Reinforcing TV Sound by Kathleen Murphy New York City- Sessions At West 54th, the eclectic PBS concert show, has just wrapped up taping its third run of shows for its second season at Manhattan-based Sony Music Studios. With rigid schedules and a diverse array of artists covering all musical genres, the production team at Sony has faced a myriad of challenges in bringing the unique show to fruition. Taped in front of a live audience, the sound reinforcement crew took extreme measures to ensure that the artists were comfortable, that the audience enjoyed good performances and that the recording engineers were able do their job seamlessly. Keeping everything sounding as clean as possible was the number-one prioriy for Ira Malek, front-of-house engineer during this season's first run of tapings (Kevin Hartmann handled FOH for the second and third taping runs). "My objective is to do enough reinforcement so that the audience gets a feel for the music, but not so much to over- power the recording process," allowed Malek Having previously handled FOH for artists like Anita Baker and Boz Scaggs, Malek, who used a Midas XL3 console, said he found reinforcing sound for TV more challenging. "During a TV taping, there are certain rules and limitations because of the recording process. You can't have things like feedback happen because then you have to stop the taping and start over. Retakes can be a major setback.". Malek kept the effects light: "The rack of toys and dynamics I had was more than adequate for the artists that were playing. I try to be subtle on the effects. Thom Cadley, the recording engineer, has many room mics placed strategically around the room and if I used too much delay or reverb, it would probably burn onto some of his mics and affect the mix. I used mostly generic Lexicon reverbs, but on one band, Los Amigos Invisibles, I used a delay for a tag on a song. It was used very discreetly, and it sounded great. I do a mix of everybody with the vocals on top or in front." Monitor engineer Keith Carroll noted, "We do a full camera blocking for all of the music that has been selected for the show and in that time frame, we are also doing a full soundcheck, so by the time the show actually goes to tape, we are very dialed in." The same equipment is used by most of the bands, with the exception of a few acts that bring in their own monitor systems. The PA remains fixed as well庸lown approximately 20 feet above the performers is a house rig of Meyer UPA1A speakers and 650 subs. "Some acts ask if they can bring in their own PA, but it is not allowed because we have our parameters fairly defined so that everything is recorded properly," explained Malek.

When artists/bands are not using personal monitor systems, Carroll is given a stage plot for the monitor wedges. The setup consists of several MSI boxes powered by Crest amplifiers on the lows and Bryston amps on the highs. "Each band has its own setup," reported Carroll. "Generally you'll get a touring plot of where they need the monitors placed. Then the show will try to change them around and make it camera-friendly."

Also working behind an XL3, Carroll monitored each show, keeping in mind that the producers were trying to capture a recording studio vibe. "Because it is going to tape, I try to keep the stage levels down as much as possible so I don't color the recording. Overall, the artists have all been very down-to-earth and pliable in terms of making it work, especially for certain bands that are used to having their own engineers doing the mix. It is really important that they feel comfortable on stage, and I play a pretty big role in making sure they are and that their performance looks and sounds natural on tape. "

With artists ranging from acid-jazz trio Medeski, Martin & Wood to rock icon Lou Reed to the soulful Angelique Kidjo, from Benin, West Africa, Sessions At West 54th has been a successful and inspiring experience for everyone involved. "The crew at Sony was fabulous. I had a tremendous team working with me," Malek remarked. "It has been an incredible collaboration of very creative and talented people."