Take 5 - Embracing MADI Technology

Celebrating Two Decades with RME: Take5 Music Production's Journey

While Audio over IP offers advantages, especially in fixed installations (using 12Mic, AVB Tool, Digiface AVB), our focus on mobility and flexibility with minimal preparation time makes MADI a solid choice today. The MADIface XT II is the core unit in our control room, providing inputs for our DAW, communication and talkback to artists, and control over monitoring through both speakers and headphones.

RME’s software tools, like DigiCheck, ensure we maintain full control of our audio's technical status. A second MADIface XT connected to a backup laptop provides redundancy of all these aspects, ensuring reliability during field sessions. Our team often works in dynamic environments, quickly adapting resources. For instance, expanding a setup in Minnesota for Mahler’s Symphony No 8 from 48 to nearly 80 channels is seamless with MADIface XT and other RME devices.

In such scenarios, eliminating time spent on network configurations is crucial. MADI allows us to patch audio channels in 32-channel increments per dedicated fiber line at 96kHz, providing the efficiency and simplicity we require. With a few additional Octamic XTC or 12Mic units, we easily achieve our objectives. For example, we had a completely mobile kit stored in Japan for 11 months, up and running with 50 channels ready to record Mendelssohn's “Lobgesang” with Bach Collegium Japan and Masaaki Suzuki within 4 hours, starting from a clear stage with no advance preparation of our control room and a small team of only producer and engineer plus stage help.

About Take5 Music Production

Take5 Music Production based in the Stockholm area of Sweden, specializes in recording classical music. Founded in 2013 by German Tonmeisters Ingo Petry, Hans Kipfer, Jens Braun, Marion Schwebel, and Thore Brinkmann, our team brings extensive experience from over a decade at BIS Records. In 2017, we earned the first-ever Diapason d’Or in the "Prise de Son" category. We collaborate with record labels, broadcast companies, and orchestras worldwide, maintaining close relationships with individual musicians. We pay as much attention to every musical detail as the artists we produce, supporting them in bringing out their best performances, matched by the authentic sound they deserve.

RME's reliable equipment has been crucial in recording over 1500 (SA)CDs, many internationally acclaimed. Over the years, we have developed our own concept in producing concert films and other video formats in addition to high-profile audio productions. Drawing on our professional musical training and years of experience working closely with and staying true to the scores, our aim has become to incorporate the musical into our own visual language. Our skilled camera operators always use cinema cameras, which, among other advantages, provide a choice of lenses that support our aesthetics.

Embracing New Frontiers in Sound

On the post-production side, we have fully embraced Dolby Atmos and Spatial Audio for classical music. Our 20 years of audio production for SACD with 5-channel surround sound have given us an advantage in exploring this new way of experiencing music. Our mentioned recording of Mahler’s 8th Symphony with the Minnesota Symphony Orchestra under Osmo Vänskä is one of several prestigious recordings already available in the new format on streaming platforms. As we look to the future, we remain committed to delivering the highest quality sound, supported by RME’s cutting-edge technology. We eagerly anticipate new innovations and continue to push the boundaries of classical music production

More Info: http://www.take5.pro/