South African audio supplier Prosound recently helped Welkom’s GoldFM 104.3 community radio station with an upgrade across all of its studios to Electro-Voice RE320 dynamic microphones.
Alongside providing music and speech-based programming to Free State’s second largest city, GoldFM also streams its content to the world. ‘It’s very much nuts and bolts community broadcasting,’ explains Station Manager and Head of Technical, Brian Emmenis. ‘We can do a lot more than the bigger radio stations because they’re subjected to very stringent national rules. What’s of interest here is not of interest elsewhere so we cover local news and can make a proper fuss of it, we can take it one step further.’
‘Brian has decades of experience in the broadcast field and really knows his stuff,’ offers Prosound Technical Sales Manager, Brendan Venter. ‘He has been a long-term customer and friend of Prosound, so when he started to look at upgrades to GoldFM it was natural for him to come to us.’
The recent upgrade process has seen the radio station invest in new microphones for its three studios, selecting to what Emmenis describes as ‘one of the finest studio mics ever made’, the RE320.
‘For me, it’s got a warm sound and it’s its solid,’ he elaborates. ‘I have a policy that if you put junk in, you get junk out – that’s not the case with an RE320, it’s a presenter’s friend. It’s user friendly and its very warm. I’ve used a lot of mics over the years, and I know from experience that the RE320 is strong and durable.’
The station’s two main studios (Studios 3 and 4) have a classic studio design, and now both feature four of the microphones to cater for presenters and guests. The latest addition, Studio 5, has been created purely for speech-based programming. ‘It’s a recording studio where we can also have panel discussions,’ Emmenis says. ‘We have a presenter and five or six people around the table talking about the important stories, so the sound quality of the microphones was absolutely vital.’
The upgrade at GoldFM is the latest example of Emmenis’ relationship with Prosound, which dates back to the early days of the company. Having trusted the Prosound team for decades, there are many reasons why he keeps returning to them. ‘Every person they employ is a specialist,’ he reasons. ‘In radio, we need people who can answer questions at all times. If I have a problem with a desk, I will need answers fast and that’s where Prosound comes to the party.
‘I love working with Prosound because they treat every person as a VIP,’ he continues. ‘They make time for you – sometimes I might come in and say ‘I need to buy a new desk for a broadcast van’ – and alongside me in the wings, there will be someone whose buying 500 desks, but they will dedicate as much time to a person buying one as they would to someone buying 500. They’re an incredible family and they tend to treat everyone like family, so they always look after you.’
More: www.prosound.co.za
