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Frank Cotolo
30 Jun, 2009 |
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Just how wonderful the Tamayaka Yakatama Company can be to our show is
immeasurable. First, it was their gift of a phone system some years back, and
now it is a brand new mixing device that has added clarity and sobriety, if not
charm and savvy, to our broadcast.
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The mixer, a piece of analog hardware that was once part of their complex sound
system in Tokyo, where their headquarters was located before the building was
condemned, is what the company calls "top of the line", which when translated
into Japanese means "the line on the top".
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It is, technically, a BR-345-UCS (Unilateral Condenser System), though this
UCS version, rebuilt by Japanese sound engineers, is low on condensing due to
a new diode connection that verifies the signal by adjusting the volume to
anti-clipping density. Now I know you might not understand that entirely but
see if I care.
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The generosity of the Tamayaka Yakatama Company is unequaled, as is their
loyalty to our program. Senior VP Izzy Yakatama said recently, "The Cotolo
show is of our favorites next to the game shows where the alligators juggle
people's private parts. But seriously, we like to contribute all we can
because many people in Japan love to hear the Cotolo show, especially when
it is translated".
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Computer broadcasting from other countries is very popular in Japan but no other
show reaches more people than Cotolo Chronicles. "We have a special love
for this man," says a listener who says he listens live each week with his wife
and six children. "My family wants him over for dinner, which my wife will cook,
but we cannot afford to get him an airline ticket."
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Back to the hardware. The BR-345-UCS was used for the first time on the show on
June 25. The previous week's show was a disaster as the Tascam mixer tanked
mid-interview.
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"It was old," said program technician Early Beekman. "That mixer
had been around since the show began, making it over a decade old, which was
before I came on to the production staff. I was working at a Baskin Robbins
before. I liked the many flavors but the people who bought the ice cream
always wanted to have conventions at Madison Square Garden and I was not
that religious."
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