Dave Rice has been appointed President of Cerwin Vega and KRK Systems.

The appointment follows the Stanton Group’s successful bid for Cerwin Vega last month, and Mr. Rice will report directly to Gerard Cohen, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Stanton Group.

Immediate priorities will be to review the current business operations, establish the overall direction of the organizations and implement business programs and procedures to obtain maximum profits.

Commented Mr. Rice, “Cerwin Vega has been a household name for many years, synonymous with value and bass. It has broad brand recognition in just about every speaker category (mobile/car, hi-fi, multi-media and pro) but has limited market share.

“This is because during the last few years the company has not reverse engineered products that consumers were asking for, nor at the prices they were willing to pay.”

He is confident that the company has the skilled workforce capable of turning its fortunes around. “Our biggest priorities are to staff up, develop new products and rapidly bring them to market, cut costs through better procurement and out-hustle our competition,” he continued.

“There is huge upside, especially at a time when the speaker markets are expected to grow.”

To expedite this, the Stanton Group will shortly be integrating KRK Systems into the Cerwin Vega operation in Simi Valley. “The engineering and marketing integration will bring new technology to CV, while KRK will enjoy CV’s experienced high-volume manufacturing resources.”

Before joining Cerwin Vega and KRK, Dave Rice had developed a successful career in MI retail (most recently as General Merchandising Manager for Musician’s Friend); he was also Pro Audio, Recording and DJ Buyer for Guitar Center and President of California-based Pro Sound & Stage Lighting.

Welcoming him aboard, Gerard Cohen said, “We are very fortunate to have Dave at the helm of Cerwin Vega and KRK. His extensive industry experience will be a significant asset to the organization and a significant force in poising the companies for future growth.”

About Stanton Magnetics

Stanton Magnetics was founded in 1946, with its roots in the cartridge and styli industry. Since the beginning, Stanton has been at the cutting edge of technology and development. Stanton is a worldwide leader in supplying quality products in the broadcast studio and recording industry, as well as the club and professional DJ markets. For information on Stanton Magnetics, visit the website or contact the company directly at 3000 SW 42nd St, Hollywood, FL 33312.

New Console Has “Got the Kicks” to Bring Multi-Platinum Projects to Life

Working over the years with acts such as Sinead O’Connor, Whitney Houston, Mick Jagger, Michael Jackson, Tom Jones, The Fugees, City High, Mary J. Blige, Mya, Destiny’s Child and Carlos Santana, super-producers Wyclef Jean and Jerry Wonda are literally drenched in platinum projects. To keep this incredible momentum up, the decision was made to make their New York City studio, Platinum Sound, an all-Solid State Logic facility featuring an existing room with an SL 9000 J Series, as well as a new room based on the XL 9000 K Series SuperAnalogue™console.

“Right from the start we definitely wanted SSL,” states Jerry Wonda. “SSL consoles are the top of the line and everybody we know uses them. This made the decision to go with the J Series last year and the XL 9000 this year simple; we wanted the best facility, so we installed the best consoles.”

The decision to go with the XL in the new room was based in part on SSL’s reputation, combined with the desire to move into different types of projects like film scoring.

“There are a lot of studios in New York, but none of them ‘got the kicks’, if you know what I mean,” says Wyclef Jean. “We want our little studio to be anything that you want and that meant going with the XL. This console allows us to address 5.1 surround and DVD productions and that brings us into the future today to meet the demands of our business.”

The duo produces their own projects under the name Refugee Camp, with their “home” project studio and record label named Booga Basement with an additional record label Clef Records. The move into NYC was based on the sheer amount of demand.

“Basically, New York City is where the business is at,” claims Jean. “We found ourselves doing a lot of recording in New Jersey and a lot in New York, so we decided to build our own facility in New York because everyone is already there and that makes life easier for us.”

The J Series studio has been solidly booked since opening 18 months ago, and demand for XL sessions is already building up steam. The purchase of the XL also makes life easier because of the new High-Speed automation computer and integral 5.1 surround capabilities.

“The recall factor saves a lot of time,” says Wonda. “When you move something in a mix, the computer remembers it. This is very powerful because we always go back and listen to things and bang! you’re there. The mic pres sound great and the UltiPan system is hot. Everything you want to do can be done and that helps our vision of the future because we are looking at many types of media production. We are going into DVD and surround mixes. We are going into film and TV. The XL 9000 K Series will let us accomplish these directions and that is powerful.”

Kind of Loud Technologies, a Universal Audio Company, announced today that it has released SmartCode Pro, a Dolby Digital software surround encoder program for Pro Tools AudioSuite platforms.

Software-based encoders offer an efficient and cost-effective alternative to hardware encoders. SmartCode Pro will allow Pro Tools users to create DVDs or reference CDs directly from their 5.1 mixes created with the new Pro Tools 5.1 software. SmartCode Pro is complemented by Kind of Loud’s surround production tools including RealVerb 5.1, the first surround reverb, Tweetie, a monitoring and calibration plug-in and Woofie, a plug-in for bass management.

“With the rapid advances in DVD authoring, Dolby is pleased to introduce Dolby Digital Surround encoding to the DAW market.” said Nancy Byers-Teague, Marketing Manager, Professional Audio Products, Dolby Laboratories. “Universal Audio has been pioneer in providing surround tools to the professional music and post arenas and Dolby is proud to work with them on Smartcode Pro.”

“This is the first and only 5.1 software encoding option for Pro Tools users,” said Paul Rice, President. “Even before Pro Tools was surround-capable, there has been tremendous demand for this product. It really simplifies the the encoding process, which allows our customers to better serve their clients.”

SmartCode Pro/Dolby Digital is available from Kind of Loud and its authorized dealers and distributors for a suggested list price of US $995.

Based in Santa Cruz, California, Universal Audio is well known for its vintage analog reproductions. With the recent acquisition of Kind of Loud Technologies, the company is focused on merging the best of analog and digital technology. The company is devoted to this endeavor, following its motto, “Analog Ears, Digital Minds.”