to work this way,” says Ouimette.

Greene added, “I will be real honest with you, that it took me about 5 seconds A-B-ing through the SSL and through the 2-Bus, and it was a significant difference. It was a massive difference. I had no problem at that point getting rid of the console, that’s how confident I was.”

Greene continued the story about how they first got into the Dangerous 2-Bus, “We were about half-way through the Guitar Hero mixes. I brought the signal [from the mix stems] up through the SSL, through the 2-Bus and straight out of Pro Tools – all through the monitoring section of the SSL. I had three comparisons. The first thing that I noticed was that the bottom end sounded more open in the Dangerous 2-Bus, and the top end sounded really musical. The SSL console is known for that ‘Radio Friendly Sound.’ But when I ran things through the Dangerous 2-Bus, I was able to get the same thing; but for me the bottom end was different, it didn’t sound as processed as the SSL - it sounded how I wanted it to sound.”

“I love Pro Tools with the editing and what not, but being able to run the individual tracks out to a summing amp that actually sounds good: the 2-Bus changed my whole life, it truly did. I have my 2-Bus and the [Digidesign] D-Command and have no issue with ever going back to a big console again! It kills me to say that because I’ve been in the business over 23 years, and I’m a console guy!” concludes Greene.

In the beginning: D-Box
Steve Ouimette heard about the Dangerous D-Box on the GearSlutz.com forums, and had seen ads and reviews in Mix, EQ, EM and other magazines. Now he uses the D-Box on every Activision game since Guitar Hero 3, including Band Hero, which was just released in November 2009.

Ouimette says, “Because I am in my studio constantly I needed a tool I could use for everything, like a Swiss army knife, not just summing for mixing, but have my I/O setup and switching and monitoring control in one convenient spot. And even more importantly having something that allowed a really, really low volume setting that wouldn’t let the signal collapse. It was a logical progression to get a higher quality monitoring system.”

Ouimette has a Pro Tools HD3 Accel with a single 192 and uses digital out to the D-Box, and to his Focal Twin6 Be monitors. The 8 channels of analog out of the 192 go into the D-Box summing, but mostly he uses this path for monitoring since it sounds more open and dynamic. Ouimette adds, “The D-Box also has the best headphone monitor I have ever used. I work probably 50-percent of the time in headphones and to have a really high quality headphone amp is a big deal because of ear fatigue, and transient response - you have to hear the detail. To have that in the D-Box was a really nice change from what I was using before.”

Describing his work process Ouimette says, “I write the music and I play guitar and bass and keys and sometimes I use drum libraries when I can’t get a drummer in the studio. Ryan’s studio, Crush Recording, was just down the street from my house, that’s where we worked on a lot of this music. One project encompassed 55 cover tracks. That was when we realized we couldn’t do what we needed to do with any sort of accurate recall on the SSL, so that’s where the Dangerous 2-Bus made it happen,” concludes Ouimette.

“When I run things through my 24 fader D-Command, 2-Bus and through my final process, it sounds like an analog console. There was a time when my mastering guy thought I was still doing everything analog. The funny thing is that now I listen back to things that are analog [that I mixed] and things that I am doing now through my setup and I think it would be very, very difficult to tell whether it is analog or digital. It all works very, very well,” concludes Greene.

About Ryan Greene & Steve Ouimette
Ryan Greene is starting a new studio business in LA called “Area 52 Entertainment” with partner John Fielding. The LA studio will be for both mixing projects from bands locally and around the world, as well as artist development and recording. With over 23 years in the music industry and being apart of over 250 records, Greene, the former Chief Engineer for EMI Music, has Produced, Engineered and or Mixed some of the biggest bands in the world including Megadeth, Jay-Z, Alice Cooper, Cheap Trick, Gladys Knight, Tonic, Mr. Big, Wilson/Phillips, NOFX, LAGWAGON, No Use For a Name, Good Riddance, Pulley, Propaghandi, Strung Out, Patty La Belle, Dishwalla, Sick of it all, Tower of Power and many more. Greene has also mixed movie scores including Total Recall and Stand and Deliver and many videogames including Guitar Hero 3, Rock Revolution and Rock Band. For more information visit http://www.ryangreene.com
or http://www.myspace.com/area52entertainment or email: Area52Entertainment@gmail.com

Steve Ouimette is an award-winning guitarist/composer/producer and an 18-year veteran of the video game industry. He has created original music for HBO, AOL, Microsoft, and most recently on the wildly successful Activision Guitar Hero series of games with content ranging from full re-recordings of classic and modern rock songs to new compositions and sound design. He also recorded and produced the soundtrack for Konami’s Rock Revolution and continues to work steadily in the game soundtrack space. Recently Ouimette just finished a guitar arrangement of “Dueling Banjos” from the movie Deliverance for Guitar Hero World Tour. Ouimette’s “Dueling Banjos” track is on YouTube and is available as a download on iTunes and for Guitar Hero. There is a full transcription of “Dueling Banjos” in the November 2009 issue of Guitar World Magazine, with Slayer on the cover. Visit http://www.steveouimette.com

NYU's New Facility Goes Dangerous for 10.2 Surround Monitoring
Custom 'Monitor ST/SR' Controller Brings 10.2 Surround Monitor Control to Prestigious University

Edmeston, NY - December 7, 2009 - Dangerous Music, Inc. today announced the installation of a unique 10.2 surround monitoring system for NYU's Department of Music and Performing Arts at the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development. The 7500+ sq. ft. recording studio and teaching complex was recently completed on the entire sixth floor at 35 West 4th street in NY's Greenwich Village, and will be one of the U.S.'s largest and most technically advanced audio teaching facilities. The new complex was designed by Gensler and by the Walter Storyk Design Group and features a Dangerous Music Monitor ST/SR 10.2 surround monitor system, oversized control and live rooms, a large iso/drum booth, natural light from multiple windows, and line of sight through the entire studio.

"We are very proud to be part of this amazing new facility at NYU," says Bob Muller, Dangerous Music's founder and president. "NYU and their design team came to us because in addition to our equipment's reputation for sonic excellence, the Dangerous Monitor ST/SR system's flexibility accommodates even the most advanced surround monitoring setups, while still being simple and intuitive to use."

The Music Technology program at NYU Steinhardt is internationally recognized for music, sound and audio technology studies. Students prepare for successful careers in sound engineering, computer music, audio-visual production and post-production, mastering, scoring for film and multimedia, audio for games, software development, and multimedia production. State-of-the-art facilities include fully equipped recording and computer music studios, listening rooms and research labs where over 40 Music Technology specialization courses are taught. The new Storyk designed recording studio and teaching complex will add to the unique and technologically advanced capabilities available for students at NYU.

Dave Kotch, Project Engineer for the new NYU facility, who regularly works with the Walter Storyk Design Group and the systems integrator Masque Sound, stated, "We needed a 10.2 surround controller and our choices were very limited, it's a sophisticated system here at NYU. The Faculty at NYU suggested Dangerous Music, so we contacted them and had a meeting of all the technical staff on the project and laid out the parameters to design the exact monitor control we needed. The Monitor ST/SR really worked out well, everybody is really liking the way it works and integrates into the other audio systems. Since the SSL only has 5.1 surround we need this piece to make everything work with the Crestron control system and BSS  Soundweb processors for 10.2. The Dangerous gear is well respected among the NYU Faculty, and they are very happy about the integration into the system."

The Dangerous Monitor ST/SR is the centerpiece of the most flexible, open-ended monitor control system available. The cutting-edge configuration created for NYU provides input and speaker selection for 12 channels of audio, with stepped volume control. The Dangerous Music digitally controlled analog stepped attenuators provide repeatability as well as transparency of sound with extremely high accuracy across all 12 channels, with a passband of 1 Hz to 100KHz. The system offers uncompromising audio quality for control of 5.1, 7.1, 10.2, and other surround speaker configurations. NYU's system is made up of 1 Monitor ST stereo unit and 3 Monitor SR surround expansion units, a UniSwitch module in the Additional Switching System rack, and the Monitor ST Remote control. The UniSwitch communicates via RS-232 with the in-house Crestron control system of 2 BSS  Soundweb London BLU-160 processors to provide amazingly flexible speaker arrangement settings instantaneously, right from the Monitor ST remote.

The Monitor ST is a fully expandable remote control-based stereo monitor controller and source switcher with four stereo inputs and switching for 3 pairs of speakers plus dedicated subwoofers, and includes integrated cue and talkback systems with an onboard 40W headphone power amplifier. With the cat-5 connected remote control unit, included with the Monitor ST, engineers can configure and control an entire system from the comfort of the studio's sweet spot. Studios working in stereo can start with the Monitor ST and later expand to surround sound control of 5.1, 7.1 and beyond for film and TV work by adding SR expansion units with no equipment redundancy or obsolescence.

NYU has scheduled a special dedication and opening on December 7, 2009 for the new facility. Please contact NYU Public Relations facilitator Tim Farrell at (212) 998-6797 or email him at tim.farrell@nyu.edu for more information. NYU is located at 35 West 4th Street, New York, New York 10012. Explore the NYU music program here: http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/music/technology

Engineer Pablo Arraya Gets Dangerous on Joe Perry Solo Album
Dangerous Monitor ST Key to 1960's Style Mixes for Aerosmith Guitarist's Release

Edmeston, NY - October 6, 2009 - Engineer Pablo Arraya recently completed Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry's solo record, Have Guitar, Will Travel, where he acted as both the recording engineer for the final tracks and the mix engineer as well. Perry's solo album was released today, October 6, 2009. Arraya, a Grammy-winning engineer, brought his newly purchased Dangerous Monitor ST monitor controller to Perry's Boneyard Studio in Boston for the project. "The decision to buy the Monitor ST was directly related to working on the Joe Perry album," states Arraya. "His vintage Neve console has an amazing sound, and I wanted to add a more modern and flexible monitoring path. When I came in to the studio, Joe asked me to listen to a lot of Hendrix, Doors, AC/DC, and a lot of early Rolling Stones. He told me he wanted to get that sort of sound and feel. Perry told me 'I don't want it to sound pop-y and modern' - that was his vision at first, and things evolved from there."

At his Audio Piranha Group studio on Park Avenue in Manhattan that Arraya shares with several engineers, they recently added both the Monitor ST and the Dangerous 2-Bus LT analog-summing amp to their mix room. The room is focused on mixing but is also set up for overdubs, especially for vocals, "which sound great," says Arraya. The studio is growing quickly, "We've added a lot of gear and another room already and can now track drums too," he added, commenting on the new Park Avenue location.

On the Monitor ST choice, Arraya says, "Of all the things in a studio, the monitor section is an important one. It was time to do an upgrade to a better monitoring section - I had used the ST at a different studio and I loved how it felt, and Dangerous Music has a reputation for making great sounding gear." Arraya had been speaking with mastering engineer and good friend Dave Kutch, "He literally sold it to me on his recommendation - it was a no-brainer."

"When I got the Monitor ST, I hooked it up at Joe Perry's studio first," says Arraya about working on the Aerosmith guitarist's solo album. "I chose the Dangerous Music Montior ST over the Neve consoles' controls. I knew a lot of the mixing we were going to do was going to be like Hendrix-stlye, Doors-style, very 60's style mixing, where your drums are panned to one side, the bass to the other, your vocal shows up half way through the song. So I wanted to be able to have something to mute the left and the right speaker easily. On Joe's Neve console, you can't do that."

Having recently done some mixes through the Dangerous 2-Bus LT analog summing amp for Colombian group, Doctor Krápula (Sony), Arraya relates his first impressions, "The 2-Bus is extremely clean, has huge headroom, and it's easy to use - it has one knob. If you've mixed in Pro Tools before, and if you've mixed on an analog desk before, the amount of steps that you have to go through to even approach getting the same sound are many.  Having a 2-Bus gets you there quicker, and this is a huge advantage! I think the flexibility of being able to mix continuously in Pro Tools, but having analog summing on the outside is a huge part of the process. I've tried other summing boxes and they don't compare as far as the headroom and how hard you can hit it. The harder I hit the 2-Bus the better it sounds. I love this box, it's staying in the system!"

Comparing the Monitor ST to the sound of a large format console's monitoring, Arraya added, "When you bring the volume on the ST all the way down you still feel the punch of the kick and the power that's coming through the mix. And it doesn't matter what level it's at. That transparency for me is very, very important. Especially when you are doing rock and hip-hop. Where you feel the difference is when you have the drums banging, and then you bring in the guitars and then you bring the volume down on a low-cost monitor controller and all of a sudden, your guitars are too low or your drums are too loud - the balancing of the mix is not accurate," continued Arraya complementing the Montior ST on it's ability to hold a mix's clarity at low levels.

Explaining that their Audio Piranha studio now has three totally different pairs of speakers to switch between and a sub, Arraya says, "I think having the Monitor ST in the middle [of the listening chain] has made a huge difference in what you are hearing.  Even how it drives the speakers, you hear them in a different way. Like now the Genelec's sound warmer than they did before we added the Monitor ST, and the ST allowed us to add a third pair of speakers in the room."

Since the studio does a lot of vocal overdubs, the headphone out puts and talkback get used a lot at Audio Piranha, "One of the things I like about the Monitor ST is that the mic for talkback is very dynamic, the person in the vocal booth can hear real well on their headphones. It sounds great. The headphone amp is really clean too. The Monitor ST is a very flexible box. I love the fact that you can do mono, the Dim function works really well, the ability to add the sub-woofer with the filter - that's a great option - calibrating the speakers is really easy; and the options for the inputs are super easy to use too." Another thing he likes about the Monitor ST, "When we want to update to 5.1, it's adding a box and you're there, you don't have to buy a whole new setup."

Pablo Arraya started his career with Sony Music Studios in 2000 after graduating from Middle Tennessee State University. The Native Bolivian quickly moved up the ladder to become one of the most requested engineers inside Sony's wide stable of talent. His diverse cultural background made him a versatile engineer. His engineering experience brought him to the attention of some of the most demanding international acts leading to a Grammy(r) in 2006 for Nancy Wilson's Turned To Blue album. Arraya leads sessions for all styles of music, and handles any studio situation with ease. He recently opened a new studio with the Audio Piranha Group on Park Avenue in Manhattan. Contact Pablo Arraya through the Audio Piranha Group website: http://www.audiopiranhagroup.com

Visit Joe Perry's website for the latest news about his solo album Have Guitar, Will Travel at: http://www.joeperry.com

Coldplay Goes Surround with Dangerous
Engineer Michael Brauer Uses Dangerous Monitor ST-SR to Mix Coldplay's "Strawberry Swing" in 5.1 for Theatrical Release of Artsy Video

Edmeston, NY - September 9, 2009 - Multi Grammy Award winning, Mix Engineer Michael H. Brauer recently mixed Coldplay's "Strawberry Swing" from Viva La Vida specifically for a theatrical release with a new art-concept video. Could this be the best idea ever for getting high-resolution surround audio into the ears of the public? Brauer mixed the song at his room at Electric Lady Studios, NYC using the Dangerous Music Monitor ST-SR surround monitor controller. While the new video debuted at London's Odeon Theater in July, playing before major movie releases, Coldplay is set to release "Strawberry Swing" as a single digitally on September 14. The band is currently on a US tour.

Brauer noted, "The SSL J in my new room at Electric Lady doesn't have the 5.1 monitoring panel. I was concerned how I would mix surround without it until I discovered that Dangerous offers the ST-SR. It's exactly what I was looking for. It offers everything I need from the SSL panel and more. It sounds great and works like a charm!! Hats off Dangerous dudes!" 

The stylish chalk-drawn video was created by art collective Shynola, who also directed attention-grabbing videos for Radiohead, Stephen Malkmus and Beck. It took a year after the release of Viva La Vida to finish the stop-motion video, Brauer mixed the surround version of the song in one day. A trailer of the "Strawberry Swing" video can be viewed on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEQpZcqxNDs

Michael Brauer has mixed Parachutes, X&Y, and Viva La Vida for Coldplay. He has also mixed albums for Bob Dylan, John Mayer, Rolling Stones, Grandaddy, James Morrison, Paul McCartney, The Kooks, KT Tunstall, Athlete, New Radicals, Tony Bennett, Ben Folds, and My Morning Jacket. Recently Michael has mixed albums for The Fray, Regina Spektor, Colbie Caillat, Mat Kearney, Howie Day, and The Doves.

Dweezil Zappa Gets Dangerous On The Road
"Room Service Rig" with Dangerous 2-Bus Analog Summing Amps Allow Mixes Immediately After Live 'Zappa Plays Zappa' Shows are Recorded


Edmeston, NY - August 4, 2009 - In a joint announcement today with AMD (NYSE: AMD), Dangerous Music released details of Dweezil Zappa's road recording rig using 48-channels of Dangerous 2-Bus LT analog summing and Dangerous Monitor ST speaker controller, allowing immediate mixing of the 'Zappa Plays Zappa' live shows - even in a hotel room. The "Room Service Rig" consists of a PC Audio Labs computer powered by dual AMD Opteron(tm) quad-core processors, running Steinberg's NUENDO DAW software along with three 2-Bus LT summing amps and Monitor ST, providing large-format analog console mixing quality on the road. 

"The pairing of AMD and Dangerous Music equipment has made a tremendous difference to the overall sonic detail of the final mixed music," says Dweezil. "It's hard to believe that I'm able to get these kinds of results from a portable mixing rig. It's truly inspiring. Simply put, I have achieved my best mixes ever with the help of the Dangerous Music gear."

Charlie Boswell, AMD Director of Digital Media & Entertainment, noted: "Dweezil Zappa has utilized Digital Audio Workstations based on AMD Opteron processors for the past six years both in the production of his own music and most recently in the recording of live ZPZ concerts. Gail Zappa depends upon AMD powered workstations to handle the mission critical role of archiving, producing and building the catalog from the historical Frank Zappa Vault at UMRK* - with releases on Zappa Records and Vaulternative Records. This newest AMD addition to the Zappa workflow is called the 'Room Service Rig' because it's sometimes operated from a hotel room after a show, or possibly on the bus in between shows. AMD collaborated with our friends over at Dangerous Music and PC Audio Labs to make the 'Room Service Rig' happen. Its main purpose is to provide the highest studio sonic and mobile production capability to an international touring unit like ZPZ."

Boswell also explained why the 'The Room Service Rig' was aptly named. "Dweezil was not interested in simply hacking together typical 'board mixes' of Frank Zappa classics.  He chose Dangerous Music and AMD in order to deliver studio quality mixes and mastering for the fan base. He feels the technology should not only fulfill the Zappa quality requirement but it should also adapt to spontaneity of life on the road." Visit Charlie Boswell's blog at: http://globalnerding.blogspot.com/search?q=room+service+rig

Imogen Heap Chooses Dangerous Music and Focal
New Album Tracks Debuted at Private Listening Sessions Using Focal Twin6 Be Monitors and Dangerous D-Box


Edmeston, NY - July 9, 2009 - In a joint announcement today Focal Professional and Dangerous Music announced that Imogen Heap has just finished a preview tour of her upcoming album 'Ellipse' at private listening sessions around the US using Focal Twin6 Be monitor speakers and the Dangerous D-Box for monitoring control. RCA Records organized the listening tour and worked with Dangerous Music and Focal to create the high-fidelity playback system that was used in hotel suites in major US cities to preview several tracks from Ms. Heap's upcoming album.   

The British singer-songwriter-producer and two-time Grammy nominee is set to release her much anticipated new solo album 'Ellipse' on August 25th 2009 on RCA Records. At the listening events Ms. Heap previewed tracks including "First Train Home," "Wait It Out," "Earth" and the piano song "Half Life" which ends the album 'Ellipse' as its final track.

Commenting on the listening events,  Ms. Heap said, "I was a bit nervous as it was the first time I'd played 'Ellipse' outside of the studio environment. But as soon as I played it through the Dangerous Music and Focal speaker system I realized I had nothing to worry about."

SPIN Magazine covered one listening party at a penthouse suite in New York's Gramercy Park Hotel (http://www.spin.com/articles/imogen-heap-shares-new-tunes-nyc) where they described the event as "an intimate listening session...where guests sipped glasses of gin-spiked sangria" while Ms. Heap used her laptop with the iTunes visualizer on to play music from her upcoming album through the hi-fi audio system.

The Dangerous D-Box has won multiple recording industry awards for its innovative design and sonic purity.  Engineered for the compact digital recording and mixing environment the D-Box integrates seamlessly into the modern workflow of computer musicians and audio professionals who require exceptional audio quality and functionality.  Bringing together a collection of key features garnered from other Dangerous products, the D-Box has an integrated programmable monitor control section, providing analog and digital input selection and speaker switching. It also sports 8-channels of the world-renowned Dangerous Music analog summing technology, as well as an on-board 24 bit/96KHz D-to-A converter, talkback, dual headphone amps with individual volume control and more.

The Focal Twin6 Be monitors are the most popular of the Focal Professional range, as they are a single solution for recording, mixing and mastering. The sonic image precision, treble definition and midrange neutrality are at the heart of its reputation. Excellent articulation of the bass and mid-bass registers, even at very high sound levels, makes it a perfect reference for engineers who require absolute transparency. The design of the Twin6 Be allows a high SPL while offering a stable tonal balance. One of the two 6.5" woofers works in large band (midrange - bass) whereas the other reproduces from 40 to 150Hz. This creates bass that preserves all the signal dynamics, without any masking effect in the midrange, keeping its neutrality and transparency. 

Maintaining one of the biggest online profiles, Ms. Heap has more than 40 million plays and over 350,000 friends on Myspace, and over 7 million views on You Tube for her standout single from 'Speak For Yourself.' Visit Imogen Heap's website at: http://www.imogenheap.com

Glenn Schick Gets Dangerous on Surround with Three ‘Masters’

Atlanta Mastering Engineer Thrilled with All-Analog Surround Mastering Room 
 
Built on Dangerous Music Equipment
 
Edmeston, NY— March 27, 2009 — After Atlanta Mastering Engineers Glenn Schick and Colin Leonard put the finishing touches on a surround DVD and broadcast version of Shawn Mullins’ release "Live at the Variety Playhouse" (Vanguard) Glenn checked it against some other surround releases and was “pleased as punch” at the quality he’s getting through his Dangerous Music equipment. His all-analog surround mastering room that features three Dangerous Master mastering consoles (to cover the 6-channel work), paired with the Dangerous Monitor ST/SR stereo and surround monitor controller, turned out to be everything he hoped. 
 
Schick commented, “We do almost all of our work in the analog domain. We’ve honestly tried so many times over the last few years to go the all-digital route, but really nothing out there gives us the kind of results that a good analog chain does. We’re just pleased as punch, we’re killing the work we did years ago. We are getting more out of the Dangerous setup than anything we could have imagined. The system lets us get a great musical, lively sound — it’s doing wonders for really ‘dead’ DAW tracks that we’ve been getting as source material.”
 
Schick is not a newcomer to Dangerous gear, he has a history with the company, “My relationship with Dangerous Music goes back a-ways. I started working with [technical engineer and product designer] Chris Muth years and years ago, who obviously has a huge hand in designing the Dangerous products. He had built some custom gear for me back in the day for one of my first studios.”
 
“Because I knew Chris, I was able to get one of the very first Dangerous Masters to be built. There were a lot of people waiting for this box to hit the street, since while Chris was at Sterling he was contractually bound not to make a console for any other mastering houses worldwide. It was interesting - we actually had commissioned some custom pieces [of equipment] from some very well-known companies that we immediately replaced with the Dangerous Master when we heard it because we were so much happier with the sound. In addition to the sonic quality and the character of it, the feature set is ideal, it’s made as well as anything you could want, and very reliable. The Master is quite elegantly designed - obviously by somebody who knows what a mastering engineer looks for. I love the piece to death!”
 
“You really don’t want your mastering console coloring your signal path.  You have pieces of outboard to do that, and at the time and place of your choosing in the signal path. You definitely want a transparent console though, and the Master does a wonderful job of this.” 
 
Commenting on the use of the “S&M” mid-side processing section of the Dangerous Master, Schick stated, “ We use quite a bit of the S&M processing in both our surround and stereo work. We even use the S&M in the rear channels. I’m very happy with it; it’s a pretty transparent process.  Chris is the guy who originally developed this “magic box” for mastering back in the ‘80s. The Master lets you work in M/S easily, and without compromising the signal. I’ve had other pieces of gear that attempted to do this but they ended up diminishing the sound.”
 
“We set up a full analog surround sound room last year,” said Schick about his latest enterprise. “I believe we are one of the few people in the country who do full 5.1 analog surround mastering. We have the Dangerous Monitor ST/SR surround monitor controller along with three Dangerous Masters in that room as well. We have the nicely named A.S.S. box for D/A conversion and digital input switching.  We have the ST/SR monitor controller set up for both stereo and 5.1 and we can instantly switch between our stereo setup and our 5.1 setup. This is in our second room.” Schick added,  “We have one room that is a dedicated stereo room. The stereo room uses a Dangerous Master with one of Chris Muth’s original monitor controllers.”
 
Discussing the recent project for the Vanguard label, Schick went into detail about the steps it took,  “We just did a DVD and surround broadcast project for Shawn Mullins, ‘Live at the Variety Playhouse’ which has been broadcast on Direct TV in standard rotation. Shawn is an old client of ours and a wonderful friend and artist. His drummer Gerry Hansen, who’s also his recording engineer, came in to us and said, ‘hey Glenn - I got this project, it was kind of rough, we recorded the show live, but surround was an afterthought’ — as happens quite a bit with surround — ‘I’ve got some stuff and I’m really going to try to cobble this together.’ They ended up bringing us tracks that were a little rough around the edges when we first got it. What we ended up doing was massaging this fantastic sounding disk out of it. We all are just overjoyed with what started as kind of a low-budget afterthought, but turned into a wonderful project that sounds fantastic.”
 
One of the ways Schick knows how well the Shawn Mullins project turned out is his capability using the Dangerous Monitor ST/SR to compare recordings, “In our 5.1 surround mastering room, we can A-B surround music using the Monitor ST/SR. We have a DVD player setup with analog outputs so that we can A-B product-against-product, with the volumes trimmed exactly. It was interesting because we A-B’d against about 20 other commercial DVD’s after we were finished, and when we put our work against what’s out there we were just shocked at how much better our results were on the definition, the body, and the clarity — it was so much nicer! The Dangerous Monitor ST/SR takes both balanced and unbalanced signals and has programmable make-up gain for -10 dBv devices, which lets you compare easily and exactly, which is nice. We actually will encode our stuff into DolbyDigital as well and A-B it, so we have proper ‘A’ against ‘A’ comparison.”

Revealing his work style on such projects as a stereo release and a surround version on HD Net for Indigo Girls "Live at the Roxy" Schick says, “In my place we actually work on surround disks as a team, myself and my other engineer Colin Leonard, who has a background in a lot of television and film work.  He comes to it from more of a technical standpoint and I’m more on the creative end. We bounce off each other on each project, it’s a really nice way to work.”

The mastering studio is doing quite well, even in this economic climate.  Another recent project was the Keith Sweat disk "The Sweat Hotel" — “It certainly reflects well on Dangerous Music that we had a 30-percent increase in our business this year. We are doing more work than we ever have, and we are busier than we have ever been.  With the bad economy and everything else — I just can’t complain!
 
Contact Glenn Schick Mastering via their websites at: http://www.gsmastering.com and 
 
http://www.myspace.com/gsmastering and Follow Glenn Schick Mastering on Twitter http://twitter.com/gsmastering Sciences

Another Dangerous Year at the Grammys
Award Nominations for Four Top Engineers Who Rely on Dangerous Music Equipment:
David Isaac, Dave Kutch, Tony Maserati and Dave Rideau


Edmeston, NY - February 1, 2009 - Four top engineers working every day with Dangerous Music equipment in their studios have found projects they have completed on the 2009 Grammy(r) Awards nominations list: David Isaac, Dave Kutch, Tony Maserati and Dave Rideau. The Dangerous Music gear these world-class engineers and producers use in their critically acclaimed studio work with legendary industry artists include the Dangerous Master, Dangerous Monitor, Dangerous 2-Bus, and the Dangerous D-Box. 

Dangerous Music user and mix engineer Tony Maserati is up for a Grammy(r) Award (with Dyre Gormsen) for 'Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical' with the new Jason Mraz release We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. [Atlantic Records]. The track "I'm Yours" from the Mraz album also is nominated for 'Song Of The Year' and  'Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.' A very busy Dave Kutch has fourteen tracks/albums that are nominated for various Grammy(r) Awards that he mastered this past year including the Al Green album Lay it Down [Blue Note] which is nominated for 'Best Engineered Album, Non-classical.' David Isaac co-produced, with Marcus Miller, the current CD Marcus [Concord Jazz] that has a 'Best Pop Instrumental Performance' Grammy(r) nomination for the track "Blast." Engineer Dave Rideau mixed the track "A Change Is Gonna Come" from Wayne Brady's album A Long Time Coming [Peak Records] which has a Grammy(r) nomination for 'Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance.'

The 51st Grammy(r) Awards show will air on February 8, 2009 at 8pm EST on CBS: http://www.grammy.com

Both Dave Rideau and Tony Maserati always mix through the Dangerous 2-Bus analog summing amplifier, while Dave Kutch, utilizes the Dangerous Master analog mastering transfer console and the Dangerous Monitor for control room monitoring at his NY Mastering Palace studio. Dave Isaac loves his Dangerous D-Box as a compact all-in-one solution for analog summing and monitor control. 

A common theme among mastering and mix engineers is that Dangerous Music gear is the best sounding and most functional design they've found for their needs working with the most celebrated artists of today: Grammy(r) nominees. 

Dave Kutch said, "The Dangerous Master and Monitor are the centerpiece of my mastering rig.  Sonic accuracy, paired with just the right features set Dangerous apart. Nothing else on the market comes close to the sound quality, headroom, and reliability of the Dangerous gear." 

 "My Dangerous 2-Bus along with my analog outboard gear bridges the gap between a large studio and my own project studio," said David Rideau about his Cane River Studios in Sherman Oaks, CA. "The 2-Bus preserves my recall and repeatability when mixing, which is essential because sometimes I'll work on five songs a day. Sonically the 2-Bus is on par with any large-format  analog console I've worked on. It's an essential tool in my studio setup."

Mix engineer Tony Maserati said, "The Dangerous 2-Bus is an integral part of my mixing setup. I mix a variety of styles of music through it, always with great results.  I've been using the 2-Bus now for over three years and don't know how I'd manage without it in my studio!"

David Isaac used the Dangerous D-Box during the production of Marcus Miller's CD, and specifically for the single "Free" featuring Corinne Bailey Rae. Isaac said, "I love the sound of the D-Box. It gives me everything I need in a single box: a great sounding summing amp, a D/A converter, speaker switcher, headphone amp, multiple inputs,- all in one rack space!" As a multi-talented producer, mix engineer, and musician, David is currently working on his own R&B and Funk CD due out in May 2009.

About David Isaac - As a multiple Grammy-winner, David Isaac's mixing and producing career spans R&B, Pop, Hip Hop, Jazz and Gospel music, from Marcus Miller and Wayne Shorter to Stevie Wonder and Roberta Flack and many towering artists in between. As a player and programmer Issac has worked with Eric Clapton, Madonna, Puff Daddy, and Earth, Wind and Fire to name only a select few. Isaac is currently wrapping up his own CD with the help of a few R&B legends, as well as mixing tutorials for MacProVideo. 

About David Kutch - David Kutch began his career in recording with some of New York's finest producers, ranging from Phil Ramone to Puff Daddy. He has worked on albums for Biggie, Puff Daddy, Lauryn Hill, Jill Scott, and Missy Elliot. In 2002, Kutch was nominated for a prestigious Grammy(r) in the category of 'Album of the Year' for mastering Outkasts' Stankonia LP.  Since opening The Mastering Palace in NYC in January 2008 Dave has mastered albums for John Legend, Erykah Badu, Estelle, Jim Jones, Jazmine, Lucy Woodward, The Roots and Al Green.  In addition to the Grammy-nominated Al Green album, Kutch mastered several other projects in 2008 that have Grammy(r) nominations including the Jazmine Sullivan Fearless album, Alicia Keys' Superwoman album, and Estelle's album American Boy. Please visit: http://www.themasteringpalace.com
 
About Tony Maserati  - Over the past decade Tony Maserati has created his own distinctive sound for his many hits with today's top artists such as Mary J. Blige, Lil' Kim, Beyonce, Black Eyed Peas and Puff Daddy, and pop-icons Mariah Carey, Destiny's Child, Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin, Sting and Alicia Keys. Recent mixes include The Pussycat Dolls, Britney Spears, Jesse MacCartney, and the aptly named electronic-rock duo (for this press release!) 'Dangerous  Muse.' Maserati is nominated for a 2008 Grammy(r) Award (with Dyre Gormsen) for 'Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical' with the new Jason Mraz album. Please visit http://www.tonymaserati.com

About Dave Rideau - A three-time Grammy nominee who has been making hits with top recording artists for more than two decades, David Rideau is a Los Angeles based producer and engineer who has received dozens of gold and platinum records working with the likes of Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis. Rideau's projects with international artists have taken him to Europe, Japan, Brazil and China. His discography includes Sting, TLC, Janet Jackson, Ludacris, Yolanda Adams, Earth, Wind and Fire, George Benson, and Deborah Cox. Contact: caneriverstudios@mac.com

For more information about Dangerous Music visit http://www.dangerousmusic.com phone 607-965-8011 or email: info@dangerousmusic.com

Grammy is a registered trademark of The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences

Engineer Dave McNair Plugs Into Dangerous Master
New Mastering Suite at NY Masterdisk Adds Dangerous Music 'Monitor' to 'Master' Transfer Console


Edmeston, NY- December 2, 2008 - Mastering Engineer Dave McNair has a new suite at Masterdisk Studios in New York. Previously at Scott Hull's studio, McNair made the jump recently when Hull purchased Masterdisk and expanded his business. In his new mastering suite McNair has paired his beloved Dangerous Master Transfer Console with the Dangerous Monitor, utilizing the Monitor's pristine-sounding DAC for all his playback listening.  The Dangerous Master is the latest generation in the evolution of the Chris Muth mastering transfer console, while the Dangerous Monitor is a companion monitor controller with features  designed specifically for the mastering environment.

Recently McNair has added some new major-label names to his mastering credits including Hollywood Undead, Jon McLaughlin, Evan Taubenfeld, Tim Brantley, Sara Bareilles, and K'Naan. His Dangerous Master transfer console is at the heart of his mastering suite, one that he waited years to buy from Dangerous Music equipment designer Chris Muth, as McNair noted, "Chris and I go back twenty years, to when I was a staff engineer at The Hit Factory in New York and he headed up their technical department.   He is super-smart and knows everything there is to know about studio electronics, but he has a great ear too, which is rare in a technician. He'd play me stuff from his home studio that I thought sounded better than just about anything that the clients were bringing in! We hit it off right away."

McNair continued with the story of getting his own Dangerous Master transfer console, "I started getting into mastering about eight or nine years ago and Chris had shifted to getting very technically involved in designing and building the mastering gear for Sterling Sound (NY). I bugged him about putting together a transfer console for me, and he finally called me one day and said he and Bob Muller had the 'Dangerous Master' ready to go and they were putting it into production. I ordered one with a couple other guys without even hearing it - just by looking at a drawing of the feature set and knowing it would be good. I think the one I have doesn't even have a serial number!"

"The Dangerous Master immediately made a huge improvement in the quality of my work. There're a few other options out there in the market now, but sonically, and certainly operationally, the Master is exactly what I like to use.  It has what you need with no extra stuff that could degrade the integrity of the signal path."

Commenting on the sound of the Dangerous Master McNair says, "I'm extremely picky, and I know a lot of folks that do mastering are extremely picky, and a transfer console is a critical part of the sound of mastering because your signal is routed through it, and it has to do several jobs along the way. For me the Dangerous Master is really, really transparent, but the sound that it does have is a musical sound - it has almost no sonic imprint. I've compared it to other products out there, I won't name names, but I think it's the cleanest sounding solution available. For me, I don't want my transfer console to add any coloration, and the Master delivers in that regard."

Moving into his new digs at Masterdisk, McNair added the Dangerous Monitor, "I am also using the Dangerous Monitor for level control and source selection. That's actually an amazing piece of gear too. Monitor sections are a type of equipment that there are not a lot of mastering-quality options for in the market place. I think Chris' solution is the best sounding, and certainly functionally great. I use the Dangerous Monitor's DAC for my primary listening, it goes right to my monitors. I think it sounds every bit as good as a Prism, or a DCS or a Lavry or anything else. It's as good as any seven or eight-thousand-dollar DAC! I have all my DACs lined up to within a tenth of a dB and I can just press a button and A-B them, and Dangerous' DAC in the Monitor sounds amazing. It's wide but it's not artificially wide, it's very detailed, but at the same time real smooth."

According to McNair's needs in a mastering console, the Dangerous Master has just the right set of connections and features, "I'd rather have a shorter and cleaner audio path with fewer stages to go through. The three inserts are fine with my setup. I might have more than three pieces of gear that I want to select but you can easily have more than one piece of gear on an insert if you set it up right, it's not a problem. And Chris' implementation of the S&M ('middle and side processing') is truly amazing. I use it all the time so that I can have EQ or compression only on the middle or only on the sides. I probably use it on sixty percent of the masters I do. It's definitely a big part of my sound. One of the things I like to do a lot is compress the middle - even if you don't do it much, just a little tiny bit of compression in the center channel sounds really nice. It's not a big secret any more, but it's really easy to do with the Dangerous Master. S&M is right at your fingertips, so you can audition it and see if it's going to work for you."

"The three main things that I immediately got by incorporating the Dangerous Master into my setup was, one: level match comparison - 'what does the original sound like?' and 'what does it sound like after my chain of processing?' but always at the same level, because the louder one is always going to sound better. You need to compare the unprocessed and the processed sound as close to an equal level as you can. You can very easily do that on the Master with the Input Monitor Offset. You can instantly compare and match the volume precisely. That was the first thing that improved my work."

"The second thing I got from the Master was that once I plugged my outboard gear into the Master's inserts, all my pieces sounded better, as opposed to just chained together like I had them set up in my previous system. The way the amplifier stages are designed turn whatever you plug into the Master into a very stable, unified environment. 

"The third thing that made everything sound better was the fact that I had S&M at my fingertips, so I could do the sum-and-difference  processing. Those three things made a huge difference:  the true A/B level matching, the outboard gear sounding better, and the insert with the S&M processing."

"I heavily used the S&M on mastering the stereo version of the Sara Bareilles: Live at the Fillmore CD. I used a lot of EQ to contour the drums and the bass to get them to sit right."

McNair has been playing, recording, mixing, producing, and mastering music for over 25 years. His fascination with the duality of the macro and the micro is part of what led him to mastering. That 'infinite inch,' the last bit of something indefinable that makes a project sound like a record: that's what he is fascinated by. McNair has honed the art of getting to that place where the music is presented with all the power and emotion that the music deserves through years of working on projects awarded Grammy and Gold Record status. Artists as diverse as Los Lobos, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Patty Smith, Miles Davis, Willie Nelson, Switchfoot, Raul Malo, Ozomatli, Susan Tedeschi and Jakob Dylan have all relied on McNair to help them achieve their artistic vision.

Contact Dave McNair through the Masterdisk website at: http://www.masterdisk.com

Jeff Juliano Moves To A Dangerous Mix

After Loving the Sound of Dangerous Monitor ST, Mixer Juliano adds Dangerous 2-Bus

Edmeston, NY— October 3, 2008 — Mixer Jeff Juliano is no stranger to good sound. He’s mixed many platinum-selling albums, and is an all-around favorite mixer for artists like Jason Mraz, Josh Kelly and Lifehouse, as well as John Mayer, who won a 2003 Grammy for his album “Room for Squares” which Juliano mixed. When Jeff tried out the Dangerous Monitor ST controller in his own studio and was blown away by the sound, he immediately asked Dangerous Music to send him a Dangerous 2-Bus analog summing amp to try with his system. The rest is history.

“I have the Dangerous Monitor ST and the Dangerous 2-Bus, both of which I cannot live without now,” said Juliano. “I’ve used other monitor controllers , but I feel like I’ve stepped into the major leagues in terms of a listening environment with this equipment. It’s ridiculous! I could immediately hear the difference, and I had to have it.”

“I plugged in the ST and listened back to a mix that I had been working on for a day and thought was decent,” added Juliano. “But I started hearing stuff that I didn’t hear before and things that I wanted to go back and fix, which I did. I ended up also recalling the first three songs on the record and remixing them because I could hear issues with the high-end, a little clutter in the low-mids and some imaging things. It created more work for me, [laughs] but the project turned out better. The ST makes listening consistent. It doesn’t matter what great outboard gear you have — if you don’t hear it right from the get-go it doesn’t matter what’s in your rack. The ST really makes my job more fun now, because I feel like I can hear everything.”

Regarding the Dangerous 2-Bus summing amp, Juliano continued, “I was using another brand of summing amp and thought I was happy with it, but as soon as I plugged in the 2-Bus I was floored. I know Dangerous was the first to make a summing amp, and after hearing it, I don’t think anyone else should have bothered. When I switched from my other summing box to the 2-Bus it was as night and day to me as it was from going from mixing in-the-box to out-of-the-box. In terms of imaging, clarity in the low-end, and headroom for days, I could just push things and it sounded more open. I noticed a lot of space in the top end and the mix became airy and more pleasing to the ears.”

“I’m currently mixing a live DVD and double CD release for ‘PARAMORE’ that is sounding incredible through the Dangerous gear.  With ‘current’ rock music, huge headroom and clarity is extremely important when pushing vocals through walls of guitars and drums. I've mixed on a bunch of different large-format British analog consoles in the past and the Dangerous stuff is just killing them in this genre. I just could not be happier. I also recently finished mixing half the record for a band called ‘Kropp Circle.’ I mixed the last song with the Dangerous 2-Bus.  The previous songs were mixed on the other summing box, and I didn’t tell the producers.  After sending them the last song they called and said ‘That’s one of the best mixes you’ve ever delivered to us’ — seriously -  it was not coached, I didn’t tell them I had changed anything in my room! When you have such an important client that sends you all their mixes and they tell you that, you just have to buy the equipment. That was when I was trying the 2-Bus, so after that I called Bob [Muller] at Dangerous and said ‘I gotta have it.’”

Juliano has high compliments for the company behind the gear as well, “Having Bob Muller at Dangerous to call and talk to about the equipment has been really important because he obviously knows and understands great gear and is willing to explain it in terms that even musicians can understand.  His knowledge sets the company apart from others. The people running a company make a big difference  to me,” he said.

“A lot of people buy summing amps for the color, but I have so much outboard gear that I use, on the stereo buss and individual tracks, vintage stuff, new stuff — great gear — I feel like I have enough color going on with out clouding up the mix with the summing mixer,” added Juliano about the clarity and sonic truth his Dangerous 2-Bus offers.

“I have a huge rack of API EQs, 2500 compressors, Neve 33609 compressor serial number 3, Inward Connections Vac Rack which is great for vocals and bass, Distressors, Manley Massive Passive EQs, SSL 51 Xlogic buss compressor, and Focal ‘Twin6 Be’ monitors and Focal sub. The SPL Transient Designer is my go-to box when drums are real dull. But since I’ve been using the 2-Bus, I have been using the Transient Designer less because the 2-Bus translates the transients on the drums so much better. I did a mix yesterday and didn’t realize the Transient Designer wasn’t even on [laughs]. The 2-Bus really does translate everything so openly and clearly that I can get a balance together really quickly now because I can hear what’s going on in the lows and the low-mids. I couldn’t do that before with the other summing product. I work faster now.”

Juliano’s extensive credits include John Mayer "Room For Squares" (Columbia/Sony) Mixer, RIAA Certified 4X Platinum (GRAMMY WINNER 2003); James Blunt “Live Tracks”  (Atlantic Records); Jason Mraz “Waiting for My Rocket to Come” Mixer, RIAA Certified  Platinum; O.A.R. “Live From Madison Square Garden” CD/DVD Mixer - 5.1 Surround Sound (Lava/Atlantic/Everfine Records) ; Josh Kelley “Special Company” (DNK Records); John Butler Solo “Live Tracks”  (Atlantic Records); John Mayer "Any Given Thursday" CD/DVD Mixer; Lifehouse "Lifehouse" Mixer, RIAA Certified Gold; eight Dave Mathews records as Mixer including "Live In Central Park" RIAA Certified Platinum, and many, many other artists and recordings including Bruce Hornsby, Ben Folds, Robert Randolph, and King Crimson.

Jason Wade, of the band Lifehouse, is quoted about Juliano, “I’ve worked with many mixers in my career  and Jeff is the best I’ve ever seen.”

Contact Jeff Juliano through his website at: http://www.myspace.com/jeffjuliano

Mastering Engineer David Kutch Gets Dangerous in NYC
Grammy-Nominated Engineer Opens New Mastering Studio with Dangerous Music Equipment at its Center

Edmeston, NY — March 27, 2008 — Grammy-Nominated mastering engineer David Kutch has opened The Mastering Palace, a new mastering studio in New York City. In only a few short months of opening, Kutch has already mastered a range of top artist releases from The Roots, Natasha Bedingfield, Erykah Badu, Estelle, to classic Al Green. At the core of his new studio setup are two key pieces of analog equipment: the Dangerous Master and the Dangerous Monitor.  These Dangerous Music components allow Kutch to be assured of the quality of his analog signal path, where he spends most of his time bringing out the best in a piece of recorded music.

Over the past two decades, many mastering studios and engineers have become familiar with Dangerous Music through Chris Muth. Kutch explains his own connection, “The entire professional mastering community knows Chris Muth. I’m sorry -  ‘Relies’ on Chris Muth. If your 1630 [tape] machine needed alignment you called Chris Muth. If your Neumann cutting lathe was acting up, you called Chris Muth. If you had a technical need where the equipment to complete a task did not exist yet, the first thing anyone did was call Chris Muth. Chris tweaked, repaired or invented mastering equipment better than anyone else, period!  Dangerous Music and its products are far from being new players in the pro audio gear world. It has all been evolving in Chris’ brain and in mastering studios for over 20 years. He truly is a Mad Genius!”

Integrating Dangerous Music gear into his own studios has been an easy choice, according to Kutch, “While at Masterdisk [famed NY mastering studio] I had been using a Muth Audio Designs Mastering Console and Monitor box (the big black one). The gear never breaks down and is very transparent. When I moved to Sony Music Studios [former 54th Street headquarters] they built me a brand new mastering room. When they asked what type of Mastering console I wanted, the answer was a no-brainer: ‘Anything from Chris!’ — which by this point was the Dangerous Master because he was no longer making the ‘MAD’ console.”

In his new studio, The Mastering Palace, Kutch explains how he centers his outboard connections around Dangerous Music designs. “The Dangerous Master brings all of my analog processing gear together in one place. The stereo signal comes in, gets left and right adjustments if need be, then hits my 3 inserts. One of the things that most attracted me to the Dangerous Master is that there are only 3 inserts. More inserts equals more noise. In this scenario: LESS IS BETTER! At this stage I can insert any of my analog equalizers or compressors as needed. I can also insert an EQ or de-esser into the ‘S&M’ or Mid–Side circuit [of the Master] so I can process the mono and stereo program material independently, as well as increase or decrease the stereo width without messing with the phase. I’ve tried other devices that claim to do this but they do not even come close.”

“My Dangerous Monitor lets me have control over speaker volume as well as listening to my different analog and digital signal inputs. The best feature is the onboard D-to-A converter. It switches from one AES input to another without any pops, glitches or latency — again, a rare feature. This way I can compare pre- and post- processing with the same D-to-A conversion on both sources,” added Kutch.

Asked of his experiences dealing with artists in his studio while mastering with Dangerous Music equipment, Kutch concludes, “I’ve had Erykah Badu here as well as Questlove from the The Roots. Besides having my system sound as good as it can, the gear just does not break down when the client is present. Since the Dangerous Music equipment is what ties my all of my gear together it has to work ALL the time. If it went down, the session would be dead. I’ve been using equipment designed by Chris [Muth] for 11 years and I’ve never had a piece break. It just works!”

In addition to the Dangerous Master and the Dangerous Monitor, Kutch of course has a host of other mastering equipment. For playback, The Mastering Palace studio is based around a Studer A820 half-inch analog tape machine and a Digidesign Pro Tools HD system. As an editor, Kutch uses Magix’s Sequoia DAW. Along with a host of boutique analog compressors, other key ingredients are his Prism Sound stereo converters and Maselec EQ, and for digital processing the TC Electronic System 6000. Critical listening depends on Kutch’s Focal Solo 6 monitors, and Legacy Focus monitors.

David Kutch Credits
Kutch began his career in recording with some of New York’s finest producers, ranging from Phil Ramone to Puff Daddy. In 1997 Kutch helped build the legendary Powers House of Sound Mastering Studios with Herb Powers Jr. There he worked on albums for Biggie, Puff Daddy, Lauryn Hill, Jill Scott, and Missy Elliot. In 2002, Kutch was nominated for a prestigious Grammy in the category of ‘Album of the Year’ for mastering Outkasts’ “Stankonia” LP that included the hits “Miss Jackson” and “So Fresh, So Clean.” Some of the tracks and albums Kutch mastered at his studio within the famed New York 54th Street Sony Mastering Studios, were for Kanye West, The Roots, Jamie Foxx, DMX, and Sarah McLaughlan. He has also completed DVD mastering for Rod Stewart, Angie Stone, Iron Maiden and Anthrax releases.  Right before opening The Mastering Palace, Kutch spent the summer of 2007 mastering Alicia Keys’ “As I Am” album at her studio on Long Island, as well as other artists’ projects.

Contact David Kutch and The Mastering Palace at 1-(212) 665-2200 or visit the website at: http://www.themasteringpalace.com

David Kahne Gets Dangerous on McCartney Album
Mixes Paul McCartney's "Memory Almost Full" with his Dangerous Music System

Edmeston, NY - July 12, 2007 - David Kahne's busy career as a top producer and engineer continues to peak with the Paul McCartney album "Memory Almost Full" on which he acted as producer, as well as recording and mixing much of the album. Adam Noble and Geoff Emerick also worked during the recording phases with Kahne on some of the material. Kahne also just completed Kelly Clarkson's "My December"- tracks on both projects were worked on using his Dangerous Music system, where he recently added a fourth Dangerous 2-Bus for 64-channels of analog summing. Kahne also utilizes a Dangerous Monitor and Dangerous MQ in his system for speaker control, input selection and metering.

Describing some of the most important aspects of his system Kahne says, "The Dangerous 2-Bus summing amp has a lot of headroom and is also extremely transparent.  I like that the 2-Bus doesn't have coloration, so I'm not thinking about the sound of it.  I can put an (Allan) Smart or Fairchild compressor across the stereo bus and tailor the sound how I want to. Also stereo imaging is really important, of course, and the Dangerous 2-Bus is always phase coherent and sounds great on every mix."

Kahne continued, "To me, my mixes sound better on the 2-Bus than just mixed in the box: that was what made me choose the Dangerous summing amps. Before I was using the Dangerous, when the audio came to the last summing stage in the computer it sounded crunchy, and crushed and phasey. With the Dangerous, the final product sounds like when I'm mixing on a great large format console."

Recently on McCartney's "Memory Almost Full" album project Kahne says that the recording, editing, overdubs and mixing happened in a variety of studios in New York and the UK. "Three songs were mixed at Soundtrack, NY by Andy Wallace. The others were mixed in my room on the Dangerous Music rig, after we'd finished all the parts and set up the mixes at Paul's studio in the UK at Hog Hill Mill. Most of the recording was done at the Mill, or Abbey Road. I worked on editing some of the songs in my room after we were done with all the recording, and finished most of the mixes at my place. Paul did some overdubs there, too. We were recording and mixing and arranging all at the same time, all through the album."

McCartney was closely involved in the mixing process and often added overdubs during the mix sessions. "Paul went through every mix with me, track by track. Even if he wasn't there when I was working on some of it, we always went through every note together before it was decided that the track was finished," said Kahne.

Adding the fourth Dangerous 2-Bus to his system allowed Kahne to fully utilize his 64-channel MADI card.  He has a lot of outboard EQ, compressors and mic preamps, and he now has his system hardwired so that he can instantly access all of his equipment directly through the 2-Busses. "With the MADI card and the Dangerous 2-Busses I have instant access to all my analog gear, and now everything in my studio is available at any moment," Kahne stated.

The evolution of Kahne's mix system came from working in his room at Hensen Recording in Hollywood. "I was using a Speck mixer for pre-production and overdubbing, then got a Yamaha digital console to use for mixing. I was looking at it one day and it struck me, 'why do I need two sets of digital faders and EQ's?' I'd heard about the Dangerous 2-Bus and realized that concept was the best solution for me if it sounded great. I dug more inside the computer after that, and took the most intensive processor task -summing- and gave it to the Dangerous 2-Bus and forgot about it." Now with 64-channels of Dangerous, Kahne concludes that, "Dangerous Music was the first to make boxes like these, and in my opinion they're still the best."

To finish his studio system and retain all the aspects of working with a large format console, Kahne uses the Dangerous Monitor and Dangerous MQ alongside his Dangerous 2-Bus setup. He's even had Dangerous Music designer Chris Muth modify the Monitor unit to allow 4 sets of speaker outputs.

Along with McCartney's "Memory Almost Full" Kahne has worked on previous McCartney outings "Driving Rain," "Back in the U.S.," "From a Lover to a Friend," "In Red Square," and "Freedom." As a top pop-music producer and engineer Kahne's work spans a huge list of artists including the brand-new Kelly Clarkson album "My December",  Imogen Heap, The Strokes, Sublime, Sean Lennon, Sugar Ray, Wilco, Tony Bennett, Fishbone, The Bangles, Shawn Colvin, Stevie Nicks, Matthew Sweet, K.D. Lang, 311, and many others

Studio Owner Gina Fant-Saez Is Dangerous
Engineer gets Large Format Console Sound with her Dangerous Music System

Edmeston, NY - April 20, 2007 - Since installing her Dangerous Music rig at Blue World Music Gina Fant-Saez doesn't miss her large format console.  Combined with Pro Tools and a nice selection of EQs, compressors and Mic pres, the Dangerous Music core summing and monitoring system gives her the sound she and her clients desire. The decision to make this drastic change in her studio equipment was initially based on her view of the changing way that music is being produced today, and when she did a listening test with other professional engineers and mixers, Fant-Saez was convinced Dangerous was the way to go.

Fant-Saez revealed, "I replaced my SSL with a Dangerous Music system after researching and testing other available summing systems. Before selling the SSL, I ran three mixes: one on the board (no EQ or compression), one in-the-box mix, and one through the Dangerous system. I invited a handful of Austin's best engineers and producers to listen, and in blind tests, we had a unanimous decision that the Dangerous mixes beat out everything. They were simply cleaner and warmer to everyone."

Almost two years later, Fant-Saez is still convinced.  "Ever since I bought my Dangerous Music system, I just don't miss the console."

Fant-Saez added, "I found that I was using the SSL for analog summing, and maybe some EQ. I had all the faders at unity gain, and I was using mostly plug-ins, and all the automation in Pro Tools. I basically replaced my large format analog console with a Dangerous Music system and some key outboard compressors, EQs, and mic pres."

Blue World Music sports a comprehensive rack containing a pair of Dangerous 2-Busses normaled to Digi 192's for 32-channels of analog summing as well as a Dangerous Mixer linked to the D2B's for external FX and reverb returns.  A Dangerous Monitor and MQ complete the system by providing input and speaker switching, cue and talkback functions as well as a reference D/A converter and metering.  Explaining how the console sound gets completed Fant-Saez said, "I put the Allen Smart stereo compressor on the end of the mix chain to replicate the sound of the SSL. The Allen Smart is the same compressor that the SSL console uses. Combined with my outboard gear and plug-ins it's like my large format console in a rack. We're very happy with the system."

Fant-Saez  spent time at Juilliard studying music theory and has a Master's Degree in Interactive Telecommunications, as well as being a recording engineer and composer.  Her secluded studio outside Austin, Blue World Music, has a relaxed atmosphere combined with a high tech audio environment. But these days her main project is eSession, a web-based music collaboration system that allows artists, producers, songwriters and producers from around the world to collaborate with anyone they know or hire of eSession's 600-plus world class musicians and engineers. The eSession website handles all financial transactions, files transfers and real-time collaboration.

Blue World Studio's clients include Sting, Shawn Colvin, Spoon, Jimmie Vaughan, Nelly Furtado, Walt Disney Pictures, and Chris Vrenna (Nine Inch Nails, Tweaker). Fant-Saez has also remixed U2's smash hit "Elevation", written "Pro Tools for Musicians & Songwriters"  (http://www.protoolsformusicians.com) and is in the process of writing and producing a techno-pop project called Room 2 Breathe, teaming up with German producer Sam Oliver.
To contact Gina Fant-Saez visit Blue World Music at http://www.blueworldmusic.com/ Or eSession at http://www.esession.com

Producer & Engineer Robert Carranza Is Dangerous
Grammy Winner Churns out Hits with his Dangerous Music System

Edmeston, NY - January 3, 2007 - Robert Carranza is a producer, and recording and mix engineer who swears by his Dangerous Music 2-BUS summing amp and other Dangerous Music gear and uses it constantly on a wide variety of top artists' projects. In 2001, Dangerous Music pioneered the concept of the dedicated analog summing buss for digital audio workstations with the introduction of the Dangerous 2-Bus.  Carranza has continued to invest in Dangerous Music gear adding the Dangerous Monitor, Dangerous MQ and Dangerous Master as his core equipment setup.

"I come from the realm of mixing based on analog consoles," says Carranza. "I had been mixing extensively with DAWs but I never felt they gave me the sound that I wanted. I went on a mission to try all the different summing amps out there and when I hit the Dangerous I said 'That's IT!'  Running my DAW with the Dangerous 2-BUS on the back end added all this depth and width to the mix. There's such a noticeable benefit using the 2-BUS compared to mixing in-the-box."

He notes that artists and musicians who are really in tune with the recording process always notice the improvement in the sound of their tracks mixed or recorded through the Dangerous 2-BUS. "They ask me, 'Why does that sound so good?' - The 2-BUS sounds so open and yet it's so tight on the bottom."

Carranza engineered and mixed Jack Johnson's "In Between Dreams" album through the Dangerous 2-BUS. "People have told us that it's the best sounding record he's made," said Carranza. He also recently mixed Johnson's hit album "Sing-A-Longs and Lullabies" using his Dangerous Music rig, as well as several of the tunes from the upcoming Ozomatli album. "It's my go-to piece of equipment. The Dangerous 2-BUS sounds the way you want it to - there's no frequency bump. It never gets in the way of the music. It's so versatile, I can use it for sub-mixing or tracking multiple guitar amps."

Commenting on the other Dangerous music gear he owns Carraza says, "I'm a snob when it comes to speakers. I've tested pretty much every monitor controller and nothing comes close to the Dangerous Monitor. I have the Dangerous Master and MQ products as well. [Equipment designer] Chris Muth is a genius. The equipment sounds amazing!"

Robert Carranza recently finished recording and mixing Ozomatli's new album and has started work with Baller Banks (Record Collection/Warner Brothers).  He recently mixed Ricky Martin and Dirtie Blond and recorded Mars Volta and Los Lobos. He produced, engineered and mixed the most recent Jack Johnson release, which entered the Billboard charts at Number 1. Carranza's discography includes multiple titles by Los Lobos, Jack Johnson, Molotov, Ozomatli as well as albums by Beck, Supergrass, Blackalicious and Lucious Jackson to name a few. Carranza is a three-time Grammy winner with Ozomatli (2004/2005) and Molotov (2005).

To contact Robert Carranza visit Tsunami Entertainment at http://www.tsunamient.com

Dubway Studios Adds Dangerous Music 'Monitor ST/SR'
Busy NYC Recording Facility Chooses Monitor ST/SR 5.1 Controller for new 4th Room, alongside their Dangerous 2-BUS analog summing mixers

Edmeston, NY - September 12, 2006 - Dangerous Music, Inc. today announced that Dubway Studios, NYC has installed a Dangerous Monitor ST/SR surround setup in their new fourth studio. The Monitor ST is a remote-control based programmable input source and speaker switcher with integrated cue and talkback systems, including an onboard headphone power amplifier, while the Monitor SR expansion module provides comprehensive 5.1 surround monitoring. Dubway Studios has a busy roster of television shows, live-recorded  events, film and new media. Their current clients include MTV, VH1 and Nickleodeon, among others. Dubway is familiar with Dangerous Music products, having used Dangerous 2-BUS analog summing amps on more than 200 mixes over the past 4 years.

"When choosing the Dangerous Monitor ST/SR we talked about what we'd need for a 5.1 studio and how to achieve that in a small studio environment," said Mike Crehore, Co-owner and Producer at Dubway. "We just didn't have room for a full size console, and the Monitor ST integrates really well with the Dangerous 2-BUS."
"I know Dangerous Music's quality products from using the Dangerous 2-BUS on every mix I do at Dubway," stated Jason Marcucci, Chief Engineer at Dubway. "I can't really work without them. I love the 2-BUS." Marcucci added, " I'm so busy mixing projects for MTV and VH1 that we needed a new room for me to mix in. When we were designing the room, we knew we had to make it ready for surround for future DVD, HDTV and film-oriented projects. We checked out other monitor controllers, but after using and listening to the Dangerous Monitor ST/SR we definitely liked it best." Marcucci's first mix in the new room was a live recording of rock band New Found Glory for MTV2's Discover and Download.

Live@VH1.com is one of Dubways biggest clients. Dubway has recorded every installment of the musical performances from stars including Beck, Alanis Morissette, Moby, Chris Cornell, The White Stripes, Train and Wilco, to name only a handful. The Beck and Morissette performances were aired as full half-hour shows on VH1. All the shows were mixed using the Dangerous Music 2-BUS.
Another major Dubway client is Nickelodeon's The Backyardigans. "The show keeps the studio so busy right now that we needed a new room to mix other projects, so we built our fourth studio," says Steven Alvarado, Studio Manager at Dubway. They call new studio the Red Room - all their studios are named after colors. Backyardigans' engineer Crehore added, "I've mixed all the Backyardigans episodes using my Dangerous 2-BUS." Dubway's new Red Room features both a Dangerous Monitor ST/SR and Dangerous 2-BUS.

"Another thing I like about the Dangerous 2-BUS is access to the analog signal for inserting analog outboard gear," added Al Houghton, Co-owner and Producer at Dubway. "Since I insert it at an analog level, the alignment of the audio is always there. For example I like to combine a compressed mix of the drums, using an analog compressor, with the Pro Tools mix. It's very hard to do that without a tool like the Dangerous 2-BUS, which makes it easy and it sounds great."

"In terms of Dubway and where we fit into the general music business, we do a lot of TV and rock recording and mixing. We're all musicians and mix engineers so we're pretty into the sound of the music itself. I use Pro Tools for all its editing and instant recall for TV, and by combining that with the Dangerous 2-BUS, and now the Monitor ST/SR, I don't have to sacrifice the audio quality. And not just for us, but for the clients too, who recognize the quality of our mixes. It makes a difference in terms of the business," concluded Houghton.

For more information on Dubway Studios NYC telephone (212)-352-3070 or visit http://www.dubway.com/

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