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PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Neilson/Clyne
Tel: (615) 662-1616
Fax: (615) 662-1636
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NBC’S SHOWTIME IN HARLEM
RELIES ON XTA AUDIO PROCESSING
— Wide range of XTA processing technology, including DP Series
speaker control,
Series 2 C2 comp/limiters and G2 gates, as well as renowned SIDD processors,
allows mixers to “control the room” and design the sound
with ease and accuracy —
FARMINGDALE, NY, March 3, 2003 — NBC’s
hit late-night variety series Showtime In Harlem recently made a switch
in venues from the legendary Apollo Theater in Harlem to the larger
space of the Hammerstein Ballroom in Midtown. The move was made easier
and the intimate sound of the original venue was retained thanks to
the use of XTA Series 2 technology. One Dream Sound, the New York-based
company that provided the large PA system used for the program, brought
in a wide array of XTA processing equipment that allowed complete control
over the audio in the cavernous 3,000-seat venue. Furthermore, the ease
of use and reliability of the XTA equipment assured that the show could
meet its deadline of an entire season’s taping in four strenuous
days of production, with between three and four shows taped per day.
One Dream Sound provided a large Martin Audio PA with
10 mid-high boxes per side on a stage that was set up to recreate the
Apollo’s, right down to the famous “Lucky Stump” that
performers touch as they go onstage. “It is a big PA, but we specialize
in large systems for broadcast and live events.” remarks David
Ferdinand, CEO of One Dream Sound. Housed in 25,000 square feet of Manhattan
production space, One Dream Sound also provides PA services for a dozen
Off-Broadway shows and national tours, including Bring In Da Noise,
Bring In Da Funk and Stomp, as well as recent performances by artists
including Patti LaBelle and Christina Aguilera. Ferdinand continues,
“The space is quite large, and the trick in doing music for television
is to get the room under control — keep the volume in check but
still get the excitement level up.” To achieve that, One Dream
Sound brought in a broad array of XTA processing equipment, including
six XTA C2 dual/stereo compressors, six G2 gates, a pair of GQ600 dual/stereo
30-band EQs, four each of the DP200 and DP224 speaker management systems,
two DP226 systems, and a pair of XTA SIDDs. The C2, with its “look-ahead”
attack times for instantaneous transient control, automatic time constants,
and enhanced de-essing abilities, was used on all vocal microphones.
The G2, with its fully adjustable envelope including hold time, was
employed on the entire drum kit. The SIDDs were utilized, in Ferdinand’s
words, to “act as a ’mastering system’ for the overall
PA.”
Citing an example of how the XTA gear gave the crew —
including One Dream Sound’s Greg Rosenkranz and Thom Wright, and
FOH Mixer Kevin Hartman of client Good Brothers Sound — control
of the venue, Ferdinand explains, “One of the key things is not
to let the room get away from you. That takes compression and limiting.
But with most comp/limiters, you can hear them ‘breathing,’
or even hear distortion when the compression kicks in. That’s
never the case with the XTA C2 compressor. It’s incredibly clean
and transparent in its operation and its sound. The XTA gear is so good
and predictable in performance that it really made a difference in getting
the production to move along quickly and stay on schedule — and
never stop sounding good. The client was extremely happy with the system’s
performance.”
XTA is a British manufacturer of signal processing equipment for the
live sound, permanent installations, broadcasting, and recording markets,
and is exclusively distributed in the U.S. by Group One Ltd. of Farmingdale,
New York. Group One is also the exclusive U.S. distributor for Blue
Sky International, Milab Microphones, MC2 Audio Ltd., and Celestion
Professional Products, as well as a number of prominent lighting products.
...ends 522 words
XTA is a British manufacturer of signal processing equipment for the
live sound, permanent installations, broadcasting, and recording markets,
and is exclusively distributed in the U.S. by Group One Ltd.
of Farmingdale, New York. Group One is also the exclusive U.S. distributor
for Blue Sky International,
Milab Microphones, MC2 Audio Ltd., and Celestion Professional Products,
as well as a number of prominent lighting products.
Other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective
companies
with which they are associated.
—For more information on the complete range of XTA products, contact
Sue Adamson,
Group One Ltd., 70 Sea Lane, Farmingdale, NY 11735. Tel: (516) 249-1399;
Fax: (516) 753-1020; Email: suea@g1limited.com;
Web: www.g1limited.com