NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE: As a musician, composer, arranger, and producer, Jack
Hale has had a long and illustrious career. He has recently been involved in
a variety of musical productions scheduled for release during this year that
have benefited from his use of Metric Halo's powerful ChannelStrip and
SpectraFoo plug-ins.
Prominent among Hale's recent projects is a new album from Seals & Crofts,
the first in over twenty years from the duo. Jim Seals and Dash Crofts were
one of the most successful soft-rock acts of the 1970s and enjoyed a string
of hit records, including "Summer Breeze" which can be heard in a
newly
remixed version on the current Gap television advertising campaign.
According to Hale, Metric Halo's plug-ins were indispensable on the new
album project, which is entitled "Traces." He explains, "I record
basically
'flat.' I use microphone and preamp selection to get the sound that I want
in the original tracking, whether instruments or vocals. Of course, when you
mix, that's when you run into clashing frequencies, level problems of
certain harmonics, etc. That's when I would go to ChannelStrip."
Metric Halo's ChannelStrip is a console-style channel strip that provides
critical DSP mixing functionality for digital audio workstations, and played
a major role on the album project, he reports. "I used ChannelStrip to
EQ
most instruments and clean up the drum tracks. On 'The Euphrates,' I used
some radical settings to reproduce Jim's three vocal parts, which are all
independent of each other. With Dash's vocal, I used just a small amount of
compression at mix down."
In the end, he says, the DSP plug-in proved effective on nearly every track.
"ChannelStrip sounds superb on just about anything. Even with the large
array of plug-ins at my disposal I still find a vast amount of tracks with
ChannelStrip inserted."
SpectraFoo, Metric Halo's world-class signal metering and analysis software
package, is another essential tool for critical mixing and mastering applications,
and is a great sonic tool kit, comments Hale. "Once you are familiar with
its functions you will wonder how you recorded without it. I find it very useful
for checking unfamiliar control rooms, phasing problems, and more."
Multi-talented Jack Hale (musician, composer, arranger, & producer) used
Metric Halo's Channel Strip and SpectraFoo plug-ins on the recent Seals &
Crofts release "Traces."
The program is useful for every aspect of a project, not just tracking and
mixing. "I used it to check my three sets of playback monitors and was
amazed at seeing what I was hearing. I also used SpectraFoo to check phasing
problems and look at the sonic spectrum while mastering." Hale reveals
that
he is a longtime user of Metric Halo's software products. "I was one of
the
original beta testers for ChannelStrip and SpectraFoo. I knew some
background on the company and knew the product line would be excellent.
ChannelStrip sounds superb, which for me is always more important than the
GUI." But the graphic interface is equally superb, he adds, and very
intuitive. "It's so straightforward in its operation that you can use it
before you even read the manual."
Furthermore, the company stands firmly behind its products and values its
customers. "Metric Halo has an excellent product line, which is backed
by
great technical support. They also place a high priority on customer
satisfaction, which is important to anyone in this business, Hale
concludes."
A former member of the renowned Memphis Horns who has played with a
veritable who's who of R&B, soul and rock artists during his career, Hale's
primary instrument was trumpet, but he also plays trombone, french horn,
harmonica and keyboards. His first number one single, at the age of 20, was
Al Green's "Full of Fire" recorded by the legendary Memphis-based
producer
Willie Mitchell. Hale, who became Johnny Cash's musical director at age 25,
has also worked with composer John Williams and several symphony orchestras,
and for six years was chairman of the Composition/Arranging Committee for
the Nashville Chapter of NARAS.
Metric Halo provides the world with high-resolution metering, analysis,
recording and processing solutions with award-winning software and hardware.
As a proven industry leader, Metric Halo has developed a product line so
powerful and versatile, its applications range from live sound
reinforcement, CD/DVD mixing and mastering, film and broadcast production to
forensic science, airline safety investigation, medical research, and
designing the next generation Ferrari and BMW automobiles.
TransAudio Group, founded by industry
veteran Brad Lunde, has quickly become the premier U.S. importer/distributor
and/or U.S. sales and marketing representative for high-end audio. Success hinges
on Transamerica providing dealers and end users with a higher standard of product
expertise and support far beyond the norm. TransAudio Group's product lines
include A Designs (USA), AEA (USA), Apex (Belgium), ATC (UK), Brauner (Germany),
Daking (USA), Drawmer (UK), George Massenburg Labs (USA), Metric Halo (USA),
Mission Pro (UK), Soundelux (USA), SoundField (UK), and Z-Systems (USA).
www.mhlabs.com
www.transaudiogroup.com
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