PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Clyne Media
Tel: (615) 662-1616
Fax: (615) 662-1636
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
50th ANNUAL GRAMMY® AWARDS SHOW RELIES ON AUDIO-TECHNICA MICROPHONES
FOR LIVE PERFORMANCES
— Audio-Technica provides over 250 mics for the live broadcast
of the GRAMMY® Awards,
as A-T maintains its definitive presence at high-profile awards shows
—
STOW, OH, February 12, 2008 — For the 11th
year in a row, Audio-Technica maintained its status as the hallmark
of superior sound at the GRAMMY® Awards Show, known throughout the
industry as “Music’s Biggest Night™.” This year
at the 50th Annual GRAMMYs, held February 10, 2008, at the Staples Center
in Los Angeles, Audio-Technica supplied over 250 of its acclaimed microphones,
including an impressive array of hard-wired mics and Artist Elite®
5000 Series UHF Wireless Systems.
The GRAMMY Awards ceremony itself has garnered widespread
notice throughout the years as it continually raises the standard for
broadcast entertainment. The Emmy®-winning production was the first
major awards show to venture into HDTV and 5.1 surround sound, and it
is outfitted with the most advanced tools to ensure the highest fidelity
for the evening's performances. Audio professionals continually select
Audio-Technica microphones to achieve exceptional quality amidst the
ever-increasing sonic demands of the show's musical portions. The team
working on this year’s GRAMMYs featured many top-tier contributors
who returned to ensure the success of this landmark event. The sound
system was provided by ATK AudioTek with FOH (front-of-house) Engineers
Ron Reaves and Mikael Stewart, while the broadcast audio was supervised
by Phil Ramone and Hank Neuberger, leading members of the Producers
& Engineers Wing of The Recording Academy®. New York-based XM
Productions/Effanel Music were onsite with their L7 remote truck to
create the music mix, facilitated by Music Mixers John Harris and Eric
Schilling.
For the home audience, CBS once again delivered the most
advanced form of HDTV, with 1,080 lines of picture resolution and 5.1-channel
surround sound. To meet the sonic demands of this format, the audio
engineers and music mixers employed a wide range of Audio-Technica microphones
for the GRAMMY Awards.
Artists who performed using Audio-Technica’s Artist
Elite® 5000 Series UHF Wireless System, with the AEW-T5400 handheld
microphone/transmitter and AEW-R5200 true diversity frequency-agile
dual receiver, included Morris Day and The Time in a show-stopping performance
with Rihanna; Kanye West; an all-star gospel revue featuring Aretha
Franklin and BeBe Winans; a duet with Kid Rock and Keely Smith; the
Icons of Rock segment featuring John Fogerty, Little Richard and Jerry
Lee Lewis; and the Beatles “Sgt. Pepper” tribute finale.
The backline mic complement of A-T wired microphones included
AE5400 and ATM250 for Leslie cabinet; AE5100 for ride cymbal, hi-hat,
overheads, strings and audience; BP4029 for audience; AE2500 for kick
drum; ATM350 for strings; AT4050 for horns, overheads and guitar cabinets;
and AT4040 for guitar cabinets.
Michael Abbott, Audio Coordinator for the 50th Annual
GRAMMYs, has come to rely on the unsurpassed quality and consistency
of Audio-Technica mics. He stated, "Live TV Broadcasts of this
magnitude can be very overwhelming in their specifications and applications,
but having Audio-Technica as a partner gives me one thing I don't have
to worry about. The show needs mics that are acceptable to a wide spectrum
of artists, engineers and different genres of music, and A-T delivers
in all of these aspects, second to none. This year we have been pleased
to use the BP4029 and AE5100 to capture the audience in particular.”
Photo File: Keely_Kid.JPG
Photo Caption: Keely Smith and Kid Rock perform with the Audio-Technica
Artist Elite® 5000 Series wireless system using the AEW-T5400 microphone
/ transmitter at the 50th GRAMMY® Awards held February 10, 2008,
at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images
(This photo is the property of Kevin Winter/Getty Images and may be
used by the press only for the purpose of one-time reproduction. Unauthorized
use, alteration or reproduction of this photograph is strictly prohibited.)
Photo File: Aretha.JPG
Photo Caption: Aretha Franklin performs with the Audio-Technica Artist
Elite® 5000 Series wireless system using the AEW-T5400 microphone
/ transmitter at the 50th GRAMMY® Awards held February 10, 2008,
at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Photo by Kevin Winter/ Getty Images
(This photo is the property of Kevin Winter/Getty Images and may be
used by the press only for the purpose of one-time reproduction. Unauthorized
use, alteration or reproduction of this photograph is strictly prohibited.)
Photo File: LittleRichard.JPG
Photo Caption: Little Richard performs with the Audio-Technica Artist
Elite® 5000 Series wireless system using the AEW-T5400 microphone
/ transmitter at the 50th GRAMMY® Awards held February 10, 2008,
at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Photo by Frank Micelotta/Getty
Images (This photo is the property of Frank Micelotta/Getty Images and
may be used by the press only for the purpose of one-time reproduction.
Unauthorized use, alteration or reproduction of this photograph is strictly
prohibited.)
...ends 510 words
Celebrating over 45 years of audio excellence worldwide,
Audio-Technica is a leading innovator in transducer technology, renowned
for the design and manufacture of microphones, wireless microphones,
headphones, mixers, and electronics for the audio industry.
—For more information on the complete range of Audio-Technica
products, contact
Karen Emerson, Audio-Technica U.S., Inc., 1221 Commerce Drive, Stow,
OH 44224.
Tel: (330) 686-2600; Fax: (330) 688-3752; Web: www.audio-technica.com