In the last Newsletter - which, by the way, we undertook with little regard for our own safety or personal well being - we told you all about New York’s go-to guys for all things audio - Jim Flynn and his company - Jim Flynn Rentals (www.jimflynnrentals.com).
We told you that if you needed anything from a guitar pick, to something amazing like a stage monitoring system for a world headliner or 12 different sets of microphones or even a full-on Pro Tools system (or 10) then Jim Flynn Rentals was where you had to go.
Here is the most important email address you’ll ever need:
Jimf@JimFlynnRentals.com Keep it safe! This is Jim's personal e-mail!
The reaction to the last Newsletter was astonishing. Jim got literally dozens and dozens of calls and emails so he’s had to hire an assistant to deal with it all. After all Jim DOES have a day-job (albeit, actually a "night" job) One person who will remain nameless decided that Jim was "The Most Interesting Man in Audio": When he enters a control room (this wag continued) there are never any standing waves, there is no more 60 cycle hum, and the pro tools no longer display error messages! And he never even tried Dos Equis!
And we probably agree with them. Jim sure is interesting!
So, without any more to do - let’s dive straight into this month’s fun and games..
They say that the recording studio is dead. Well then, if that’s the case - there sure are a lot of ghosts doing business!
Platinum Studios are back on the schedules this month with JFR renting to artist "13" (obviously a code for someone hot!) a bunch of gear including the wonderful AMS-RMX-16 Digital Reverb while Busta Rhymes needed an Avalon737SP-VT Mic pre/EQ and Swizz Beats rented an Akai MPC-3000, Iomega Zip Drive and a Korg Trinity Keyboard.
Meantime, Chung King Studios rented a Dave Smith Poly Evolver Keyboard plus a Digidesign HD core that was being used for "Various Artists" Our news hungry, info-gathering, pesky reporter called for comment but didn’t get an answer as we were going to press (we’ve always wanted to say that!) But at least we tried.
However, it’s not all bad as we do know (from another source entirely) that America’s songbird diva is in session over there.
Reminds us that Jim DOES hold a lot of secrets we will never be able to report on... but hey, those are the breaks we get in trying to do our job of following Jim and his crew (talented bunch they are too!)
Magic Shop Studios - a terrific facility in New York - hosted Indie Pop faves "Breaking Laces" - a band destined to become huge - who just needed gear including a bunch of mics made by just about everyone to get their music thing on.
So, JFR put it all together for the guys and in the flight cases this time was a Digidesign 192 i/o with an Analog Input card and LOTS )and lots) of mics - including: AKG C460B Cardioid Condenser, Sennheiser MD-421 Cardioid-dynamic mic, Neumann U-47 FET Omni/Cardioid Mic plus a Neumann KM-84 Cardioid Condenser Mic along with an SPL Transient Designer. Included, of course, were all the various harnesses, plugs, switches and chewing gum the engineers would ever need.
Talk about attention to detail!!
Interesting to also note that EVERY rental comes with a person. Cool - right. You don’t just get a pile of cases you’re expected to rummage through and build your thing - a real-life person from JFR (often the man himself) comes alongto help rig/install/run/tear down and reload whatever it is you rented. Always!.
Just as a point of interest (and we love this bit) EVERY Pro Tools system that comes to you has just two buttons once it’s installed. ON and OFF. Yup, you could have fried your brain over the years or just last night and all you have to do is hit a switch and then do the same thing at the end of the show. BRILLIANT!
It does occur to us though as to why other rental companies don’t do this, but don’t tell ‘em please - don’t need copyists riding Jim’s coat tails.! Just between us and you - OK?
OK, moving on.....
KMA Studios in Times Square had the world’s most successful Broadway/West-End Show composer - Andrew Lloyd Webber - in recently who needed some additional mics and head phones plus a Little Red Cue Box to keep the maestro content while he was in session. We’ll try to get you a back-story on this - as we’re always interested in what Mr. Lloyd Webber is doing (new musical anyone?)
Please though Mr. Lloyd Webber - no more "What Are We Going to Do About Maria" competitions or, come to think of it, ANYTHING "Joseph" We thank you. The world thanks you!!
Legacy Recording, hosted one of the Hispanic world’s biggest acts "Los Inquietos Del Norte" who wanted a complete DJ rig sent in.
Then we found over at Clinton Studios (where they were working on the Tony Awards) something JFR refers to as the "Pavarotti Mic Set-Up"
This time we called Jim himself for an explanation, because we sure didn’t know what it meant. Must be something large though (geddit??)
Anyway, according to Jim, his company is the only company in the eastern United States to have the most extensive array of Schoeps microphone inventory in stock.
Jim's involvement in Schoeps dates back to the wonderful days when The Three Tenors (Pavarotti, Carteres, and Domingo) made their mark globally. Anyway, the set-up is complicated and was originally created for the great man himself. (Pavarotti, not Jim.)
All designed by Schoeps to look as pleasing to the eye as the Tenor's voices are to the ear.
Anyway, Jim Flynn Rentals own 15 of these Schoeps set ups as well as 75 other Schoeps mics. Others to take advantage of Jim Flynn Rentals "Pavarotti Set-Up" this month were Kaufman Astoria Studios for their "Million Dollar Pyramid Pilot" and the United States Airforce Band. Seems everyone loves this set-up Jim!!
TV shows, of course always keep Jim and his boys busy with Jimmy Fallons’ Late Night taking their regular (and terrific) 5.1 JBL system - and that’s just for the thoughtful comedian and his audience. JFR are always at the beck and call of their clients with The Colbert Report requiring, among other things - 360 Systems Instant Replay.
Of course if you need a quick accurate and simple way of adding, storing or accessing your library of audio - you might as well go to the fastest audio clip player on the market. Or indeed, the fastest, safest, most expert "delivery guys" in the business to get it to you.
Back to our schedules and we find Virginia’s favorite son - Dave Matthews and his full band (who played what has to be the smallest show they’ve done in the past 10 years) playing their little hearts out for a terrific concert broadcast live on Fuse TV from the Beacon Theater. Of course, they had to bring Jim Flynn Rentals in to provide stuff they’d left at home on their mutual farms - a Pendulum Audio 6386 plus a Manley Stereo Variable Mu Limiter complete with the knowledgeable TV audio maestro Al Centrella.
Moving onto The Arts (for once!) Jazz at Lincoln Center had to supplement their own huge range of gear with some mics, monitoring and all the ancillary bits and pieces that plug things together - from JFR.
One of the busiest sound design companies out these days is Lew Meade’s Syntonic Design Group and their recent work at the Burberry Showroom in New York City demanded a few extras (well a truck load, actually) such as mics and monitors to be delivered. Wise men chose Genelec 8050a’s which are crisp and clear and ideal for an environment like this. SDG were also at the Skirbal Center At NYU’s "World Science Festival" utilizing a full Pro Tools Rig that JFR delivered, set up, polished and helped run. All part of the service ma’am!
We want to give a big shout out to Doug Epstein Productions Inc.: If you don’t know Doug, you should - he could teach us all. Meantime, Jim himself drove up to his North New York State home with a whole plethora of gear that included An Otari MX 5050: 1/2" 2 track Analog Tape Machine, Dolby 363 2 Ch, SR/A Noise Reduction.
Tape Doug? - Much loved by the aficionado’s as it is - and well worth the hassle if you know how to splice tape from sight (a very, very scary thing to watch if it’s YOUR tape someone is splicing!) Doug, of course is THE man for this type of stuff, so as we said - look him up!!
Ricky Martin and ex-Cheetah Girl Adrienne Bailon who is now signed to Island Def Jam and the singer were recently holed up at KMA with Jim supplying an Akai MPC-3000, Iomega Zip Drive, Roland Fantom G-7 and much more.
Our (and everyone else’s buddy) John Kilgore is King of Audio at legendary TV creation "South Park" and he has been working extremely hard on new "South Park" episodes - complete with JFR sending over a LOT of great stuff to help John get through the sessions. Gear included a Mac Pro Intel Xenon Computer, Pro-Tools Core Card, Avalon 737 Mic Pre/EQ, Neumann TLM-193 Mic, (2) JBL LSR-15" Speakers, PLUS (2) JBL LSR6328 8" Powered Speakers.
Last week, America’s longest running soap - "One Life to Live"- called on Jim Flynn once again for the latest legend to appear on the show - one Lionel Richie.
Richie was supposed to be joined by hip-hop superstar - Akon, to perform their new single, "Just Go" but the poet had to get himself back to Africa due to a family illness and so the popular and upcoming "Jerimy" with his hit "Birthday Sex" took his place.
Making sure the show worked and trying to ensure no-one got an electric shock Jim Flynn Rentals were right there - shoulder to shoulder with Paul Glass, Dave Marino and crew, producers, artists, musicians, runners, plus the seasoned cameramen - just quietly going around the set doing their thing supplying, installing and overseeing the use of a full-on (and we do mean full-on) Pro-Tools Record Rig, plus four Meyers Stage Monitors, four Wireless In Ear Monitor Systems (Sennheiser G-2s), Shure UHF Wireless Receiver, two Shure Wireless Handheld Mics, three Shure Beta 58 Mics, a Yamaha LS-9 Digital Console, Millenia 8 Channel Mic Pre AND 32 Channel Splitter.
All of this plus a superstar in this coldest and wettest June in memory!
Two superstars, if you count Jim!
More next month peeps - more next month.
http://www.jimflynnrentals.com
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