By M&C News Jul 30, 2007, 12:45 GMT
AMD has announced it will again chronicle Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival this year as it did in 2004, this time using multi-core AMD Opteron(tm) processor-based digital audio workstations (DAWs) and adding notebook PCs into the mix for smaller stages.
The Crossroads Guitar Festival 2007 was recorded on July 28 at Toyota Park in Chicago and featured live performances by legendary guitar players including Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Jeff Beck, Willie Nelson, Vince Gill, Buddy Guy, Robert Randolph, Doyle Bramhall II, John Mayer, Jimmie Vaughan, Johnny Winter, Robert Cray, Sheryl Crow and many more artists.
AMD Opteron processor-based DAWs were used by Clapton's team on his latest world tour to capture every live show in HD audio format. The mission-critical demands put on a computer by the particularly heavy load of recording live performances require flawless system performance. The AMD Direct Connect Architecture with HyperTransport helps insure that no system bottlenecks cause loss of performance data. Rhino Entertainment expects to mix and master a live concert 5.1 surround sound DVD of the Festival using systems based on the upcoming quad-core AMD Opteron processor codenamed 'Barcelona'.
"As a live sound engineer, I cannot afford to worry about recording while I'm mixing live audio," said Robert Collins, live sound engineer for Eric Clapton's 2007 World Tour. "I use AMD Opteron processor-based DAWs to capture Eric's performances and I just push 'record' and focus on my live mix."
The deployment of multi-core AMD processor-based DAWs to record multiple stages at the Crossroads Guitar Festival will span from workstation-class machines to mobile PCs underscoring the growing trend of AMD technology adoption in the digital audio industry. AMD64 Masters Group members and multiple Grammy Award-winning audio engineers like Phil Ramone, Elliot Scheiner, Frank Filipetti and others have made multi-core AMD processor based digital audio workstations the first of choice in the professional studio. Elliot Scheiner, a five-time Grammy Award-winner was selected by Rhino Entertainment to capture the live magic of these artists for an upcoming DVD release.
"I've been using AMD Opteron processors to record and mix since they first became available and they've never failed me," said Elliot Schiener, 5.1 surround sound pioneer. "Currently I'm using a PC Audio Labs DAW with dual-core AMD Opterons running Steinberg's Nuendo 3.0. It has resolved every performance, reliability and sonic integrity issue I've faced since working in the digital domain."
AMD's contribution of equipment and expertise towards the recording of the musical performances for the DVD will again help raise funds and awareness for the Crossroads Centre, Antigua; the drug and alcohol treatment and education center founded by Eric Clapton in 1997.
"AMD is honored to get the call again to this amazing artistic event in support of the Crossroads Centre," said Charlie Boswell, director, Digital Media and Entertainment for AMD. "Rhino Entertainment's faith in and success using AMD technology in mission-critical live recording environment demonstrates the power and reliability of the technology better than any benchmark ever could."
Consumers who want to enjoy music or record their own on home PCs can use the same multi-core AMD processor technology that will record Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival available from hundreds of retailers and system builders.
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