APRIL 2024
THE LATEST NEWS FROM DYNAMIX
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Flipping the Script (and the Disc)
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Everything you thought you knew about playing records just got turned upside down and sideways, literally. In what took six years to develop, scrap, redevelop, build, and deliver, the Miniot Wheel 2 is the most unique and advanced record player on the market today. It wasn't supposed to be this advanced, just beautiful and unique.
It all started with a Kickstarter campaign in 2017 by Miniot's Peter Kolkman aiming to raise $500,000 to build the Wheel, a vertical-standing turntable. That itself is not entirely unique, as there are several players that have this feature. But all that I've been able to find on the market use a standard tone arm. The Wheel lacked a tone arm because it was to be a linear-tracking player. That is, the needle and cartridge moved along a straight path across the groove instead of swinging on a pivot like traditional tone arms. Records are cut linearly, so the thought for decades has been that linear tracking provides more accurate reproduction. It usually does, but is pricier to produce.
Another unique feature of the Wheel was that all the mechanics and electronics were underneath the platter. To play the record, the user places side A down upon the platter, upside down. The cartridge and stylus move up to meet the record groove. All the working bits of the player are out of sight, and only the record and a small amount of the wood casing is visible. It was to be a beautiful piece of working art. After all, Kolkman's family-run Dutch business was known for its exquisite music boxes.
But life and bad decisions delayed the Wheel coming to market. The Wheel was a wooden case with aftermarket parts scrabbled together, more than 400 in total. Prototype problems, pandemic delays, and a heart attack and life-saving surgery all got in the way. So the Kolkmans got back to work and reinvented the Wheel from the ground up. They moved most of the manufacturing in-house and even developed the programming code that makes the turntable one of the most advanced, yet easy to use players available. The 80-piece wonder was rechristened the Wheel 2.
The Wheel 2 uses advanced micro-processing and a laser to find and count the tracks before play. It can skip and repeat individual tracks. Every millisecond, it is adjusting and maintaining constant turntable speed, while analyzing warps and variations of the disc. It is maintaining careful and accurate stylus pressure on the record. Controls on the side are minimal, yet deeply functional. And it's looking good in the process. You would think that Apple designed it.
Miniot is hoping on all the favorable reviews generate sales so it can finally deliver on its promise to its original backers on Kickstarter. There has been much backlash from some for the long delays and requests to kick in more money. But it seems that Kolkman and his family are on the right track (pun intended) to deliver a beautiful new turntable with advanced features.
How does it sound and where does it fit into the market? First off, it's not cheap. It clocks in just over $2,000 US dollars. The cartridge and stylus, arguably the most important part of a turntable, are medium quality. The preamp is built-in with only an 1/8" mini-phone output jack. Reviewers have been fairly enthusiastic about the experience, but generally shrug their shoulders at the sound. With its advanced electronics and better than average internal vibration damping, it does seem to get much more out of records than other upright turntables.
I think it fits into an untapped market: the upper middle-income audiophile that
wants to improve their analog experience, yet still wants to benefit from today's technology. These individuals aren't satisfied with their $500 players, and aren't about to cough up $5,000 to get to the next level. The Wheel 2 is not for newcomers to spinning records, and it's not for snobby audiophiles with the priciest turntables.
The Wheel 2 will probably go down in history as a premium player that hid its mechanics instead of flaunting it, as a device that only wanted to show what's important – the record. I think the improved micro-processor tracking will be influential on new turntables, eventually trickling down to some budget players just like digital tuning, USB, bluetooth, and other digital technologies did into budget audio players. Kolkman's original vision is still there – a playable piece of art. It's now a work of art that just works artfully.
See the Wheel 2 in action at Miniot's website.
Read Thomas Ricker's review at The Verge.
Watch Techmoan's YouTube video as he unboxes, sets up, and plays the Wheel 2.
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Know someone that is looking to get into the audio industry? Are you curious about the magic that goes on behind the curtain? Then this book will push the right buttons.
Tape Op recently reviewed my book:
The next time someone asks me for advice on a career in pro audio I will immediately recommend this book, but with a few instructions: Do not skim read it. Read every one of its 585 pages and then read it again. Take notes. Take more notes. Follow every single suggestion about how to behave in professional situations. Learn how to dress properly for the job, and how to take care of your body when the long days occur (and they will). And do all of this with a smile on your face and a positive attitude.
-Larry Crane
Radio World recently reviewed it:
'If there was ever a single book that could give aspiring audio engineers an accurate look at the career, “Push the Right Buttons: A Practical Guide to Becoming and Succeeding as an Audio Engineer and Producer” is it."
-James Careless
Excerpt from the book:
To succeed in your new job, I don’t think I have to mention the obvious things about showing up on time, putting in your hours, etc. But in audio production, broadcast, theater, and other types of jobs where you, the audio engineer will work, the hours can be long and unpredictable. This just comes with the territory. So, if you’re a clock watcher, this profession isn’t for you.
It’s not unusual for me to log ten or twelve hours a day, six days a week – or more – during busy periods. It’s also not unheard of for me to occasionally log 24-hours straight in the studio. It does and will happen from time to time. I don’t ever recall someone telling me early on in my career that this would happen, it just did, over and over again. And I will probably pull another all-nighter before this year is out, maybe a couple. I don’t like to work long hours regularly, but it’s just part of the gig. Employers should let you know that you are expected to work long hours on occasion. Those that don’t are either not in the profession or are hiding that fact so that you aren’t scared off.
Let’s look at some of the reasons why you might have to work long hours:
1. The “S#!T rolls downhill” deadline crunch. Somewhere up the line, someone miscalculated how long a process took. It might have been the salesperson, the producer, the writer, the traffic, the weather, or even you. The more moving parts you have, the greater the chance for error. When you’re at the end of the line (and audio is usually the last phase and the last to know), the full weight of the assembly line comes down on you. Maybe you got the project late, maybe you got it in time but meeting the requirements takes longer than anyone calculated for, or maybe you’re too slow to get it done on time. You gotta phone home and tell ‘em to not wait up for you.
2. The “Lack-of-preparation” deadline crunch. My mother used to have a sign in her office that read, “Lack of preparation on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine.” Again, the more moving parts, the likelier someone drops the ball before it comes rolling down to you. We’re all human, so sometimes we don’t give 100% all the time. If you screw up something that makes someone else work late, apologize and buy them dinner or give them a six pack of craft brew to make up for it. But sometimes there are systemic or personnel problems that repeatedly force senseless deadline crunches. One example is advertising. There are usually tight deadlines built into the industry as a matter of course, but clients who don’t understand the long train behind the locomotive usually drag their feet on approvals that cause the producer to deliver late, which in turn causes the editor to deliver late, which in turn forces you to be severely crunched on your deadline. Sometimes there is someone along the line that consistently causes the train to slow down. If you know where the problem lies and it can’t be corrected with tact, we usually learn to err on the side of safety and start setting that person’s deadline much sooner than needed.
•Paperback version, 585 pages
•eBook version
More on our web site here.
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Dynamix Productions, Inc. is an audio production facility in the heart of thoroughbred horse country, Lexington, Kentucky. Some of the many audio services we provide are: sound-for-picture, corporate communications, advertising, narrations, audiobooks, podcasts, live broadcast, SourceConnect, ISDN, location and remote recording, restoration, and tape/LP to digital transfers.
Since our opening 20 years ago in 2003, we have won or been a part of nearly 100 awards; including more than 75 ADDY’s (American Advertising Federation), 10 Telly's, 2 Silver Microphones, 1 PRSA (Public Relations Society of America), an Eclipse Award, and an Emmy nomination.
Why do professionals from desktop producers to Fortune 50 companies choose Dynamix for the highest level of production? We Listen.
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We produced some of our regular podcasts:
- Beyond the Barrel podcasts (Ridley-Block / Alltech)
- AgFuture podcast (Alltech, Nicholasville, KY)
We also produced a number of audiobooks, including:
- "Managing Blood Sugar", "Achieving Restful Sleep" and "Radiant Skin" by Dr. Raj Chopra, narrated by Cara Meade.
- "The Sin Commandments" by Kathryn Le Veque, narrated by Brad Wills
Other projects of note were:
- Radio campaign for UK College of Nursing (Team Cornett, Lexington, KY)
- HIV awareness campaign for UK HealthCare (Team Cornett, Lexington, KY)
- "Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale" for Fasig-Tipton (Studio 34, Lexington, KY)
- Interview with author and former Kentucky Poet Laureate Crystal Wilkinson for Milkstreet Radio (Hear it on 88.9 WEKU, WFPL, WEKH, WEKF, and WEKP).
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RISE is a documentary series which airs periodically as part of 88.9 WEKU’s Eastern Standard weekly radio show/podcast. It came about in response to unprecedented flooding experienced by many southeastern Kentucky communities in July of 2022. The first six episodes, which aired for six consecutive weeks, explored what contributed to the disaster, how communities responded and the leadership, programs and resources needed to address the challenges and opportunities ahead.
The RISE series is produced by a team of reporters, producers, and external collaborators, including Dynamix Productions in Lexington. The team is led by Tom Martin, who is the host and senior editor of Eastern Standard. The team’s goal is to explore important policy issues affecting a region that is in transition due to shifting economic, social, environmental, and political realities.
Since the first six episodes aired, the RISE team has continued to produce occasional episodes focused on specific issues of importance to Eastern Kentucky. RISE is also available on Apple and Spotify.
Listen to all the episodes online at www.weku-rise.org.
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Dynamix Productions, and WEKU-FM, Eastern Kentucky University’s public radio station in Richmond, KY, partnered in 2018 to move primary production of the popular long-running radio program EASTERN STANDARD to the studios of Dynamix. The first program produced at Dynamix aired on July 19, 2018. By bringing the production to Lexington, producers have easier access to Central Kentucky business, healthcare, and education leaders, as well as local artists, entertainers, and other newsmakers. The move underlines WEKU’s commitment to providing the area’s most concise and in-depth coverage of news, issues, and ideas that directly affect Central Kentuckians.
Hosted by network news veteran Tom Martin, EASTERN STANDARD is a public affairs program that covers a broad range of topics of interest to Kentuckians. Resources for topics include WEKU’s reporting partner, the Ohio Valley ReSource, a partnership with seven public media outlets across three states; the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting; and National Public Radio. EASTERN STANDARD can be heard Thursdays at 11:00 AM / 8:00 PM and Sundays at 6:00 PM on 88.9 WEKU-FM, and online at www.esweku.org.
Did you miss the live show? Listen online.
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TELEVISION PROGRAMS PRODUCED AT DYNAMIX
THE RIGHTEOUS GEMSTONES on HBO
From Danny McBride (HBO’s Vice Principals), this critically acclaimed comedy follows a world-famous televangelist family with a long tradition of deviance, greed, and charitable work. Left flailing in the wake of their patriarch Eli Gemstone’s (John Goodman) semi-retirement, Season 3 finds Jesse (McBride), Judy (Edi Patterson), and Kelvin (Adam Devine) in charge of the vast Gemstone empire. When their long-lost cousins come out of the woodwork, the siblings must work together if they want to keep the Gemtsone legacy intact. An irreverent look at the lives of holy rollers, The Righteous Gemstones explores the salacious world of those who offer salvation… to the highest bidder.
GEORGE & TAMMY on Showtime
A limited series chronicling country music’s king and queen, George Jones and Tammy Wynette, whose wild and troubled love story inspired some of the most iconic music of all time.
SCOTT'S VACATION HOUSE RULES on HGTV
Scott turns problem properties into profit in his new series, Scott’s Vacation House Rules. With years of smart real estate investing and renovation experience, Scott and his secret design weapon, Debra Salmoni, unlock the rental potential of even the most uninspired properties. Finding and transforming tired, dated, and rundown spaces into unique and buzz-worthy Canadian cottage hotspots, the series proves that any dream property is always within reach if you follow Scott’s Vacation House Rules.
THE WHITE LOTUS on HBO
A social satire set at an exclusive Hawaiian resort, the series follows the vacations of various hotel guests over the span of a week as they relax and rejuvenate in paradise. But with each passing day, a darker complexity emerges in these picture-perfect travelers, the hotel’s cheerful employees, and the idyllic locale itself.
SECRET CELEBRITY RENOVATION on CBS
A new one-hour series that gives celebrities in sports, music and entertainment the chance to gift a surprise home renovation to a meaningful person who helped guide them to success. Hosted by Nischelle Turner (ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT), SECRET CELEBRITY RENOVATION provides stars with a hands-on opportunity to show their gratitude to someone who has had a significant impact on their life’s journey by helping to realize the renovation of their dreams. Those participating in making these heartfelt gifts include Emmy® and GRAMMY® Award-winning singer and choreographer Paula Abdul; award-winning singer-songwriter Lauren Alaina; Emmy®-winning actor and comedian Wayne Brady (LET’S MAKE A DEAL); NFL MVP and CBS sports analyst Boomer Esiason; GRAMMY®-winning artist Eve; Emmy®-nominated actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson; SURVIVOR winner “Boston” Rob Mariano; NBA All-Star Chris Paul; GRAMMY®-winning singer, songwriter and actor Anthony Ramos; and Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Emmitt Smith. The series also features the design team of home improvement contractor and television personality Jason Cameron (“Man Cave,” “While You Were Out”) and interior designer Sabrina Soto (“Design Star,” “Trading Spaces”).
ESCAPE TO THE CHATEAU on HGTV
Lieutenant colonel Dick Strawbridge and his partner Angel Adoree trade their English apartment for a dilapidated, 19th-century French chateau. The pair work to restore, renovate and redecorate the estate into a fairytale castle for their upcoming wedding.
YOU LIVE IN WHAT? INTERNATIONAL on HGTV
Architect George Clarke is on a mission to find inspiration for his outrageous, space-age concept house. His journey takes him around the world to meet the visionary people who build and live in some of the most unusual homes ever seen.
COUNTRY COUNTDOWN on The Circle Network
PODCASTS PRODUCED AT DYNAMIX
Vote Worthy helps to inform voters about the issues and challenges surrounding the 2020 General Election.
The Cancer Crisis in Appalachia"
Compelling stories from the next generation of leaders in the fight against cancer in Appalachia.
From UK's Markey Cancer Center.
"Tales of American History" with Kent Masterson Brown
"The Tyler Gossett Podcast"
GoFundMe podcast "Todd Oldfield and Wendall Gill: A Community Comes Together"
"Embedded" podcast from NPR
Al Cross in a series of podcasts about Mitch McConnell
AUDIOBOOKS PRODUCED AT DYNAMIX
  
     
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
 
OTHER PROJECTS PRODUCED AT DYNAMIX
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OUR MAILING ADDRESS IS:
Dynamix Productions, Inc.
333 N Ashland Ave, Ste 120
Lexington, KY 40502
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