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2007 News Archives
Juan Luis Guerra and Shure Enjoy Big Night at 8th Annual Latin Grammys
Winning an award at a major music awards show is a great achievement for any performer, but to win five
is something extraordinary. That's exactly what Dominican singer Juan Luis Guerra accomplished at the recent Latin GRAMMY Awards on Thursday, November 8, at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, where Shure was the microphone of choice for most of the evening's performances.
Guerra was nominated in five categories and he swept them all. He walked away with Latin GRAMMY awards for Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Record of the Year, Tropical Song, and Best Merengue Album for the single and album La Llave de Mi Corazon. In addition, Guerra was honored the night before the awards as the 2007 Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year for his artistic and humanitarian efforts.
"What a great night for Juan," said Gabe Benitez, Regional Artist Relations Manager for Shure. "It was incredible that he won five awards. We were thrilled to see him get that recognition."
In addition to Guerra, a longtime Shure user, several artists performed during the evening using Shure UHF-R wireless systems with Beta 58A microphones including Pepe Aguilar, Miguel Bose with Bimba, Camila, Daddy Yankee, Shaila Durcal, and Jesse & Joy.
"One of the highlights of the night for me was watching Calle 13 perform with Orishas," added Benitez. "They performed with the Vegas Stomp cast from 'Stomp Out Loud' and it was simply amazing. They really brought down the house."
Shure endorsers Gustavo Cerati and Marcos Witt won Latin GRAMMY Awards - Cerati for Best Rock Song and Witt for Best Christian Album (Spanish Language) - and three others were nominated: Miguel Bose for Record of the Year, Album of the Year, and Best Male Pop Vocal Album; Alejandro Sanz for Album of the Year; and MANA for Best Short Form Music Video.
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Canadian Idol Finds Shure UHF-R: A Real Treasure!
Étienne St-Jacques technical quarterback behind all those performances on Canadian Idol, one of CTV's summer blockbuster shows. He is the project manager at Solotech, a Montreal-based company supplying lighting, sound and video equipment on the market since 1977. He makes sure that dozens of microphones will be in working order during all those taped rehearsals, run-thrus and live shows. There is no doubt in anybody's mind that singers, announcers, directors and technicians have to be able to communicate and perform in the most comfortable way possible in what is a very complex technical environment. Even more complex due to the large number of microphones being used and the fact that they all need to be wireless.
Étienne states "confronted with such a challenge, you start with the obvious. The thing is, most performers associate the word microphone with the name Shure. There are quite a number of singers out there that are basically expecting nothing less than an SM58 microphone when they arrive here. This suits me fine because Shure has a great tradition for quality and reliability while being able to stay one step ahead of the pack."
He adds "in this case for example, I did not hesitate to use the UHF-R wireless systems. Of course transmission was impeccable as to be expected, but even more important, I could multiply by 10 the number of available mics I could use on any given frequency band! With a show like Canadian Idol, where 40 mics is just a start, this feature alone is a godsend."
Étienne St-Jacques also mentions that the system really steps into another level when using the Wireless Workbench software. "To start with, it's real easy to download from Shure's website and then, it's user-friendly and very easy to learn. This piece of software really delivers. I can view my whole network at a glance. I can see everything from battery status to frequency harmonics. And it works for all mics, even those not manufactured by Shure. A real treasure!" He also says that when things get a bit hairy, documentation found on Shure's website is of great help "it tells a lot about the philosophy behind the UHF-R, something that my recruits need to know."
He also values, Canadian Shure distributor, SF Marketing's technical support. "I really needed a gold-plated microphone stand. I know that the guys at SF even called Germany to try and help me out. You don't get service like this everyday and it's something I really appreciate."
Once his Shure UHF-R system was set and ready to go, Étienne knew he can let his Toronto team take charge. Meanwhile, he is packing his suitcases for yet another challenge, this time in Egypt.
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Shure announced the release of Wireless Workbench Version 4.3 with improved features
Below is a listing of the new features for version 4.3:
- Wireless Workbench now supports the WiNRADiO™ model WR-G305e (which connects to the
associated PC via USB) as a scanning device. Simply select the device in the Frequency Plot tool and Frequency Compatibility Synthesis and Analysis wizards.
- New TV Station database information can now be retrieved from the Shure.com website by accessing the “Check for Updates” option on the Help menu.
- Updated firmware version 1.143 is also included, downloadable to networked UR4 devices. Improvements include optimized network data buffer for non-isolated networks, network stability when multiple PC’s are connected, increased accuracy of battery metering, and a fix for U4R Receivers with empty Name field.
These innovative and sophisticated enhancements reflect Shure’s commitment to providing sound contractors, integrators, consultants, engineers, musicians, and other
users with the highest-quality, most technologically advanced products in the market.
For more information about all the features now available and to download the latest version of Wireless Workbench Software, visit: http://www.shure.com/ProAudio/Products/WirelessMicrophones/us_pro_wirelessworkbenchdetail
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Cowboy Junkies re-create Trinity sessions with Shure Microphones
June 18, 2007 – Montreal-based production company, FogoLabs, was recently recruited to re-create the Cowboy Junkies’ recording of Trinity Session for an upcoming HD DVD almost exclusively using Shure microphones. The original album was recorded back in 1987 – for the most part in a single day – using one microphone at the Church of the Holy Trinity in Toronto. The wonderful acoustics of the church drew inspired performances from the artists involved and the recording became legendary in Canada and the rest of the world.
To celebrate the project’s 20 th anniversary, the band decided to re-create the event at the same church with somewhat of a contemporary twist. They called upon François Lamoureux and his talented team at FogoLabs to design the best way to record the new performance while keeping with the spirit of the original album. As with the original recording, there was no audience or P.A. system in the church, but this time, the band was also joined by special guests: Natalie Merchant, Ryan Adams and Vic Chestnut .
Although the Cowboy Junkies’ new recording was centered on Holophone’s H2-PRO microphone mainly for its 7.1 surround head, almost 50 Shure mics were added for more depth and definition. These included KSM9, KSM44, KSM137, KSM141, Beta 57A, Beta 58, Beta 91, Beta 98D, SM56, SM57, SM58, SM7B, SM86, SM87A, SM89 and PG56 – enough to cover the nine performers on stage.
“The band has always been sold on Shure equipment and has been using Shure mics to great effect for years,” said Lamoureux. “I believe it’s important to respect those choices although I’ve been a regular Shure user myself. And, I like to use these mics where some people don’t expect to see them. On this project for example, omni KSM141s set for quad ambiance sounded beautiful and real smooth, KSM9s did great on Fender Princeton guitar amps, SM89s captured stage dialogue perfectly, and the PG56 added a real nice color to Vic Chestnut’s acoustic guitar.”
And how does the band feel about all of this as the new Trinity Session is gearing up for post-production in a few weeks?
Well, I’ll tell you,” said Lamoureux, “I’ve just received an e-mail from the band’s rep and it reads: ‘I can tell from this rough board mix that the sound is going to be just great.”
FogoLabs was founded in 2000 by François Lamoureux when he was hired to mix a 5.1 surround DVD for Willie Nelson. After noticing that the visuals weren’t up to par, he inherited the video portion of the project. From there, François and FogoLabs went from one DVD project to another earning a fair share of awards along the way. These include: 2006 Juno Award for Best Music Video of the Year for “That Night in Toronto” by the Tragically Hip, DVDA 2005 Music Video Excellence Award for “A Love Supreme” by Branford Marsalis, and 2001 Yahoo Best Online Music Event Award for “Music From Lifehouse” by Pete Townshend, to name a few.
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Shure UHF-R Wireless Tames SuperBowl XLI
February 5, 2007—The Cirque du Soleil took the field by storm during Super Bowl XLI's pregame festivities, riveting those in attendance as well as an estimated 141 million viewers tuned to CBS with a big, splashy show of music, dance, gymnastics, and circus acts accented by the visual art of Miami artist Romero Britto. Behind-the-scenes at Dolphin Stadium, Professional Wireless Systems founder James Stoffo returned for his 11th Super Sunday to choreograph an infallible RF blueprint using 14 channels of Shure UHF-R wireless as well as a supporting cast of PSM 700 in-ear personal monitoring systems.
"The big show for RF mics this year was definitely pregame," notes Stoffo, who made the trip from his base of operations in Portland, OR down to the southern tip of the Florida peninsula for this year's mother of all pigskin showdowns. "UHF-R systems with SM58A-equipped transmitters were used for vocalist Anane, who accompanied Louie Vega and his Elements of Life Orchestra, as well as special guest performer Gloria Estefan. Spread among the Cirque performers on the field, UHF-R bodypacks were the order of the day using WH20 headset mics also supplied by Shure, as well as the company's WLM-50 subminiature lavalier mics. We miced two groups of percussionists with SM98s. Billy Joel sang the national anthem using a hardwired SM58, and monitoring across the board—as needed—was supplied by wireless Shure PSM 700 systems."
Faced with over 1500 competing wireless devices on the field, Stoffo relied upon helical antennas to help cut through the clutter. Beyond the buzzing hive of potential interference coming from within Dolphin Stadium, external threats to his plan loomed large in the form of local high-powered digital and analog television transmitters.
"I did my first sweep in here a couple of months ago," Stoffo relates, "and quickly discovered that we were within easy eyesight of a huge antenna farm shared by Miami and Ft. Lauderdale TV stations. The resulting RF noise floor is probably the worst I've seen anywhere, and on any show I've ever done."
Stoffo found Shure's UHF-R wireless advantageous for the assignment for a number of reasons. "I absolutely needed its 60 MHz bandwidth potential to pull and pick my frequencies from," he contends. "With back-to-back DTV signals bombarding the stadium, as much as 30 MHz of the spectrum was unusable at any given moment. With UHF-R, I always had 30 MHz of clean space to hop to."
Equally important was UHF-R's transmitter power output, which, when switched into high-power mode, offered 100-milliwatt performance. "Anyone wearing a bodypack was switched to high-power," Stoffo adds. "Because this was a very bodypack intensive show with lots of lavs and headset mics, we needed that extra push. Unlike a handheld transmitter, a bodypack places its antenna right up against the body. That absorbs a tremendous amount of transmitting energy right out of the gate. Having the ability to transcend normal output strengths was a godsend in this environment."
Stoffo first beta-tested UHF-R two years ago at Super Bowl XXXIX. At last year's game, he used 20 UHF-R channels for both pregame and halftime shows, including a performance by the Rolling Stones
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Canadian Idol and the UHF-R: Always A Winner!
By Gilles Valiquette
Toronto-based P.A. PLUS supplies leading-edge audio systems designed and packaged to satisfy an extremely diverse clientele. Since 1980, the company has developed a well-established reputation for detailed and rational planning as well as insightful site management in addition to exceptional professional technical support.
Mark Radu, systems engineer at P.A. PLUS, has built a reputation with the firm’s clients as "someone who goes the extra mile." Mark is also a key player in the design build and maintenance of P.A. PLUS’ systems. For some years now, he’s been involved with the blockbuster Canadian Idol weekly TV show broadcasted by the CTV network.
When it came time to select working tools that would deliver in the show’s fast-paced context, the UHF-R Wireless Microphone System was on top of the list this year. Mark knew from the start that Shure equipment would be rugged, reliable and able to offer outstanding audio clarity. Still, he tested the system in smaller broadcast projects to see how it would do in real live situations.
When Canadian Idol 2006 came along, Mark was confident that the UHF-R Wireless Microphone System could handle the 114 frequencies needed to get the show off the ground. The system was easy to set up and operate from the start, which was essential in view of the number and variety of participants, from hand-held stage mics, walkie-talkies to numerous parallel networks. Under the guidance of John Christie at RPdynamics, everything was networked and programmed using Shure’s Wireless Workbench PC software with user presets available at the touch of a button.
The UHF-R’s Interface Lock feature was really useful in making sure users could not change settings and end up with surprises during performance. Mark comments, “The sheer quality of this high end product, its flexibility in terms of capsules for example, and the system’s ability to program itself did the trick for us. We’ve been on this for more than 10 weeks now and there’s not a snag in sight. Everybody’s smiling.”
No matter which candidate got the votes, the UHF-R Wireless Microphone System ends up a clear winner.
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