Then and Now: Sweetwater Attends a Historic Immersive Audio Event

On April 13, 2024, the Indiana section of the Audio Engineering Society (AES) partnered with David Ripp and Master Recordings for a truly momentous event. Inside the stunningly gorgeous Reid Center in Richmond, Indiana, sits one of very few 1905 Starr pianos in the world — and the only known operational 1905 Starr piano still in existence. This piano and the Reid Center’s own magnificent pipe organ were the subjects of a live Atmos recording, courtesy of Master Recordings’ incredible 64-channel Location Capture System (LCS). Sweetwater was well represented at the event with four employees in attendance, including Sales Administration Supervisor Brian Leavell. Brian’s family has ties to the Gennett family, who founded Gennett Records in Richmond, considered by many to be the birthplace of recorded jazz. Read on to learn more about this historic occasion!

Recording the Last 1905 Starr Piano

Location Capture System (LCS): Designed for Mobile Immersive Recording

Master Recordings

Sweetwater & AES

Recording the Last 1905 Starr Piano

First, a little history is needed to understand the gravity of this event. Richmond is a small town in east-central Indiana that holds a huge secret: it’s considered by many to be the birthplace of recorded jazz music. This is due to the Gennett Records label, which was founded in 1917 and whose studio opened in 1921. The Gennett catalogue features a who’s who of early 20th-century jazz artists recorded on the Gennett label during the 1920s and ’30s, including Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, and many more. If you visit Richmond, then be sure to visit the Walk of Fame, where you’ll be treated to various medallions of these iconic artists. The Wayne County Historical Museum is also a must-see location.

Taken at the Wayne County Historical Museum in Richmond, Indiana

Taken at the Wayne County Historical Museum in Richmond, Indiana

Taken at the Wayne County Historical Museum in Richmond, Indiana

Taken at the Wayne County Historical Museum in Richmond, Indiana

Gennett Records, however, was preceded by its parent company, the Starr Piano Company. The Starr Piano Company was established in Richmond in 1872 by James Starr, first known as the Trayser Piano Forte Company before adopting the Starr name in 1893. The business quickly became famous for the top-quality pianos and phonographs it built.

Taken at the Wayne County Historical Museum in Richmond, Indiana

The piano used for this event was a 9-foot 1905 Starr piano believed to be the last operational one in the world. Maintenance on such an old instrument is very tough to perform, so it’s feared this piano will also become unplayable before long — in fact, one of the keys broke while the pianist was practicing on recording day! Thankfully, it was promptly repaired, and the session continued unhindered.

Performing maintenance on the historic 1905 Starr piano

Shiyu Wang, adjunct professor at Indiana University East and pianist for the event

It’s not hyperbolic to say everyone in attendance witnessed history — the first and perhaps only live immersive-audio recording of a 1905 Starr piano. So, let’s look at the mobile immersive rig that was used.

Location Capture System (LCS): Designed for Mobile Immersive Recording

To capture this piano, as well as the Reid Center’s incredible pipe organ, David Ripp of Master Recordings employed what he calls the LCS, or Location Capture System. The idea behind the LCS is simple on paper: it equips Master Recordings with the ability to go to any concert hall, auditorium, church, theater, or other such venue anywhere in the United States and capture exact acoustic details of performances within that unique space. It also enables David to monitor and mix in real time. Much of the gear that constitutes the LCS, and Master Recordings’ studios, was purchased right here at Sweetwater with insight from our Pro Audio Design and Integration Manager, Mike Picotte. The full specifications of the LCS are vast and could easily fill an entire inSync article, but we will give a brief rundown.

The brain of the LCS consists of four primary racks that cover two locations: a recording location and a control/mix location. The recording location is in the venue itself, in which David assembles his extensive mic setup for immersive-audio tracking. The control/mix location is a separate on-site area from which David monitors, mixes, and communicates with the performer(s).

Recording location — the Reid Center in Richmond, Indiana — and the mic setup for the event

David Ripp at the control/mix location for the event, another room in the Reid Center

For the recording location, David utilizes 48 channels of Neve 1073 preamps plus network switches for primary and secondary Dante networks. At the control/mix location, there are 16 extra channels from a Millennia HV-3D 8-channel mic preamp and an 8-channel Focusrite Scarlett OctoPre for a total of 64 analog channels. The control/mix location is also contains three Avid MTRX processors with Dante as well as a 128-channel Focusrite RedNet Dante digital network, a media player, and an Alesis HD24 24-channel ADAT hard disk recorder for use as a backup recorder.

The four primary racks of the LCS with racks 1–2 at the recording location and racks 3–4 at the control/mix location

These four primary racks are far from the only racks in the LCS, however. There are two other racks that each house a 2022 Mac Pro, one capturing what’s being fed into the Avid Pro Tools MTRX system and the other recording from the Focusrite RedNet system.

The venues Mac Pro Rig

Finally, for monitoring at the control/mix location, David employs an Allen & Heath Avantis 64-channel digital mixer as well as a calibrated 7.1 speaker system comprising Neumann KH 310 powered studio monitors for the left, right, and center channels and four Neumann KH 120 powered studio monitors for the surround side and rear channels. David also utilizes a Focal Sub One powered studio subwoofer.

David’s monitoring setup for the event

As for microphones, well... David has quite the collection. With no fewer than 61 wired and wireless mics available for both studio or location recordings, it’s safe to say that Master Recordings has a mic for any and every occasion. We could list them all, but there are some heavy hitters that deserve a shout-out. These include the Neumann M 149 dual-diaphragm tube condenser microphone, the Neumann U 87 Ai large-diaphragm condenser microphone, the Shure SM81 small-diaphragm condenser microphone, the Electro-Voice RE20 dynamic microphone, and the Shure SM7B dynamic microphone. The LCS also needs an incredible assortment of cables, snakes, cases, stands, and various accessories, but we won’t detail those for the sake of brevity.

After everything is captured, David disconnects his two 16TB OWC SSD hard drives and takes the files back to Master Recordings’ Mix Room, where he then mixes and masters to stereo, Dolby Atmos, Sony 360, or any other format that a client requests.

Master Recordings

Arguably few good things came out of the COVID era, but one of them was Master Recordings. Located very close to the Indiana-Ohio state line in Richmond, Indiana, Master Recordings is a world-class studio owned by David Ripp on a beautiful five-acre farm. The Mix Room sports an all-analog 9.2.6 monitoring system with a total system power of more than 15,000 watts! Just like his LCS, the build details of David Ripp’s Mix Room (as well as his recording spaces) are quite extensive, but we have to mention the Neve Genesys Black G96 analog mixing console, the Universal Audio Apollo x16, and the robust speaker system that includes ATC SCM50ASL Pro 9-inch 3-way powered studio monitors, ATC SCM45A Pro 6.5-inch 3-way powered studio monitors, and ATC SCM25A Mk2 6.5-inch 3-way powered studio monitors. David also employs a huge variety of effects and dynamics processors as well as vintage recording equipment.

Sweetwater & AES

This historic event was hosted by the Audio Engineering Society, and Sweetwater’s relationship with AES is one we are very proud of. Many Sweetwater employees are AES members — and many AES members are Sweetwater customers. Our mission statements align, our values align, and our affinities for all things audio align. Simply put, AES and Sweetwater go together like peanut butter and jelly. Since Sweetwater is located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, we are particularly close with the Indiana AES Section and partnered with them in 2024 for a Sweetwater Studios Open House, which was a great success. Producer/Engineer Shawn Dealey and Audio Engineer Jason Peets gave a detailed tour of Sweetwater Studios as well as a “bird’s-ear” view of their approaches to immersive-audio tracking, mixing, mastering, and distribution. Additionally, University of Saint Francis artist-in-residence Willie Green was also brought to the Sweetwater Performance Theater, courtesy of Sweetwater and AES. There, Green gave students an inside look at the various production and mixing techniques he uses to create award-winning hip-hop. Sweetwater looks forward to our continued relationship with the Audio Engineering Society for many, many years to come.

“The Audio Engineering Society (AES) is the only professional society devoted exclusively to audio technology. Founded in the USA in 1948, the AES is now an international organization that unites audio engineers, creative artists, scientists, and students worldwide by promoting advances in audio and disseminating new knowledge and research. 12,000+ members are affiliated with 90+ AES professional sections and 120+ AES student sections around the world that provide members valuable opportunities for professional networking and skill and career growth.” — per AES2.org

Sweetwater: Your One-stop Shop for All Things Audio

Do you want to put the same gear as Master Recordings to use in your own recording space? Make Sweetwater your one-stop shop for all things premium audio equipment. Call your knowledgeable Sweetwater Sales Engineer at (800) 222-4700 today for thoughtful, personalized recommendations!
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