The bands Fridge, Tanya Markova, Frio and the Bloomfields put to a torture test the equipment at Studio One of TribuneNOW.

Tag-team Owen Formento (standing) and Dave Cruz. All photos by: John Henry Dodson

The most expensive and technologically advanced cameras cannot guarantee great pictures. The same holds true for most pieces of gear or equipment that are only as good as the people who use them.

It is against this philosophy that TechTalk takes a look at the assorted audio and video equipment which TribuneNOW cobbled up to produce the Friday Mixer show which had its pilot jam session on 27 September top-billing CHNDTR and Noel Milan.

M-TRACK plus outs 96khz 24-bit resolution

With the show (on-air on Fridays starting 6 p.m. on Youtube channel @TribuneNOW) gaining instant traction among music fans, four name bands trooped to the Daily Tribune the following Saturday to record their songs “live.”

From 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. of 28 September, the bands Fridge, Tanya Markova, Frio and the Bloomfields came and put to a veritable torture test the equipment at Studio One of TribuneNOW with no major hiccup.

Passing the 14-hour session with flying colors were the all-Alto branded Live 1604 Mixer, EQ 231 and TS 312 powered speakers serving as band monitors. The Sennheiser E835 dynamic microphones for vocals were exquisite while the Audio-Technica AT 2021 served as room ambience pick-up.

The Alesis Surge mesh electronic drum kit was the latest addition just in time for Friday Mixer flying off from where Monday Mixer left off after shows by bands like the Pub Forties, Oh Titos, Ken, Caminos and the J-Project.

Hosa Tech DI or direct injection boxes and cabling by SureLock completed the interface between the musicians with their instruments and the mixing board. Monitoring was through an Audio-Technica ATH-M50X.

“The hallmark of good vocal microphones is their ability to capture the nuances of a performance without the need for aggressive mixing board intervention,” said Cruz in hailing the quality of the E835 mics priced at about P8,000 each.

The sturdy Hercules mic stands held up to dynamic band action thus justifying their being pricey.

The M-Audio M-Track Plus gets the analog main mix of the Live 1604, digitizes the same and feeds a 96-khz, 24-bit stream to a 27-inch, six-core Imac running an OBS (open broadcasting system).

The input via HDMI to USB converter included both video and audio thus synching was a non-issue. Nonetheless, latency or a microsecond delay in audio is always a problem in synchronizing video considering the processing audio has to go through.

Ensuring that video and audio share the same pace, therefore, is a matter that rests on the shoulder of video editor David John Cubangbang and yours truly as assistant director to Friday Mixer host, director and show producer Owen Formento.

Sony A7S-II units handle video capture while a Panasonic AG-AC30 video camera is used for off-studio interviews and B-rolls.

The equipment cited may be Spartan but they have proven their mettle used by people who know how to squeeze every bit of performance from them.

Friday Mixer, after all, is letting the artists to just play and have fun and to let their performances come through with the least processing in order to capture the “live” feel.

Friday Mixer will soon have a music technology twin show, with a working title Behind The Machine, in which Owen Formento would invite the who’s who among music makers to talk about their instruments and gears.

“As envisioned, BTM is a tech music online show that would focus on gadgets that help musical artists craft their masterpieces,” Formento said.

“It is a review and hands-on test on the newest musical products and services discussed by musicians, sound engineers and audio industry experts,” he added.

Next to record for Friday Mixer are Acel, Wuds, Brownman Revival, Four Sikatuna and Orange and Lemons for October. Catch all the shows every Fridays, starting at 6 p.m.