ImmersAV Technology recently announced the release of their new collection of
bluegrass classics: The Wandering Boys: Chicago Bluegrass VR Special. The collection
represents a bold step into the future of binaural audio technology coupled with high-
definition 3D video. The aim is to give fans a truly unique “you-are-there’ point-of-
view as they enjoy the sounds of these talented musicians – Zach Washington on
mandolin, Aaron Smith on upright bass, Rob Jensen on banjo and John Huber on
guitar.
The Wandering Boys have refined a unique craft of rapid picking, clever arrangements
and crisp four-part harmony which made them a perfect group to work within this
format. With this recording, ImmersAV continued with its objective of creating
practical 3-D immersive audio/visual experiences for consumers to enjoy on the most
common forms of audio/video playback technology.
The Virtual Reality aspects of this production are unique in that they feature six
traditional bluegrass tunes recorded in a variety of formats: Binaural Audio for both
headphones and loudspeakers, with and without 2D HD video. In addition, there are
several tunes in 3D HD, for viewing with either side-by-side Google VR glasses or red-
blue anaglyph glasses. Moreover, no expensive audio/video product purchases are
necessary as the virtual reality experience increases with the quality of the
audio/video playback equipment owned by the consumer.
Bob Schulein, founding partner and recording engineering producer for ImmersAV
Technologies, shared, “I’ve always been a big fan of bluegrass music, so it was a real
treat for me to work with the talented Wandering Boys allowing our production team
to create this exciting “you-are-there’ musical and virtual reality experience.’
John Huber describes his experience: “I felt like I was there playing the music even
though it was recorded and I was listening through headphones, because of the 3-D
binaural quality.’ Zack Whittington summed it up, “It’s like virtual reality, with
incredible depth of field, for sound.’
The Wandering Boys: Chicago Bluegrass VR Special, which was recorded at WBEZ
Chicago’s Jim and Kay Mabie Performance Studio, is now available for sale as a
download.
