The principal of Sunrise Engineering and Design, Tim Spencer, has decades of diverse experience in design, development, integration and manufacturing of complex hardware and software systems. While employed at Burr Brown (now part of Texas Instruments), he was responsible for design and development of various amplifier products as well as analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog conversion devices - and Burr Brown’s very first microcircuit power operational amplifiers. While employed by a major aerospace corporation, he worked in various engineering and management positions involving design and implementation of automated production test systems, manufacturing technology, and information technology systems. Mr. Spencer’s lifelong interests in music and recording technology led him, in 1998, to form his own engineering company and introduce the first TRUE Systems microphone preamplifier product.

A Pedigree of Precision: The True Systems Lineage

Following the launch of the initial Precision 8, True Systems quickly became a benchmark for high-fidelity recording. While other manufacturers focused on adding "color" or distortion, Tim Spencer’s designs were celebrated for their extraordinary headroom, ultra-low noise floor, and an uncanny ability to capture the pure, unadulterated detail of a performance. This uncompromising pursuit of sonic honesty earned True Systems a permanent home in the racks of prestigious scoring stages, broadcast facilities, and elite recording studios worldwide. From the flagship multi-channel preamps to the iconic, portable P-Solo, the product line garnered numerous industry accolades and became a trusted secret weapon for engineers who demanded absolute fidelity. Today, this legacy of precision engineering serves as the foundation for our new collaborative efforts, bridging decades of analog excellence with modern innovation.

From the Archives: The True Systems Story

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"It's all about standing on the front line of where music is today and capturing the band's true sound with TRUE mic pres."

"It's all about standing on the front line of where music is today and capturing the band's true sound with TRUE mic pres."

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS: Chris Shepard, studio manager for Chicago RecordingCompany, has captured some of the largest music festivals of 2005 with his remote studio. "This year we've recorded stages at Bonnaroo, Austin City Limits, and Vegoose." Shepard's own remote recording rig features 48 channels of TRUE Systems preamps straight to Pro Tools|HD and Radar 24s for backup."We're not only multi-tracking the shows, we're mixing them live for video and web-cast!"TRUE Systems preamps outperform any of the competition, he believes. "I'm sold on these things. For the cost you can't beat them. I like the sound when you really gain them up; that sound when you really turn something up loud and it's not just loud, it has gain to it. So I ride them as hot as I can before clip. I really like them."Chicago Recording Company has also installed TRUE Systems microphone preamps in several of it's 'thirteen and growing' world class studios. "Many of the engineers have also purchased these pres once they've had a chance to use them," says Shepard. "When we were doing some of the Coldplay record here at CRC, I turned the production team on to them and they loved them."The Elvis Costello recording sessions for the "The Delivery Man" CD made extensive use of his TRUE Systems analog mic preamps, says Shepard, whose seven-case fly-pack goes wherever he goes. Costello's album of southern soul and country-tinged songs was recorded very quickly in Oxford, Mississippi at producer Dennis Herring's Sweet Tea Studio. It also includes a bonus five-track disc recorded at Delta Recording Studio in Clarksdale, Mississippi. "The single, 'Monkey to Man' was recorded in Clarksdale,"recalls Shepard. "I think we recorded the whole thing with eight microphones, and it ended up being the single."Shepard's TRUE Systems preamps were also part of the gear arsenal used for tracking and mixing Costello's Grammy nominated DVD, "Club Date Live In Memphis" with band mates Steve Nieve on keys, bass player Davey Faragher and drummer Pete Thomas. The 5.1 surround mix was done later in studio 5 at CRC.The mobile studio setup, a remote complement to Chicago Recording Company, has allowed Shepard to offer recordings and production services wherever the artists' whims take them, including some pretty unconventional locations. The TRUE preamps ensure top-quality productions regardless of location, says Shepard. "It's all about standing on the front line of where music is today and being able capture the bands TRUE sound."The Precision 8 was designed and built by Sunrise Engineering, a design and build manufacturer located in Tucson, Arizona. Neumann distributed TRUE Systems in the U.S.Neumann's award-winning line of microphones has set the standard in the industry since 1928. In 1999, Neumann received the prestigious Technical Grammy(r) for their 70 years of innovation in microphone design and contribution to the music industry. A continuing commitment to provide innovative, technically refined products and engineering solutions of proven quality ensures that Neumann's stature will remain unassailable.

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CAJUN BAND, L'ANGELUS, DISCOVERED TRUE PRECISION 8

CAJUN BAND, L'ANGELUS, DISCOVERED TRUE PRECISION 8

L'Angelus, a family band from Louisiana, wrote and performed Cajun music with intelligence, spirit, and skill that would be remarkable even in a band twice their age. Managed by father John Rees and mother Linda, L'Angelus is comprised of their four children: Katie on guitar, Paige on bass, John on drums, and Stephen on saxophone, fiddle, harmonica, pennywhistle and mandolin. In addition to a well-received studio album, the band maintained an ambitious schedule of live shows that grew by word of mouth. Since L'Angelus never failed to captivate an audience, they decided to record their second CD on the road with the help of a TRUE Systems Precision 8 mic preamp and the effortless musicianship and spontaneity that develops after playing shows back-to-back for weeks on end.Because the band had so long ago fine-tuned their live sound, their setup was relatively simple. The trick was getting that sound into a recently-purchased Alesis HD24. On the recommendation of four-time Grammy winning engineer Tony Daigle, who was slated to mix the project, John and Katie (the "recording engineer" and "ears" of the operation, respectively) investigated high-end, but still affordable preamps. Given that the preamp would travel, the duo were attracted to the Precision 8, which delivers eight channels of crystal-clear preamplification with an astoundingly flat frequency response spanning 1.5Hz to 500kHz in a single rack space."After trying a number of different microphone/preamp combinations, we quickly came to the realization that the preamp was making more of a difference than the mic," commented John, who, prior to devoting all his energies to the band, had been a corporate pilot. "Despite my 52 year-old cockpit-damaged ears, there's a clear difference with the Precision 8."His 23 year-old daughter elaborated: "When we added the Precision 8 to the rack, we immediately noticed a clarity and fullness that had not been there before. The recordings sounded less like recordings and more like us just playing together in the living room."For his part, Daigle, a dyed-in-the-wool studio engineer, was skeptical about how successful the L'Angelus live recording project would be. Daigle won three of his Grammys for work with B. B. King and his fourth for work with Beausoleil. Beyond that, the veteran engineer has worked with Junior Wells, Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler, and many other legendary musicians. Daigle warmed up to the project after hearing some of the early recordings. "Beyond the fact that those kids are obviously at their best on stage, the recording really benefited from the TRUE Systems Precision 8," Daigle commented. "It has a nice bottom-end and is perfectly transparent through the top. I was able to use the unit at their house a few times and thought it was fun work with. It's got a durability to it - those knobs are solid!"Over the course of the project, the band got tighter and tighter and the recordings got better and better. When they were finally satisfied, the family scrutinized their many hours of recordings to pick the best performances for Daigle to mix. After being finished, "Live From The Dance" sold at a brisk pace online and wherever the band played.

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GRAMMY NOMINEE MARC FULLER STEPS UP TO TRUE PRECISION 8 MIC PRE

GRAMMY NOMINEE MARC FULLER STEPS UP TO TRUE PRECISION 8 MIC PRE

ARGYLE, NEW YORK: Recording engineer Marc Fuller, owner of Edie Road Studios, enjoyed his moment in the limelight when he received a Grammy nomination for a track that he recorded for producer-turned-artist Kanye West's multi-platinum debut, "College Dropout." Now Fuller is parlaying that exposure into an equipment upgrade at the studio with the installation of a TRUE Systems Precision 8 transformerless, eight-channel microphone preamplifier. "It's very transparent sounding and very accurate," says Fuller. "It's an excellent piece of equipment." Having used it on a drum tracking session, he's eager to try it out on other instruments, he says. "I want to run bass through it, and vocals. I'll get to that. First, I'm taking it to a very large church to do a mobile recording of a very nice concert Steinway and a pipe organ. The Precision 8 is the only mic pre that I'm taking to do the recording." Situated in the foothills of the Adirondacks in upstate New York, Edie Road Studios - formerly known as Sweetfish Studios - was designed by the Walters-Storyk Design Group. The studio, previously owned by Rees Shad, and originally home to the Sweetfish Records label, has produced records by a diverse client list that includes Mavis Staples and Mercury Rev. The Grammy nod came about as the result of a longstanding relationship with the Boys Choir of Harlem, who performed on West's album, Fuller explains. "They do a big outdoor concert every year nearby at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, and Skidmore College puts them up. Years ago, by chance, they had to do a recording session quickly. I'm the only studio in the area that can house 26 kids. We worked really well together, and they just kept coming back." Back in 2002, Fuller continues, he got a phone call from West, who booked the studio to record the boys for his album project while they were in the area. "He came up with guide tracks in Pro Tools and flew them into my rig, then recorded choir parts on a bunch of different songs. A lot of the songs changed later, but he used everything we did in the studio on 'Two Words.'" On some projects, notes Fuller, "If you have a small role on an album you can get left out, but he gave me a tremendous credit - I got a credit and the studio got a credit. He hooked me up!" As a result, Fuller received a Grammy certificate and medallion for his contribution to a nominated Album of the Year. West's "College Dropout" received a total of ten nominations for the 2004 Grammy Awards. The Precision 8 was designed and built by Sunrise Engineering, a design and build manufacturer located in Tucson, Arizona. Neumann distributed TRUE Systems in the U.S. Neumann's award-winning line of microphones has set the standard in the industry since 1928. In 1999, Neumann received the prestigious Technical Grammy(r) for their 70 years of innovation in microphone design and contribution to the music industry. A continuing commitment to provide innovative, technically refined products and engineering solutions of proven quality ensures that Neumann's stature will remain unassailable.

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Grammy Award-Winning Engineer, Rob Griffin, Finds True Recording Precision

Grammy Award-Winning Engineer, Rob Griffin, Finds True Recording Precision

OLD LYME, CONNECTICUT: Recording engineer Rob Griffin's background as a professional acoustic musician prepared him to specialize in acoustic instrumentation recording where purity of sound and recording quality are high on the list of desired production values. One of Griffin's favorite personal memories and recordings was with guitarist Michael Hedges and the 1997 Grammy-winner "Oracle" on Windham Hill Records. "Since then I work almost exclusively in Jazz and I'm very fortunate to work with some of the greatest guys on the planet with Wayne Shorter at the top of my list of clients. I do all of Wayne's tour sound and studio recordings as well as mix live and in the studio. As for some of my other clients, this year I was fortunate to win a Grammy for Best Instrumental Jazz Recording this year for "Directions In Music" by Herbie Hancock, Michael Brecker, and Roy Hargrove," says Griffin. "The majority of my record work at the moment is live recording. All of Wayne Shorter's Quartet performances are now recorded. I feel as though I am recording history. And that was my main reason for looking into the True Systems Precision 8 mic pre-amps. I wanted world-class, multiple channel pre-amps that sounded great and were rugged enough to hold up on the road. The compact P8 is an extremely well made and stable piece of gear. I've never had any chassis bending, knob problems or any other things go wrong - and we keep crazy schedules with flying everyday all over the world," says Griffin. The P8's one rack space size, with all controls and metering on the front panel, factored into Griffin's decision. "I severely needed to trim and slim my gear load since it gets ridiculous to travel with excessive amounts of equipment. But most importantly I needed to still maintain the highest possible sound quality. I like the P8s because, unlike a lot of transistor mic pre-amps, they don't accentuate or have any 'bumps' in response. They really don't have a 'sound' of their own. They're just extremely smooth. I also no longer feel the need to use or match different pre-amps with certain microphones. I'm happy with this pre-amp for all my mics," explains Griffin. For recording Wayne's quartet, Griffin has two Precision 8 units in two rack spaces for a total of 16 channels. He records to a Tascam MX-2424 at 24-bit directly connected to the P8s. Griffin elaborates: "I use them as the front end - like a mic splitter - for the concert's whole sound system. The MX-2424 connects with DB25 connectors and the other XLR outputs go directly to the monitor and FOH mixer at line level. It's incredible the difference in quality of the whole sound system by putting this level of mic preamps on the front end." The True Systems Precision 8 has eight channels of transformerless mic preamps each with five-segment level indicators and a selectable peak-hold feature. Two channels are fitted with direct instrument inputs while channels one and two also function as a dedicated M/S (mid/side) stereo pair with the touch of single button. Designed for use with today's modular digital multi-track units and hard disc recording systems, the Precision 8 easily connects to TASCAM or Mackie digital products via a DB25 connector.The Precision 8's low noise floor allows Griffin to use certain microphones on his live recordings that he normally reserves for studio work only. "These pres are so quiet that I can use ribbon mics on the piano," he continues. "This application requires a lot of gain and most other pre-amps are too noisy. I always use the P8's M/S feature for piano recording and I split the side mic to another channel for convenience in live mixing. The P8's peak hold function metering comes in handy in live recording as it's virtually impossible to monitor the meters constantly." Griffin is very excited about the performances he is capturing from Wayne Shorter's group with the Precision 8 pre-amps. He goes on to say: "We're working on a new Wayne Shorter live record. The last record, "Footprints Live," was extremely successful - it won numerous awards including the New York Times Record of the Year.This new recording strives to be even better. We've recorded in the some of the finest concert halls in the world including Amsterdam's Concertgebouw and Vienna's Konzerthaus. Yet, musically and sonically, the differences between "Footprints" and this one are incredible. I credit it all to the P8." The Precision 8 was designed and built by Sunrise Engineering, a design and build manufacturer located in Tucson, Arizona. Neumann distributed True Systems in the USA. Neumann's award-winning line of microphones has set the standard in the industry since 1928. In 1999, Neumann received the prestigious Technical Grammy(r) for their 70 years of innovation in microphone design and contribution to the music industry. A continuing commitment to provide innovative, technically refined products and engineering solutions of proven quality ensures that Neumann's stature will remain unassailable.

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JIMMY KIMMEL SHOW GETS TRUE

JIMMY KIMMEL SHOW GETS TRUE

HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - Less is more in broadcast audio, where the pressures associated with getting a daily show on the air make a simplified signal path almost a prerequisite for the task. Veteran broadcast mixer Bart Chiate has taken that philosophy to heart, installing 40 inputs of True Systems Precision 8 microphone preamplifiers in place of mixing console channels to streamline the recording path for live-to-tape music production on the Jimmy Kimmel Show on ABC.“They’re the microphone preamps for the house band,” explains Chiate, who has worked in broadcast for many years, as well as music recording. “My setup is three cascaded Yamaha 02R-96V2s.” Chiate originally specified five consoles, he says, but, happily, Kimmel Show audio technician Dave Zeller suggested using the digital console setup’s routing scene capabilities, replacing two entire desks with just five rack spaces of True 8-channel mic preamps.Paul Sandweiss, another veteran mixer, and his Sound Design Corporation, installed the audio system in Chiate’s control room at the El Capitan Entertainment Center, a former Masonic Temple at which the Jimmy Kimmel Show is produced Monday through Thursday. In fact, it was Sandweiss who first introduced Chiate to the True Systems mic preamps. “There’s a classical festival that I have recorded for 10 years, the Bellingham Festival of Music, near Seattle, and I borrowed one of the Trues when I needed more mic pres,” Chiate recalls. “I was quite taken with it,” he continues. “For me, the real test is the classical stuff. They sound terrific. They’re great, and I love them.” The True Precision 8 units are only used for the house band, reports Chiate, who is also typically mixing guest artists on any one of three performances areas: the theater lobby, a stage thrust or an outdoor parking lot. “If I could use the Trues on the guest band I would. But because of space considerations they are in a rack on my lower left, so I decided to use them on the house band, because that doesn’t change very much. Once in a while there’s a little tweak. But with the guest bands it’s guerrilla warfare, so I went with the onboard console mic pres.”Elaborating on the routing setup at the Kimmel Show, he says, “I do both house band and guest band off the same console, off 48 channels. I can take the onboard mic pres, which I use for the guest band, or the True preamps, which are routed to analog cards, and route them through another routing scene to my recording chain.”Chiate explains, “The way the routing scenes work, the 02Rs output 48 channels of 24 bit/48k AES into six Nuendo DDA8 format converters. Those output AES, which is returned via TDIF to the console, which then sends to an AMD Dual Opteron server running Nuendo 3.0, and outputs TDIF to 48 channels of Tascam DA-78 24-bit recorders. I run the tape as a backup; the Nuendo is my primary record/playback source. So everything is 24-bit/48kHz.”The routing scenes and setup gives Chiate the flexibility he needs in the high-pressure lead-up to the broadcast. “I’m sending a pre-fader, pre-processed microphone signal to my record devices and I mix on the return side. If the production is behind schedule we can dive in, do a camera block, I record it, and then when the pressure is off I can spin back and tweak, remix or set effects.”On a daily basis the Kimmel Show might be hosting artists as diverse as Slipknot, Erasure, Paul Vassar or Blue Merge. But as Chiate admits, his heart is elsewhere, with the festival in the Pacific Northwest, where he has recorded for the last decade. “If I could make a living doing that I would, but there’s not a great deal of money in it. It’s a labor of love; I go up in my vacation, because I love classical music.”

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Lee Groitzsch Gets True for New Ricky Scaggs Release

Lee Groitzsch Gets True for New Ricky Scaggs Release

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - APRIL 2008: With thirteen Grammy Awards, eleven International Bluegrass Music Association Awards, seven Country Music Association Awards, and the unfaltering respect of Bluegrass musicians and devotees everywhere, it is no stretch to suggest that Ricky Skaggs is an icon and legend in his own time. Long-time Skaggs Family Records recording engineer and studio manager Lee Groitzsch can take much of the credit for properly capturing and conveying the virtuosic performances of Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder, as well as of the other amazing bands that call the Skaggs Family Record label their home.Since all of the music Groitzsch records is acoustic and the vast majority is strings, the engineer has collected an impressive array of new and vintage ribbon microphones that spend most of their time up and in use. Despite this, Groitzsch felt plagued by noise generated from the unreasonably high gain needed by the ribbons on conventional high-end mic pres. Recently, the studio's acquisition of a TRUE Precision P-SOLO Ribbon mic pre put the kibosh on the noise, an end to his frustration, and helped capture some of our better stringed instrument sounds.Back before condensers, when ribbons were the only high-end type of mic, preamps were ohm-matched to particular ribbons," said Groitzsch. "Modern preamps generally have lower impedance suitable for condensers, but they can cause the ribbon's signal noise to be hard to deal with in quiet sections of music. That's what was difficult to work around."Because the TRUE Systems P-SOLO Ribbon has very high input impedance, it optimizes the signal-to-noise ratio of ribbons - and dynamics for that matter. In addition, it offers no phantom power, which is unnecessary and potentially damaging to ribbons. Groitzsch demo'd a P-SOLO Ribbon and was instantly relieved to hear the warm personalities of his RCA 44, RCA 77, Royer R121, and Coles Ribbon without all the noise that had previously attended them. "We cut a few instruments and a check," he laughed.The TRUE Systems P-SOLO Ribbon has been used throughout the two projects that Groitzsch has worked on since its acquisition: Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder's "Honoring the Fathers of Bluegrass" (Skaggs Family Records) and a yet unreleased acoustic re-cuts of some of Skagg's hits for Cracker Barrel Records. "I've been here eight years now and we're getting better and better sounds as we get new tools," he said. "Moreover, it's not just me, the comments haven't been solicited. We didn't tell the banjo player Jim Mills that we were doing anything different, but when he heard his playback, he was blown away. It was the best banjo sound he had heard on himself in a while!"In addition to flattering mic preamplification, the P-SOLO Ribbon, like all TRUE Systems preamps, includes a high-end direct input (DI). Groitzsch now uses it regularly to record electric bass. "It sounds great as a DI," he enthused. "The sonic quality is impressive."Although the P-SOLO Ribbon hasn't completely replaced the studio's armada of high-end, multi-thousand dollar mic pres, Groitzsch emphasized that when he goes with something else, the differences are minute and nuanced. "So basically," he says, "the P-SOLO Ribbon, which comes in at well under $700.00, is performing at a level that's comparable to mic pres that cost five times as much. That makes it an excellent candidate for studios or musicians that use ribbons and can't afford to have a lot of preamps. The value-for-money of the P-SOLO Ribbon is unrivaled!"TRUE Systems, Tucson, Arizona designed, engineered and manufactured high-value, high-end professional audio products at reasonable prices for the domestic and international marketplace. Tim Spencer is the principal designer and engineering force behind the company. Tim has been with TRUE Systems since it's inception in 1997. The U.S. built line included the SOLO series, the P2 Analog and Precision 8 multi-channel mic preamps.

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New World Symphony Records Concert with Yo-Yo Ma

New World Symphony Records Concert with Yo-Yo Ma

The New World Symphony serves as an academy that bridges the gap between a music student's master’s degree and gainful employment in a professional orchestra.Once, cellist Yo-Yo Ma joined the Symphony at the Carnival Center's Knight Concert Hall in Miami, Florida, to perform works by the Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich under the leadership of conductor Michael Tilson Thomas. The Symphony also supports aspiring recording engineers, and Audio Engineering Recording Fellow Gene Gerhiser was on hand to capture that performance in Pro Tools. Gerhiser tests new gear with an eye toward outfitting the program's new $200 million building with top-flight recording equipment. For the Yo-Yo Ma concert, he tested TRUE Systems’ 8-channel Precision 8 mic preamp. "The Precision 8 has dual outputs, which allowed me to easily record a primary to Pro Tools and a backup to digital tape," Gerhiser reports. Gerhiser recorded the concert with two Schoeps MK4 capsules on CMC 6 bodies in an ORTF configuration about eight feet in front and 10 feet above the orchestra. He supplemented those with two Schoeps omnis about 15 feet from the middle on either side and a pair of Neumann SKM 140s in an X/Y configuration on the woodwinds. All six microphones went through the Precision 8."The sound quality of the TRUE Systems Precision 8 was excellent, especially in conjunction with the Schoeps microphones,” Gerhiser says. “They were clean, crisp, and pristine in the 2kHz to 10kHz range and captured the ambience and vibe of the Carnival Center beautifully." 

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TRUE PRECISION FOR THE BLUE DEVILS DRUM CORP

TRUE PRECISION FOR THE BLUE DEVILS DRUM CORP

MADISON, WISCONSIN – APRIL 2008: The Blue Devils Drum Corps is the most decorated outfit in the history of Drum Corps International (DCI) and have taken first place in DCI’s World Championship twenty one times as of 2026– more than any other corps in the world. Their performances explode with precision and speed that suggest not a collection of humans, but rather a tightly-governed organic machine. John Loose, AV Services Manager for Dolby Laboratories, recognized that a Blue Devils performance captured in full HD video and accompanied by 96kHz, 24-bit, 7.1-surround sound would make for an extremely compelling demonstration of Dolby’s technologies for use by its licensees. He relied on two 8-channel, extended-frequency and fast-transient-response TRUE Systems Precision 8 mic pres to capture the Blue Devils performance with realism that is, because of the surround imaging, arguably even more astounding than a live performance. Since the Blue Devils were already planning to record an HD Video documentary of their preparations and performance at the 2007 DCI World Championships in Madison, Wisconsin, Loose and associate Adam Pinch arranged to record the entirety of their performance in a private session using the beautiful acoustics of the city’s Overture Center for the Arts. Although the duo had eight channels of Focusrite preamps, they knew that they wouldn’t be nearly enough and contacted Wisconsin-based Full Compass to rent additional preamps to feed their Pro Tools rig. “Because we didn’t know how much space we’d have for the gear, we wanted eight-channel strips to minimize our footprint,” explained Loose. “We needed something that was super clean with great pads to beat back the high SPLs we were expecting. In addition, the fact that we were recording at 96kHz meant that our front-end would do better with an extended frequency response. Because the TRUE Systems Precision 8 is utterly transparent, has ample headroom, and captures frequencies all the way out to 50kHz, it more than fulfilled our requirements.” They rented two Precision 8s to bring their full track count to twenty-four. The Blue Devils Drum Corps “A” consists of five bass drummers, six snare drummers, and four tom, or “tenor,” drummers. All of the drummers stand, and the bass drummers use both sides of their drums, marching-band style. “One of the tricky parts of this was that everyone is in close proximity, and the bass drum performance in particular features a lot of stick movement,” said Loose. “Since we were also doing video, we wanted to minimize the visibility of the mics.” Together, these factors suggested shotgun mics for the bass drums. They used several Sennheiser MKH 416 shotguns positioned on the floor and angled up at the sweet spot of a few of the bass drums. Loose added, “The Precision 8 was great because we could flip the phase on one side and come away with a remarkably solid bass drum sound.” Loose and Pinch used Shure Beta 98DS clip-on mics for the top and bottom of a few of the snare drummers and ran the snare’s quick transients through the equally quick response of the Precision 8. The sheer number of tenor drums, six to a player – 24 in all – created a close-miking problem. They opted to record the high toms of one drummer, the mid toms of another, and the low toms of a third using Sennheiser MD 421 dynamics inserted into the toms from below (“Phil Collins style”) and preamplified by the Focusrite. Finally, Loose and Pinch used the Precision 8s for two AKG 414s and the rear channel outputs from a Holophone surround microphone for ambience. “The Precision 8s sounded amazing,” Loose concluded. “Their fast transient response makes for some very snappy drums. When you watch and listen to the performance on HD DVD or Blue Ray in full 96kHz, 24-bit, 7.1 sound at a respectable volume, it will make your heart race and your hairs stand up!” TRUE Systems, Tucson, Arizona designed, engineered and manufactured high-value, high-end professional audio products at reasonable prices for the domestic and international marketplace. Tim Spencer is the principal designer and engineering force behind the company. Tim has been with TRUE Systems since it's inception in 1997. The U.S. built line included the SOLO series, the P2 Analog and Precision 8 multi-channel mic preamps. 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 TransAudio providing dealers and end users with a higher standard of product expertise and support far beyond the norm.  

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VERSATILE PRODUCER/ENGINEER DICK HODGIN MATCHES UP WITH TRUE SYSTEMS PRECISION 8 MIC PRE

VERSATILE PRODUCER/ENGINEER DICK HODGIN MATCHES UP WITH TRUE SYSTEMS PRECISION 8 MIC PRE

RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA: Being open to anything in the studio is an admirable quality, and producer/engineer, Dick Hodgin of North Carolina's Osceola Studios embodies it. For a man who's handled everything from Velvet Revolver and Hootie & the Blowfish to Corrosion of Conformity and Flat Duo Jets, the versatile performance of the TRUE Systems Precision 8 eight-channel microphone preamp is a welcome presence at Osceola. "One of the first things I noticed about the Precision 8 is that it's not a piece of gear that I have to baby-sit," Hodgin says. "I think of it as a smooth preamp with a very slight colorization, and once I've got it dialed into a session, there's not a lot of messing around with it. You can set it and forget it." Designed to provide detailed, transparent sonics for direct tracking and live sound, the TRUE Systems Precision 8 packs eight discrete solid-state microphone preamps and a number of highly useful features into a 1RU space. "As a studio owner, versatility is the key," Hodgin points out. "The P8 has been an excellent tool for insuring consistency in every type of project we do, including metal, hip-hop, pop, rock, karaoke and bird calls in the wild! These preamps - two of which double as terrifically full-bodied DI's - have a color. And the ability to use eight at a time gives me eight consistencies going into the recorder." No stranger to the art of recording killer vocal tracks, Hodgin put the Precision 8, designed with a high-voltage composite architecture for very low noise and high headroom, to the test with a wide range of singers. "We do a lot of gospel here and I'm really digging it on female vocals. The P8 is extremely smooth on sopranos," he says. "I also do a lot of hard rock at Osceola, and I'll put a singer that's yelling hard and making big vocal sound effects through it. The P8 has the versatility to handle that tremendous dynamic swing." Encased in the Precision 8's sturdy housing are a large number of features that bring a high level of flexibility to producers and engineers. Each channel has available phantom power, five-segment level indicators, smooth continuous gain controls, and easy interface to multiple recording mediums via the flexibility of dual DB25/TRS outputs. In addition, the built-in M-S (Mid-Side) decoder enables a higher level of creativity for spatial image control. For Dick Hodgin, the arrival of the TRUE Systems Precision 8 at Osceola Studios coincides perfectly with a time when his top priority is simply to enable musicians to express their vision. "I'm at a point as a producer where I'd like to think less about operating my equipment and more about getting that player to complete the picture," he says. "As a studio owner, I care about versatility and I care about value. The P8 gives you that really solid, desirable high-end colorization at a really good price." The Precision 8 was designed and built by Sunrise Engineering, a design and build manufacturer located in Tucson, Arizona. Neumann distributed TRUE Systems in the U.S. Neumann's award-winning line of microphones has set the standard in the industry since 1928. In 1999, Neumann received the prestigious Technical Grammy(r) for their 70 years of innovation in microphone design and contribution to the music industry. A continuing commitment to provide innovative, technically refined products and engineering solutions of proven quality ensures that Neumann's stature will remain unassailable.

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