— With newly-expanded operations, M3’s “Eclipse” and “Horizon” remote recording trucks handle the 5.1 surround audio broadcast, utilizing Genelec DSP Active Monitors —
NATICK, MA, February 13, 2011 — M3 (Music Mix Mobile), a New Jersey/California-based remote facilities company combining the talents of award-winning production professionals and state-of-the-art audio solutions, is a collective consisting of industry veterans John Harris, Jay Vicari, Joel Singer, Mitch Maketansky and West Coast-based partners Bob Wartinbee and Mark Linett. On Sunday, February 13, 2011, M3 was commissioned to capture and mix the music audio for the 53rd annual GRAMMY® Awards, broadcast live in 5.1 on CBS-TV from the Staples Center in Los Angeles. In the company’s dual “Eclipse” and “Horizon” trucks, the GRAMMY Award Show Broadcast Music Mixers John Harris and Eric Schilling, along with M3 Engineer-in-Charge Joel Singer, were on site to ensure the audio would be of the highest quality, and they chose Genelec 8200 Series Active DSP Monitoring Systems. Genelec DSP systems consisting of 8250A Bi-Amplified Active DSP Monitors (in an L-C-R array) and 8240A Bi-Amplified Active DSP Monitors (L-R rear), along with 7260A Active DSP Subwoofers, were used in M3’s Eclipse truck for the live music mix, as well as in the identical mirrored system in the Horizon offline remix truck.
The team responsible for the audio at this year’s GRAMMYs again included a who’s who of broadcast audio. The broadcast music mix was handled by Harris and Schilling and was supervised by Hank Neuberger, a prominent member of The Recording Academy® Producers & Engineers Wing®. ATK/Audiotek provided the sound system with FOH (front-of-house) Engineers Ron Reaves and Mikael Stewart.
In the days leading up to the awards ceremony and broadcast, the night’s performers rehearsed their segments live on the stage, with Schilling and Harris developing the mixes in real-time in the Eclipse truck and then going over those performances offline while playing them back for artist managers and the artists themselves in the Horizon truck. Together, they prepared for the live broadcast mix, so it was vital that both trucks had a world-class, consistent monitoring environment.
Joel Singer, Engineer-in-Charge and co-founder of M3, stated, “As we added trucks to our operation, we wanted to have a consistent monitoring environment, not only for reference during recording and broadcast, but for the artists, producers and managers that come into our trucks for playback. I have worked with Genelecs for years, and everybody is very comfortable with them because they’re the high-end industry standard. With a show like the GRAMMYs, we’re rehearsing and playing back tracks for up to 15 hours a day for several days, but with the Genelecs, no one ever experiences ear fatigue. They deliver accurate, transparent sound, providing us with the security of knowing exactly what we’re hearing on the night of the broadcast.”
Will Eggleston, Genelec USA Marketing Director, stated, “For several years, M3’s engineers have relied on Genelec Active Monitoring systems for their GRAMMY Awards mixing. This is Music’s Biggest Night, and we are very proud that the elite in broadcast mixing use our monitors for the elite in performing. It always sounds excellent, and it is great that they have come to rely on Genelec for these intense mixing situations!”
The Genelec 8200 Series Bi-Amplified Active Monitors employ the company’s proprietary DSP (Digital Signal Processing), GLM™ (Genelec Loudspeaker Manager software) and AutoCal™ (Automated Calibration software) technologies, which together create a self-calibrating monitoring solution that both guarantees accurate audio and ensures a steady-paced workflow. This, combined with M3’s long-time use of Genelec active monitors, made the Genelec DSP monitors an easy decision.
For more information, please visit www.genelecusa.com.