Loud and clear
 
 
Frank Cotolo
30 Jun, 2009
 
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.
 
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".
 
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.
 
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".
 
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."
 
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.
 
"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."
 
The BR-345-UCS is an exclusive machine. It was redesigned to specifically handle the phone calls from the phone system the company awarded the show some years back. However, the original phone system is having power problems and may have to be replaced.
 
In the meantime, the BR-345-UCS, a much smaller unit than the original mixer, is said to be so durable that it can withstand a hundred-pound crash and at least a half-quart of sputum.
 
Frank Cotolo can be found hosting the talk and interview programme Cotolo Chronicles.
   
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