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was initially sold by word of mouth. Stations that used the Vigilante kept this “secret weapon” behind
security covers so that the competition would not know what they were using. Frank discovered that
radio stations with the most successful audio chains (and the improved ratings) were the ones that had
all the separate components working in concert. Every part of the system had to be tuned for
maximum benefit; the sum of all the parts.
Frank returned to Cleveland in 1987 to become Malrite’s corporate Director of Engineering and
supervise the technical aspects of its seven radio properties. A “hands-on” manager, Frank traveled
the country to work with his engineers. Processing remained his primary interest and he was
frequently solicited to consult with other stations. His reputation as radio’s number one expert in
broadcast processing was now well established.
At home, Frank kept tinkering. And the tinkering soon became serious research. What he learned
from scores of engineers and programmers and from listening to stations all over the country was that
radio could sound better. And that better sounding radio meant more listeners.
Frank left Malrite in June of 1988 to create his own company and called it Cutting Edge
Technologies. More traveling, more consulting, and more research in the basement. Frank knew what
kind of processor radio demanded. And in 1994, he delivered it. The
Unity AM
.
Just what the world needs, another audio processor
Next to the fates and fortunes of local sports teams, nothing causes more arguments at radio stations
than processing.
In one corner there is the group who wants to burn a hole in the dial. In this day of high octane,
“Tastes Great… Less Filling,” extremely competitive, kill for the last dollar radio, the tendency in
many cases, has been towards creating a behemoth over-the-air. Utilizing as much of the latest,
greatest, tweaked, modified, and super-charged products available, we crank them up until we achieve
a sound that is “louder than anyone can ever be, but is totally clean.”
Who are we kidding? Hopefully, by now, we all know that all this does is create the potential for
fatigue, tune-out, and decreased time spent listening. The bottom line is that the listeners go
somewhere else.
On the other side of the debate are the sonic purists who want to transparently reproduce the source
material, just as it was recorded. Too little processing can be as bad as too much processing. Listeners
are more sophisticated and in the age of CDs (and now MDs) they know what sounds good. The
transmission chain and the receiving radios significantly effect audio dynamics and quality. It takes
careful, adequate processing to keep music sounding, well, musical.
The main reason this debate exists is that the processors you have been using don’t let you get the
