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AUGUST 2008 Vol. 6 No. 11<br />
Festival Madness<br />
It’s all about festivals in the September issue of <strong>FOH</strong>. We hit up some of the world’s largest<br />
music festivals including Rock in Rio, Chicago’s Ravinia and Milwaukee’s Summerfest. For the<br />
latter, we catch up with Brad Madix and Brent Carpenter on tour with Rush (pictured above).<br />
“It’s a Miracle!”<br />
Console Survives Lightning Strike<br />
BALTIMORE, Md. — In an incredible feat<br />
of resilience, 500,000 volts of electricity struck<br />
a Soundcraft FX16 audio console during a<br />
sideshow gone awry at the Baltimore Tattoo<br />
Convention in Baltimore City, Md., and the<br />
show was able to continue. Airport Circle<br />
Sound Reinforcement, LLC was faced with an<br />
unexpected bolt of lightning that discharged<br />
from a performer’s Tesla Coil into the Soundcraft<br />
mixer.<br />
After destroying the preamps of the mic<br />
channels that were attached and all the mi-<br />
crophones that were in use, Executive Engineer<br />
for Airport Circle Sound, Nik Salvo was<br />
able to use the remaining channels of the<br />
sound console and continue with two more<br />
days of performances.<br />
The first night took an unexpected turn<br />
as the machine discharged when someone<br />
mistakenly plugged it in back stage. Lighting<br />
bolts immediately shot from the coil to the<br />
sound and lighting systems, rendering most<br />
of the system inoperable, yet the sound console<br />
survived.<br />
Jim Pietryga<br />
FCC May Test White Spaces Devices at Major Events<br />
NILES, Ill. — Several large-scale events<br />
have offered their locations in response to<br />
the FCC’s office of Engineering and Technology’s<br />
(OET) announcement that it will<br />
conduct field tests of prototype White<br />
Spaces devices.<br />
In a letter dated July 8, Louis Libin,<br />
president of Broad-Comm, Inc. and<br />
chairman of POLCOMM2008, which<br />
coordinates the wireless microphone<br />
frequencies during the Democratic and<br />
Republican National Conventions, wrote,<br />
“We believe these conventions would<br />
provide a perfect opportunity to conduct<br />
further testing regarding the efficacy of<br />
these devices. It would provide a real experiment<br />
during an event that employs<br />
hundreds of wireless microphones and<br />
frequencies.”<br />
Daryl Friedman, vice president, Advocacy<br />
& Government Relations for the Recording<br />
Academy (NARAS), wrote a letter<br />
dated July 17, stating, “We firmly believe<br />
that the Commission should move with<br />
extreme caution before approving any<br />
2008 Parnelli<br />
Award Nominations<br />
Now Open<br />
LAS VEGAS — Nominations for the<br />
2008 Parnelli Awards are now being<br />
accepted at www.parnelliawards.<br />
com/nominate. Since 2001, the Parnelli<br />
award has recognized pioneering<br />
and influential individuals and<br />
their contributions to the live event<br />
industry, honoring both individuals<br />
and companies. Nominees are being<br />
accepted for all categories, including<br />
<strong>FOH</strong> Mixer, Monitor Mixer and Sound<br />
Company.<br />
Much more than just being about<br />
the person who gets the great gig and<br />
pulls it off flawlessly, a Parnelli award<br />
is also about moving our industry<br />
forward with the same qualities that<br />
defined the person after whom it is<br />
named. Named after Rick “Parnelli”<br />
O’Brien, an extraordinary production<br />
manager and human being, the award<br />
is given to those who, like O’Brien, exemplify<br />
the “four Hs”: humanity, humility,<br />
honesty and humor. continued on page 6<br />
new portable device operations in the TV<br />
Band. We would be happy to help coordinate<br />
an FCC visit to the Lollapalooza Festival<br />
in Chicago on Aug. 1.”<br />
continued on page 5<br />
22<br />
26<br />
38<br />
Hometown<br />
Heroes 2008<br />
LAS VEGAS — In the world of pro<br />
audio, regional soundcos are among<br />
the hardest working people in the biz.<br />
Often involved in a multitude of markets<br />
(concerts, corporates, HOW) and offering<br />
a variety of services, they work hard to<br />
stay competitive in a hyper-competitive<br />
market. The 2008 <strong>FOH</strong> Hometown Hero<br />
Awards are picked from a selection<br />
of several regions around the United<br />
States and Canada. The regional<br />
soundcos are both nominated and<br />
voted on by their peers. Winners from<br />
each region become the nominees for<br />
the annual Hometown Hero/Regional<br />
Sound Company of the year at the 2008<br />
Parnelli Awards ceremony in Las Vegas.<br />
<strong>FOH</strong> profiled each region’s winning<br />
soundco to uncover their secrets to<br />
success. Turn to page 32.<br />
Production Profile<br />
Eighth Day and Wigwam provide<br />
the punch for George Michael’s U.S.<br />
swan song.<br />
Road Tests<br />
We check out the Peavey Versarray,<br />
JLH AxeTrak and Waves MaxxBCL<br />
Anklebiters<br />
The trials and tribulations of a true<br />
anklebiter.
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C o N t ENts<br />
What’s hot<br />
What’s hot<br />
Installations<br />
Feature<br />
David Lawler and Craig Doubet are audio<br />
installers for two houses of worship by day,<br />
<strong>FOH</strong> mixers by night.<br />
Production Profile<br />
Eighth Day and Wigwam provide the punch for<br />
George Michael’s U.S. swan song.<br />
FEEDBACK<br />
20<br />
22<br />
Features<br />
18 <strong>FOH</strong> Interview<br />
<strong>FOH</strong> kicks it with Slamhammer Sound during<br />
Boston and Styx’s co-headlining summer tour.<br />
24 Buyers Guide<br />
Time to get personal with perhaps the most<br />
subjective piece of gear out there. Personal<br />
monitor earpieces, that is.<br />
26 Road Tests<br />
We take the Peavey Versarray, Waves MaxxBCL<br />
and JLH AxeTrak out for a test drive.<br />
28 Vital Stats<br />
Thermal Relief Design’s motto is to relentlessly<br />
chase perfection, and in the process, achieve<br />
excellence.<br />
30 Welcome To My Nightmare<br />
Anklebiter or stuntman? You decide.<br />
32 Hometown Heroes 2008<br />
You voted for ‘em… now learn the secrets to<br />
their success. We profile the regional winners<br />
of the <strong>FOH</strong> Hometown Hero Awards.<br />
Relieving The Strain<br />
I just read your article on distro taps in the April issue<br />
of <strong>FOH</strong>. (Yes, I’m WAY behind on my reading!) When<br />
you describe using the strain relief for the knock-out<br />
holes, I got to wondering: That makes sense for a surface-mounted<br />
panel, but what about a flush-mounted<br />
(inside the wall) sub panel? How do you pass your<br />
cables into the box? Do you leave the cover off of the<br />
sub panel? Replace the top screws loosely and leave<br />
enough of a gap at the bottom for the cables to pass<br />
through? How do you handle strain relief in such a case,<br />
or do you simply not use flush mounted panels?<br />
I also noted your comments about the bowling alley/nightclub.<br />
You mention having to squeeze your<br />
hand between the vending machine and the breaker<br />
box in order to flip the main breaker. Unless I’m sadly<br />
mistaken, that is illegal and I’m surprised the fire marshal<br />
hasn’t jumped on the venue for that. My understanding<br />
is that the area around any breaker box must<br />
be kept clear at all times. That vending machine should<br />
NOT be there!<br />
Bruce Purdy<br />
Technical Director<br />
The Smith Opera House<br />
Hello Bruce,<br />
On the few flush-mount panels I do have to do taps<br />
into, the common lockout/tagout procedures have to be<br />
abided by as much as I can, but within practical excep-<br />
www.fohonline.com<br />
AUGUST<br />
2008, Vol. 6.11<br />
Columns<br />
31 The Bleeding Edge<br />
Make some room for acoustic room correction<br />
technology.<br />
37 Sound Sanctuary<br />
Perfecting the sound of the pastor, choir or<br />
worship band.<br />
38 Anklebiters<br />
The trials and tribulations of a true anklebiter.<br />
40 Theory and Practice<br />
More than just a courtesy, zeroing out a console<br />
should be a routine practice every gig.<br />
40 The Biz<br />
The install and live sound markets are ready<br />
“to make beautiful music together.”<br />
44 <strong>FOH</strong>-at-Large<br />
With constant demands all day long, it’s time<br />
to ask yourself, “Hey, what about me?”<br />
Departments<br />
4 Editor’s Note<br />
5 News<br />
12 International News<br />
13 On the Move<br />
14 New Gear<br />
16 Showtime<br />
30 In the Trenches<br />
tions. Some form of temporary strain relief is what I attempt,<br />
even if is done using gaffer’s tape on a nearby<br />
mechanical feature. Also, I leave an extra coil or two of<br />
feeder just in case someone does trip into the feeders<br />
on the ground. The most important aspect is just keep a<br />
vigilent eye on the panel at all times. Thankfully, many of<br />
these flush-mount panels are near the performance stage<br />
and under constant scrutiny.<br />
On the bowling alley vending machine/breaker panel<br />
debacle, yes, it probably does not meet NFPA electrical<br />
codes because if I can not get my face near the panel it<br />
would be tough to read and shutdown circuits in an emergency.<br />
The question I have is how often do fire marshals<br />
visit these businesses, and is it even on their list of things<br />
to check on? Maybe the vending machines were missing<br />
or located further away during the last inspection.<br />
Mark Amundson
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Editor’s Note<br />
By BillEvans<br />
Here’s a Nod to the Unsung<br />
So, it’s a Friday late afternoon and<br />
I am trying like hell to get access<br />
to the Journey/Heart/Cheap Trick<br />
show in town. I figured we already had<br />
interviews with the crews for Boston<br />
and Styx in the can and we could do a<br />
real classic rock extravaganza. But, of<br />
course, me being me, I was trying to<br />
do this at about 4:30 p.m. on show day.<br />
A couple of friends in the biz with ties<br />
to a couple of the acts tried mightily (a<br />
big tip of the hat to Dave Shadoan and<br />
Greg DeTogne), but it was just too late<br />
to make it happen.<br />
It was looking like a night at home<br />
until the phone rang. It was my good<br />
friend Dave Tenant from the Cannery<br />
in North Las Vegas asking me if I wanted<br />
to come out to see a show. They<br />
were doing a ”British Invasion” weekend<br />
and had the Zombies that night.<br />
I agreed to come out mostly because I<br />
wanted something to do and because<br />
the group included two original members,<br />
one of which was Rod Argent,<br />
who is one of the baddest organ players<br />
ever.<br />
As I watched the show — which<br />
was great BT W — I could not help but<br />
think that I never knew how influential<br />
this band had been on other better-known<br />
artists. And not just pop or<br />
rock. The Zombies, I figured out that<br />
night, were prog before that term was<br />
ever coined. They did their first record<br />
in ’64, and by the time you read<br />
this the Foo Fighters should have released<br />
a new single that the Zombies<br />
first did in ’68. I left wondering how I<br />
could have missed out on all but the<br />
big hits from a band like this and thinking<br />
about how little credit they get<br />
for all of the influence they have had<br />
over the years.<br />
I have yet to meet an <strong>FOH</strong> engineer who<br />
has not told me how important his system<br />
engineer is or how he could never do his<br />
job without the work and expertise of the<br />
person filling that seat.<br />
4<br />
As is typical, that led me down<br />
other paths, and I have been thinking<br />
a lot about the “unsung” — the folks<br />
who are crucial to a show, company or<br />
other endeavor and who never seem<br />
to get the credit for it.<br />
Some regional sound companies<br />
who fall into that generally unsung<br />
category get their props in this issue<br />
as we announce the winners of the annual<br />
Hometown Heroes awards. Seven<br />
companies from six areas of the U.S.<br />
and Canada (yes, we had an actual<br />
tie this year), some of which you may<br />
know and others you don’t who were<br />
nominated and voted on by a jury of<br />
their peers (that would be you and<br />
your fellow <strong>FOH</strong> readers). These folks<br />
will go on to be the nominees for the<br />
big Hometown Hero/Regional Soundco<br />
of the Year award at the Parnellis in<br />
October.<br />
They all share a few things in common:<br />
They do not fear or shrink away<br />
AUGUST 2008 www.fohonline.com<br />
from hard work and are all creative<br />
enough to make the gig happen no<br />
matter how difficult/demanding/insane<br />
the promoter/producer/venue<br />
manager is, and gauge their success by<br />
how happy the client is at the end of<br />
the day. I don’t know all of these companies<br />
well, but the ones I do know<br />
have little patience for anyone who is<br />
not willing to go the extra two or three<br />
miles to make the gig work.<br />
If you share their core values of<br />
hard work well done, and you know<br />
what you are doing, they are great to<br />
work for. If, however, you are whiny,<br />
lazy, in the way and unable to look at<br />
the gig through any lens other than<br />
the one defined by your own narrow<br />
field of expertise… Well, actually if<br />
you are all of those things we would<br />
call you a “squint.” But, if you are any of<br />
them you will have a hard time making<br />
it with any of our Hometown Heroes.<br />
As long as we are on the subject of<br />
unsung, nominations for the annual<br />
Parnelli Awards are open as we speak<br />
and we just made an important change.<br />
Last year, we added the category<br />
of Sound Designer, and it just does<br />
not feel right. There are not enough of<br />
them and the top three or four get all<br />
of the work anyway. But there is a guy<br />
on every gig I cover who does his job<br />
without fanfare, and I have yet to meet<br />
an <strong>FOH</strong> engineer who has not told me<br />
how important his system engineer<br />
is or how he could never do his job<br />
without the work and expertise of the<br />
person filling that seat.<br />
So, as of right now, the field for<br />
Sound Designer on the Parnelli nomination<br />
site has morphed into System Engineer.<br />
Another group of unsung heroes<br />
gets its due. It’s a good day…<br />
Publisher<br />
Terry Lowe<br />
tlowe@fohonline.com<br />
Editor<br />
Bill Evans<br />
bevans@fohonline.com<br />
Managing Editor<br />
Breanne George<br />
bg@fohonline.com<br />
Technical Editor<br />
Mark Amundson<br />
mamundson@fohonline.com<br />
Senior Writer<br />
Kevin M. Mitchell<br />
Contributing Writers<br />
Jerry Cobb, Dan Daley,<br />
Jamie Rio, Steve LaCerra,<br />
David John Farinella, Ted Leamy,<br />
Baker Lee, Bryan Reesman,<br />
Tony Mah, Ken Rengering<br />
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Steve Jennings<br />
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gpetrov@fohonline.com<br />
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levans@fohonline.com<br />
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Front Of House (ISSN 1549-831X) Volume 6 Number<br />
11 is published monthly by Timeless Communications<br />
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Publishers of...
FCC May Test White Spaces<br />
Devices at Major Events<br />
continued from cover<br />
Most recently, Don Lepore, producer<br />
of NBC’s hit television show Nashville<br />
Star, expressed his concern regarding<br />
new devices in the White Spaces and<br />
invited the OET to come to Nashville,<br />
writing, “To put it in its simplest form,<br />
the perception that there is significant<br />
fallow ‘white spaces’ in cities like Nashville<br />
is just wrong. Nashville Star wants to<br />
extend its expertise and facilities to the<br />
Commission as it sets forth to execute<br />
the Commission’s testing plans at an entertainment<br />
venue.”<br />
The FCC recently began field-testing,<br />
which is open to the public and will<br />
take place over a four-week period with<br />
specific dates, times and locations being<br />
updated regularly at www.fcc.gov/oet/<br />
projects/tvbanddevice/Welcome.html.<br />
“We’re pleased to see this response<br />
from the Recording Academy, POLCOMM<br />
and the producers of Nashville Star,<br />
and we hope that the Commission<br />
will consider taking them up on their<br />
offers,” said Mark Brunner, Shure senior<br />
director of Public and Industry Relations.<br />
“There simply is no substitute for these<br />
types of ‘real world’ scenarios for the<br />
OET to conduct its field tests in order<br />
to determine what will be required to<br />
protect wireless microphones used in<br />
high-profile applications.”<br />
PRG Purchases<br />
Hi-Tech Rentals<br />
NEW WINDSOR, N.Y. — Production Resource<br />
Group, L.L.C. (PRG) Chairman and CEO<br />
Jere Harris has announced that the company<br />
has purchased Hi-Tech Rentals, Inc.<br />
Headquartered in Atlanta, with additional<br />
facilities in Orlando and Las Vegas, Hi-Tech<br />
supplies audio, video, lighting and related<br />
services for trade shows, corporate meetings<br />
and other events. “Hi-Tech has built an outstanding<br />
reputation, a solid inventory and a<br />
strong customer base in these growing market<br />
segments,” says Harris. “They will be an excellent<br />
fit with our other capabilities and markets,<br />
and we expect them to be an important<br />
part of our company going forward.”<br />
“PRG is the gold standard in the entertainment<br />
technology industry and we are excited<br />
about helping the company expand its<br />
presence throughout those markets where<br />
Hi-Tech is well-known and respected,” said Al<br />
Dyess, president, Hi-Tech. “Hi-Tech has built a<br />
solid reputation for outstanding service and<br />
innovative solutions for our customers over<br />
the last 20 years. The marriage of PRG and Hi-<br />
Tech will only serve to enhance that experience<br />
for our current customer base as well as<br />
those customers we hope to work with in the<br />
future,” he added. Dyess will continue to oversee<br />
the Hi-Tech operations.<br />
Hi-Tech will continue to operate out of its<br />
Atlanta office and warehouse, which will become<br />
a key depot for PRG’s products and services.<br />
“The Hi-Tech team is very excited about<br />
this transaction,” observed Dyess. “We are all<br />
very aware of PRG’s market-leading positions<br />
in a variety of entertainment categories and<br />
it’s clear to us that PRG values their people<br />
and understands that while the technology<br />
is a “must have,” the people ultimately make<br />
the difference.”<br />
www.fohonline.com<br />
News<br />
Training Opportunities Available<br />
MUSKEGON, Mich. — Training opportunities<br />
are taking place across the U.S. for sound<br />
designers, techs and mixers of all skill levels,<br />
including the Worship Arts Technology Summit<br />
and training seminars for L-ACOUSTICS’ DOSC<br />
systems.<br />
A first-of-its-kind training opportunity is<br />
open to all church technicians and musicians<br />
seeking in-depth technology training available<br />
in the areas of audio, musicianship, lighting,<br />
recording and media presentation. The Worship<br />
Arts Technology Summit will be held Sept.14 to<br />
18 in Muskegon, Mich. All skill levels are welcome,<br />
as the training will be presented in structured<br />
technology tracks allowing attendees to begin<br />
with the basics and build upon them with a<br />
series of increasingly advanced class offerings.<br />
Hosted by Shure, Yamaha Commercial<br />
Audio Systems, Inc., Yamaha Corporation of<br />
America and Martin Professional, the event will<br />
be held at the Maranatha Bible and Missionary<br />
Conference Center on the shores of Lake<br />
Michigan. On hand will be Summit sponsor<br />
pro audio experts along with leading worship<br />
musicians and sound and lighting professionals.<br />
In-depth three-day tracks will include Audio,<br />
Musician, Lighting and Media.<br />
Given the “total system approach” brought<br />
about by the debut of the LA4 and LA8,<br />
L-ACOUSTICS has revised its DOSC systems<br />
training seminars to incorporate the new<br />
amplified controller system architecture.<br />
Designed for L-ACOUSTICS systems owners<br />
as well as technicians, mixing engineers<br />
and sound designers using the products,<br />
two summer sessions will be presented at<br />
L-ACOUSTICS US in Oxnard, Calif. — one<br />
focusing on KUDO-based systems, held July<br />
23 and 24, and the other dealing with V-DOSC<br />
scheduled for Aug. 26 and 27.<br />
The new 2008 summer seminars offer<br />
a blend of theoretical knowledge and field<br />
procedures in order to operate and optimize<br />
WST-based systems in a safe and controlled<br />
environment. System seminars can be extended<br />
to a third day — July 25 and Aug. 28 —<br />
dedicated to the manufacturer’s SOUNDVISION<br />
3D acoustical modeling software.<br />
2008 AUGUST<br />
5<br />
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6<br />
News<br />
SIA Acoustics Expands with West Coast Office<br />
LOS ANGELES — SIA Acoustics LLC, an<br />
acoustical design firm based in New York<br />
City, now spans both coasts with the opening<br />
of a new office near Hollywood, Calif.<br />
“Our West Coast expansion is the next<br />
step to allow us to better serve our music,<br />
film and architectural clients on the<br />
West Coast,” states Sam Berkow, founder<br />
OXNARD, Calif. — Radiohead, a longtime<br />
L-ACOUSTICS user, has returned to the road<br />
this summer in support of its latest album, In<br />
Rainbows. Firehouse Productions of Red Hook,<br />
N.Y., is serving as the sound provider for the U.S.<br />
tour legs, with Wigwam Acoustics of Heywood<br />
(Manchester), UK handling the European dates.<br />
The tour’s <strong>FOH</strong> loudspeaker configuration,<br />
designed by freelance system engineer<br />
and L-ACOUSTICS-certified V-DOSC engineer<br />
Sherif el Barbari, features left and right arrays<br />
each comprised of 15 V-DOSC cabinets with<br />
three dV-DOSC hung below for front-fill. These<br />
loudspeakers are complemented by two additional<br />
arrays of 14 V-DOSC plus three dV-DOSC<br />
to address both the far left and right seating<br />
areas. For low-end punch, the system features<br />
32 SB28 subwoofer enclosures, all driven by L-<br />
ACOUSTICS LA8 amplified controllers.<br />
and partner of SIA Acoustics, who will be<br />
managing the Los Angeles office. Partner<br />
Steve Sockey will manage the New York<br />
City office.<br />
Recent projects include acoustical<br />
design and consulting for The Pearl at<br />
the Palms Hotel and Casino, The Clive<br />
Davis Department of Record Music at<br />
“With the exception of two shows at<br />
Bercy in Paris, all of the concerts are outdoor<br />
shows — stadiums, sheds, green fields<br />
or amphitheaters, which make the sound<br />
design very challenging,” notes el Barbari.<br />
“However, I am impressed by the power of<br />
the 32 L-ACOUSTICS SB28 subwoofers driven<br />
by LA8. We have also used the SB28 in cardioid<br />
configuration on several shows now<br />
and the results are impressive.”<br />
Jim Warren, Radiohead’s <strong>FOH</strong> engineer<br />
from day one, adds, “I still sometimes find<br />
myself going to switch off my nearfield<br />
monitors in an arena show, only to find that<br />
they are off already. The clarity and precision<br />
of the V-DOSC system continues to surprise<br />
me even after 10 years of using them<br />
in just about every live sound environment<br />
there is.”<br />
AUGUST 2008 www.fohonline.com<br />
New York University, The Botnick Mixing<br />
Facility, and special events at Madison<br />
Square Park, Lincoln Center’s New<br />
York State Theatre and the Esplanade<br />
Theaters On The Bay in Singapore. Other<br />
notable clients have included Hollywood<br />
Bowl, the Grand Ole Opry,<br />
AirShow Mastering, Sound Stages at<br />
Paramount Studio, Faith Community<br />
Church and many others.<br />
Berkow and Sockey believe that the<br />
expansion of SIA Acoustics benefits both<br />
existing and new clients. “By having staff<br />
on both coasts, we will be able to respond<br />
even more quickly and reduce travel time<br />
to reach our clients,” states Sockey.<br />
Radiohead Storms the Globe Three 6 Mafia Amplified at Miami Nightclub<br />
Radiohead in concert<br />
NORTHRIDGE, Calif. — Clair Showco<br />
of Lititz, Pa., recently provided a Studer<br />
Vista 5 SR console for country music star<br />
Keith Urban’s U.S. tour. The multi-city tour<br />
featured Studer Vista 5 SR digital audio<br />
consoles in use for both <strong>FOH</strong> and monitor<br />
mixing applications.<br />
The Studer Vista 5 SR was chosen<br />
by Urban’s mixing engineers who went<br />
through a vigorous evaluation process<br />
prior to the selection of the console, but<br />
chose the Studer after it met all required<br />
criteria: sound quality, flexibility, ease-ofuse<br />
and reliability.<br />
<strong>FOH</strong> engineer Steve Law and monitor<br />
mixing engineer Jason Spence evaluated<br />
numerous brands of sound consoles before<br />
the tour. Spence noted he had never<br />
felt as comfortable with a new desk as he<br />
did during the week he was trying out the<br />
Studer Vista 5 SR.<br />
“When choosing a console, I have<br />
three criteria,” said Spence. “It has to<br />
sound good to the artist on stage. If it<br />
doesn’t, there’s not much point in continuing.<br />
Second, I have to be able to get<br />
around it quickly. With the ‘inline design’<br />
of the input and output strips, the Vista<br />
5 SR feels very ‘analog.’ I’m able to have<br />
control and access<br />
to all the parameters<br />
at my fingertips.<br />
There are not<br />
multiple pages<br />
to plow through<br />
to gain control of<br />
any particular<br />
feature. Lastly,<br />
it needs to be<br />
reliable and not<br />
crash. It seems<br />
that with other<br />
brands, I could<br />
get one, maybe<br />
two of my criteria<br />
met; however<br />
with the Studer, I<br />
got all three.”<br />
MIAMI — Three 6 Mafia performed at the tin Audio’s LE1200 were perfect due to the<br />
Miami club Sobe Live to promote the group’s small stage size but high levels needed for<br />
new CD "Last 2 Walk." Production company, the concert. The was a rap show with an<br />
Drummer Boy Sound, which does sound for internationally known rap group, and the<br />
Sobe Live, was in charge of the sound with stage monitors were so important."<br />
Harold Cummings of Drummer Boy (<strong>FOH</strong>/ Cummings concludes, "Michael had<br />
monitors) and Michael Foster, Three 6's en- never heard the Martin Audio LE1200 monigineer<br />
handling the audio chores.<br />
tors before, but told me they sounded amaz-<br />
The club's in-house system includes ing. He went on to say that on the current<br />
Martin Audio amplification and an LE1200 tour we were the first production company<br />
stage monitor, along with a Dynacord Alpha to get the stage sound and mic levels right<br />
system, four flown top cabinets, four dual and so quickly. He was impressed by the<br />
18” subs and Crown Macro-tech 3600 and<br />
5000vz amps. Drummer<br />
Boy Sound supplied a APB-<br />
LE1200 and wants to use them again.”<br />
DynaSonics H1020 mixing<br />
console, Klark Teknik<br />
DN-370 EQ (house), Klark<br />
Teknik Square One EQ<br />
(monitors), and Shure UHF-<br />
R/Beta 58A wireless mics.<br />
According to Cummings,<br />
"The Artist Rider<br />
requested high-powered<br />
stage monitors and Mar- Sobe Live nightclub<br />
2008 Parnelli Award<br />
Nominations Now Open<br />
continued from cover<br />
Part of the prestige of the Parnellis lies on<br />
their foundation as a peer-recognized award.<br />
To win a Parnelli, a person or firm is first nominated<br />
by their peers. Their peers then vote on<br />
these nominees and a winner is declared at the<br />
Parnelli Awards ceremony. The ceremony will<br />
take place this year at the Rio All Suite Hotel &<br />
Casino in Las Vegas on Friday, Oct. 24. For more<br />
info, visit www.parnelliawards.com.<br />
Consoles Meet Tough Criteria for Keith Urban Tour<br />
Additionally, Crown Macro-Tech 3600<br />
amps and a Lexicon M480L Reverb Effects<br />
Processor were in use as part of Clair<br />
Showco’s custom JBL-loaded loudspeaker<br />
system for the Keith Urban tour.<br />
Keith Urban’s <strong>FOH</strong> engineer Steve Law and monitor engineer Jason Spence with the Studer<br />
Vista 5 console<br />
Emerging Artists<br />
Supported<br />
IRVINE, Calif. — Ultimate Ears has announced<br />
that it is reducing the price of the<br />
company’s dual-driver UE-5 Pro to better<br />
accommodate a larger user base within the<br />
emerging artist community.<br />
The custom-fit UE-5 Pro, now available for<br />
only $600 — a $100 price reduction — is the<br />
original dual-driver personal monitor with a<br />
two-speaker design and passive noise cancellation.<br />
The low- and high-frequency speakers<br />
in each ear deliver a clear sound experience<br />
for live stage performance, recording or personal<br />
listening.<br />
“We believe that this significant price<br />
reduction will allow budget conscience customers<br />
to gain access to a fully customized<br />
in-ear-monitor with a detachable cable,” said<br />
Mindy Harvey, president and co-founder of<br />
Ultimate Ears. “In the past, custom sleeves<br />
were an acceptable alternative to Ultimate<br />
Ears’ custom-fit products, but they are problematic<br />
and can significantly alter the audio<br />
signature of the product they are placed<br />
upon. Now we can offer a much better value<br />
for customers seeking a totally integrated<br />
custom-fit earpiece.”<br />
Each pair is handcrafted from ear impressions<br />
made by a professional audiologist<br />
or hearing aid center. The earphones<br />
are available in any color with a choice of<br />
detachable cables and can be customized<br />
with personal artwork or “tattoos” to show<br />
off individual style.<br />
The first Ultimate Ears earphones were<br />
born out of a special request from Alex Van<br />
Halen, founder of Van Halen. The company<br />
boasts major clients, including The Eagles,<br />
Metallica, Madonna and Gwen Stefani.
Ad info: http://foh.hotims.com/
Ad info:http:// foh.hotims.com<br />
Ad info:http:// foh.hotims.com<br />
8<br />
News<br />
Queen Victoria Ocean Liner Sets Sail<br />
DALY CITY, Calif. — Two Digidesign VENUE live sound<br />
systems set sail recently on Cunard’s newest state-of-the-art<br />
international vessel, the Queen Victoria. The majestic ocean<br />
liner’s 12 decks offer some of the most luxurious and modern<br />
accoutrements on water including a grand, multilevel<br />
lobby, casino, restaurants and two theaters.<br />
Nautilus Entertainment Design Inc. of San Diego provided<br />
the audio and video designs for the ship’s 30 individual<br />
entertainment venues, which range from intimate lounges,<br />
fitness centers and recreational areas to the palatial Royal<br />
Court Theatre and Queens Room ballroom. The theater and<br />
ballroom are each outfitted with high-tech sound systems<br />
that feature a Digidesign VENUE system.<br />
As Nautilus’ Principal Sound Designer Alan Edwards<br />
explains, dependability was a key factor in choosing the<br />
VENUE systems: “Reliability is a key component to any installation,<br />
but even more so for one that is in the middle of the<br />
ocean. In the unlikely event that something does go down<br />
at sea, you can’t just call the local technical shop for a repair.<br />
With the VENUE, it’s as simple as swapping out a component.<br />
VENUE gives us the confidence that the show will go<br />
on every night.”<br />
The Royal Court Theatre is outfitted with a 96-channel<br />
D-Show system comprised of a D-Show Main unit,<br />
two D-show Sidecars and a sliding script tray. In addition,<br />
the system features two 48 input stage racks, a <strong>FOH</strong> Rack<br />
with five DSP Mix Engine cards and additional option<br />
cards that provide FireWire interface to Pro Tools LE for<br />
recording and playback and Ethernet connection for remote<br />
control of the system. This large setup handles 72<br />
analog/24 digital inputs and 32 analog/64 digital outputs.<br />
The Queens Room features a smaller D-Show Profile system<br />
with similar options to manage 48 analog inputs and<br />
16 analog/16 digital output channels.<br />
“These rooms are used for multiple events, from production<br />
shows to lectures, and they’re always busy,” Edwards<br />
explains. “The engineers typically have less than<br />
an hour between shows to do a changeover, and that’s<br />
pretty much impossible with an analog desk. VENUE’s<br />
snapshot automation gives the engineer the freedom to<br />
concentrate on the quality of the mix, rather than worrying<br />
about what cue has to happen next. And it’s such an<br />
intuitive interface, which really streamlines the workflow.<br />
In a busy live situation, that’s invaluable.”<br />
AUGUST 2008 www.fohonline.com<br />
MIDLAND, Texas — Built in 1929 and designated<br />
a Texas State Historical Landmark,<br />
the Yucca Theatre in Midland, Texas is home<br />
to the Midland Community Theatre and its<br />
“Summer Mummers,” a locally produced and<br />
written show that harks back to the golden<br />
age of Vaudeville.<br />
The Yucca’s new Electro-Voice XLCi 127DVX<br />
sound system ensures this unique production<br />
sounds better than ever for its 60th anniversary<br />
in 2008. The EV system was designed by FitzCo<br />
Sound, Inc. (Midland, Texas) and installed by<br />
Midland Community Theatre personnel (supervised<br />
by Technical Director/Sound & Lighting<br />
Designer Eddie Taylor).<br />
The show comprises a “Melodrama” interspersed<br />
with “Moviola” segments, with<br />
the second half of the evening featuring<br />
a rapid-fire set of skits known as the “Olio.”<br />
Boisterous crowds are the norm, with popcorn-throwing<br />
encouraged; for that reason,<br />
a relatively powerful sound system was necessary<br />
to ensure intelligibility — especially<br />
for the snappy dialog that drives the show<br />
— over the noise of the audience.<br />
It was also essential that the audio<br />
equipment be as unobtrusive as possible<br />
Digidesign VENUE on the high seas<br />
Theatre Relives the Golden Age<br />
of Vaudeville<br />
with regard to the theatre’s historic Assyrian-style<br />
interior. System Designer Milt<br />
Hathaway of FitzCo Sound described the<br />
Electro-Voice solution:<br />
“The system was designed for greatest<br />
gain-before-feedback while staying within<br />
the budget of a community theatre. It has<br />
a central array of seven XLCi 127DVX boxes,<br />
with a delay ring of seven ZX1i compact<br />
loudspeakers to cover the under-balcony<br />
area. Power is provided by six P3000RL remote<br />
control amplifiers running IRIS-Net<br />
control and supervision software (via a UCC1<br />
USB to CAN-bus interface).<br />
While the design may appear to be overkill<br />
for a house that only seats 550, the system<br />
had to be capable of reproducing intelligible<br />
speech at sound levels high enough to<br />
be heard over the typically raucous crowds<br />
that come to Summer Mummers performances<br />
every summer. The precise pattern<br />
control of the XLCi line array allowed us to<br />
achieve this while mic’ing the performers<br />
with nothing more than three floor mics and<br />
two overhead mics. And I can’t say enough<br />
about how easily the ZX1i cabinets installed<br />
and how great they sound.”<br />
Yucca Theatre in Midland, Texas
Ad info: http://foh.hotims.com/
Ad info:http:// foh.hotims.com<br />
10<br />
News<br />
Shure Podcasts Cover Fundamentals of Wired and Wireless Mics<br />
NILES, Ill. — Shure Incorporated has<br />
posted several new educational podcasts,<br />
called Shurecasts, on the company’s<br />
Web site (www.shure.com/proaudio)<br />
and on iTunes that cover the basics<br />
of wired and wireless microphones.<br />
Topics include Transducers, Frequency<br />
Response and Directionality for wired<br />
microphones, and Choosing the Right<br />
Golf Sponsors<br />
System, Frequency Selection and Antennas<br />
for wireless microphones.<br />
“These are just a handful in a series of<br />
podcasts we’ve already created and are<br />
continuing to produce as part of our overall<br />
education program,” said Chris Lyons, manager<br />
of Technical and Educational Communications<br />
for Shure. “For years, we’ve had<br />
an extensive library of educational book-<br />
AUGUST 2008 www.fohonline.com<br />
lets and articles available on our Web site,<br />
which have been very popular. The nice<br />
thing about our podcasts is their portability<br />
because they can be played on any digital<br />
music player or computer.”<br />
Other Shurecasts that are currently<br />
available cover a variety of audio topics<br />
including Sound Isolating Earphones,<br />
Stereo Miking Techniques, the SM57 and<br />
N<br />
SM58 microphones, and White Spaces.<br />
Each episode includes a brief introduction<br />
to a particular segment of audio technology,<br />
such as microphones, earphones and<br />
audible demonstrations.<br />
Additional Shurecasts will be released<br />
on a regular basis, approximately one per<br />
month, and some episodes will include interviews<br />
with artists and engineers.<br />
Steerable Line Arrays<br />
The Big Guns in sound reinforcement that fight<br />
against blurred speech are steerable arrays, loudspeakers<br />
whose output may be beamed at a specific<br />
area of an audience. Much like a line array is to music,<br />
there are several goals to a steerable loudspeaker array. (1)<br />
Make sure that the listener hears audio from only one cabinet at<br />
any time, (2) control the speaker’s dispersion so as to not increase<br />
reverberant reflections, and (3) ascertain that audio from<br />
two different arrays will not sum or cancel and create phase issues.<br />
Brought to you by Martin Professional<br />
— From Steve La Cerra’s “Bleeding Edge“ column in the<br />
March issue of <strong>FOH</strong>.
Ad info: http://foh.hotims.com/
12<br />
International News<br />
Church Becomes Envy of Live Music Venues<br />
ENGLAND — In September 2006, Peterborough<br />
Community Church opened a new<br />
80,000-sq.-ft. building in the Cambridgeshire<br />
city it is named after. With a technical specification<br />
that would be the envy of many large<br />
theatres and live music venues, the inclusion<br />
of DiGiCo D5 and D1 consoles demonstrated<br />
that the church was committed to the future.<br />
Twenty months later, the building has a new<br />
name — KingsGate Community Church —<br />
and its technical team has had many months<br />
of using the DiGiCo consoles.<br />
“When specifying the system, our intention<br />
was to make it easy for people to understand<br />
the church’s message, for it to be simple<br />
for them to join in and to feel part of it. Great<br />
sound and great vision are all part of that,” says<br />
KingsGate Technical Director Pete Charlton.<br />
“The truth is that every time I finish an event,<br />
it’s been great. The technical side has been so<br />
smooth and the DiGiCo consoles play a huge<br />
part in that. I’m still continually impressed with<br />
the technical facilities we have.”<br />
The church has a team of eight sound<br />
operators. All are volunteers and none has<br />
any pro audio experience, but despite the ini-<br />
tial learning curve being steep, the intuitive<br />
DiGiCo user interface ensured that they were<br />
quickly up to speed.<br />
“It was a huge leap for them to go from a<br />
standard analog console, which we were using<br />
before, to a much more complex system,”<br />
says Charlton. “But the consoles helped them<br />
grasp the basic concepts very quickly, which<br />
make services and the other events we host<br />
run very smoothly.<br />
Music is a fundamental part of KingsGate<br />
services, with two bands performing on alternate<br />
weeks, so the console’s snapshots facility is<br />
becoming increasingly important.<br />
“Having set up basic mixes for each<br />
band, each week that particular band is playing,<br />
we build on the mix, tweaking it, getting<br />
better as time goes on. We’re using the consoles<br />
to build and improve the sound all the<br />
time,” says Pete.<br />
“We also have three or four big events<br />
each year, where we have guest worship leaders<br />
and musical performers,” he continues. “At<br />
those events there are four major services over<br />
a weekend and our aim is to repeat the production<br />
as close to the rehearsals as possible.<br />
NEXO GEO T Arrives In Israel<br />
ISRAEL — The first NEXO GEO T line<br />
array system has arrived in Israel, purchased<br />
by rental company Sincopa, one<br />
of the country’s largest PA providers for<br />
entertainment events.<br />
NEXO distributor A.B. Noam Electronics<br />
Ltd has delivered to Sincopa a 24-module<br />
GEO T array system with 12 CD18 subbass<br />
units, NX242-ES4 digital processors<br />
and a full complement of CAMCO Vortex<br />
6 amplifiers. It is a system intended to appeal<br />
to Israel’s biggest promoters and productions,<br />
especially in rock music circles.<br />
Although the company already keeps<br />
line array systems in inventory, as well as<br />
NEXO’s Alpha E and PS Series models, the<br />
acquisition of NEXO’s system promises<br />
more power and higher quality, especially<br />
in the festival environment.<br />
“Sincopa liked the crisp sound of<br />
GEO T and its optimization for rock music,”<br />
says Asaf Tzur from A.B. Noam Electronics.<br />
“Already there’s a huge buzz<br />
about the system and Sincopa is taking<br />
a lot of bookings. Artists, engineers —<br />
everyone wants to try it.”<br />
NEXO GEO T debuted at the Jerusalem Day celebration<br />
Bertrand Pelloquin from French PA<br />
company Melpomen and Asaf Tzur were<br />
on hand to help set up the full system<br />
for its debut show, a massive outdoor<br />
concert to mark Jerusalem Day celebrations.<br />
Staged in Jerusalem’s Independence<br />
Park (Gan Ha’atzmaut), the city’s<br />
celebration was combined with Hebrew<br />
University’s action-packed Student<br />
Day, and started with an all-nighter or<br />
“laila lavan.” Festivities included a huge<br />
concert featuring many of Israel’s A-list<br />
rock acts, such as Berry Sakharof, Hadag<br />
Nachash, Hacheverim Shel Natasha and<br />
Shlomi Shaban.<br />
Attended by more than 10,000 people,<br />
the show was a success for Sincopa<br />
and its new technology. Asaf Tzur took<br />
the opportunity to train Sincopa engineers<br />
in NEXO’s proprietary GeoSoft program,<br />
designing the show from scratch<br />
because very few concerts are staged in<br />
Independence Park. “Although they were<br />
100 meters away from the system, we<br />
could still hear the reflections from the<br />
nearest buildings,” reports Tzur.<br />
KingsGate Church<br />
AUGUST 2008 www.fohonline.com<br />
“To achieve that we use AV Stumpfl Wings<br />
Platinum media control software. It runs<br />
SMPTE timecode and sends Midi Machine<br />
Control (MMC) messages to fire snapshots<br />
on the DiGiCo consoles, which ensure that all<br />
setting changes for the audio and visuals are<br />
perfectly in synchronization.<br />
UNITED KINGDOM — Australian pop diva<br />
Kylie Minogue has launched a three-month<br />
European tour, “KYLIEX2008,” bringing a killer<br />
new band, spectacular costumes by Jean<br />
Paul Gaultier, and state-of-the-art sound.<br />
UK-based Capital Sound has once again designed<br />
and supplied a powerful Meyer Sound<br />
rig for Minogue’s tour, based around left and<br />
right hangs of 14 MILO and two MILO 120 line<br />
array loudspeakers each.<br />
For some of the larger arenas, such as<br />
Manchester’s Evening News Arena and London’s<br />
O2, two additional side arrays of 12<br />
MICA line array loudspeakers augment the<br />
system. Low end is covered<br />
by a combination of six flown<br />
600-HP subwoofers per side,<br />
along with eight 700-HP<br />
subwoofers per side on the<br />
ground. “Chris Pyne (<strong>FOH</strong><br />
engineer) wanted a powerful<br />
but present low end,<br />
with both power and attack.<br />
Therefore, we suggested the<br />
600-HP and 700-HP together<br />
as an ideal combination to<br />
achieve that,” explains Paul<br />
Timmins, Capital Sound’s<br />
project manager.<br />
“The DiGiCo consoles work just like<br />
I wanted them to. They get a lot of use,<br />
but they don’t glitch or fall over. They are<br />
able to do everything we want and more.<br />
And, in addition, we know that they are a<br />
sound long-term investment.”<br />
Kylie Has Europe On Its Feet<br />
KYLIEX2008 European tour<br />
Because the massive production utilizes<br />
the entire stage as a visual backdrop, a center<br />
hang of six M’elodie line array loudspeakers<br />
is used instead of frontfill loudspeakers. More<br />
M’elodies are placed on the ground to balance<br />
the imaging.<br />
“With the M’elodies’ great output and<br />
focus, we’ve been able to cover the front<br />
rows with only six cabinets,” says Timmins.<br />
“We’re able to do so without interfering with<br />
sightlines.” Three more M’elodies per side<br />
are used for outfills. A Galileo loudspeaker<br />
management system with three Galileo 616<br />
units handles system drive and DSP.<br />
2008 Olympic Games Kick Off in Beijing<br />
BEIJING — For the opening and closing ceremonies at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games,<br />
Soundcraft Vi6 digital consoles are part of a large Harman-based system. A Soundcraft Vi6<br />
is at the heart of the system in the National Aquatics Centre. Two Soundcraft Vi4s are<br />
installed at the National Olympic Conference Centre, and numerous Soundcraft analog<br />
mixers ranging from CompAct<br />
mixers up to MH4s are installed<br />
in Olympic venues such as the<br />
Fengtai Softball Field, Chang<br />
Ping Indoor Stadium, Olympic<br />
Sports Centre Gymnasium, Beijing<br />
Foreign Language University<br />
Stadium, Ditan Park Indoor<br />
Stadium, Shanghai 80k Stadium,<br />
Hong Kong Equestrian Venues<br />
and the Honk Kong Olympic<br />
Soundcraft Vi6 digital console House Conference Room.
Audio-Technica<br />
Meyer Sound Germany has appointed ing into a landlord-tenant agreement with demonstrations and<br />
has appointed Dan<br />
Lothar Weimann as regional sales manager. In B&C Speakers, also based in Florence, Italy. being the technical<br />
Pelletier to the posi-<br />
this position, Weimann will be working with This new arrangement will alleviate lan- information source<br />
tion of audio solu-<br />
clients throughout the southern and eastern guage issues and create a culture that will for all Stanton Group<br />
tions specialist. As<br />
parts of Germany.<br />
both smooth the transition for Powersoft brands.<br />
part of A-T’s Audio<br />
Bringing more than 25 years of experi- and optimize its effectiveness in the North The hiring of<br />
Solutions Departence<br />
in professional audio, Weimann has held American market.<br />
Penney to the manment,<br />
Pelletier joins<br />
sales and marketing positions at Frankfurt- Heading up Powersoft in the U.S. is Tom agement team will<br />
the team in respondbased<br />
ProAudio Marketing GMBH for brands Bensen, vice president and director of U.S. help increase Staning<br />
to the informa-<br />
such as QSC. During the last three years, Wei- Operations, who has played a key role in the ton’s support to their<br />
tional needs of Au- Dan Pelletier mann served as the registered manager of brand’s acceptance by leading installation dealers, directly im- Chris Penney<br />
dio-Technica’s customers seeking technical the German branch of Spanish loudspeaker and live production companies in the U.S. pacting the effectiveness of Cerwin Vega! and<br />
or product advice and application assistance. manufacturer D.A.S. Audio.<br />
Stanton DJ sales efforts. In addition to the<br />
In his new position, Pelletier will provide cre-<br />
The Stanton Group has announce the ad- new position, Stanton UK will increase their<br />
ative solutions and offer technical expertise Powersoft Advanced Technologies dition of Chris Penney as UK product special- presence by adding an additional warehouse<br />
for Audio-Technica’s staff, reps, dealers and LLC, has moved to new headquarters in ist for Stanton DJ and Cerwin Vega. Based in in Southampton. The facility will be used for<br />
end-users.<br />
Pompton Plains, N.J., as part of a com- Southampton, UK, Penney’s primary respon- storing training, demonstration and market-<br />
Pelletier is a recent college graduate with<br />
a degree in Recording Arts and Technology.<br />
He joined the A-T team as an intern in June of<br />
2007 and was appointed audio solutions specialist<br />
in November 2007. Before joining A-T,<br />
he served as a recording engineer intern at<br />
Cleveland’s Ante Up Audio recording studio<br />
and <strong>FOH</strong> and recording engineer for Broadview<br />
Heights, Ohio’s Sevenoseven young<br />
adult worship organization. Additionally, Pelletier<br />
is a drummer, guitarist and songwriter.<br />
pany expansion. Powersoft will be entersibilities will include product training, store ing materials and stock.<br />
AV Concepts has announced that Charlaine<br />
Caley has joined the company as an<br />
account executive at the SDCC. She will be<br />
teaming with Richard Hancock, who was recently<br />
promoted to director of Sales for Audio-<br />
Visual Services at the SDCC. Caley comes to<br />
AV Concepts with over 18 years of experience<br />
in the audio-visual and hospitality industries<br />
and has established a history in audio-visual<br />
sales and management. Caley’s experience in<br />
audio-visual production and strong industry<br />
reputation further strengthens the AV Concepts’<br />
team at the SDCC.<br />
Delicate Productions<br />
has appointed<br />
Jason Alt as<br />
account executive,<br />
Touring and Event<br />
Services. Jason has<br />
an extensive touring<br />
background where<br />
his audio mixing<br />
skills has been put<br />
into use. He has also<br />
Jason Alt<br />
provided audio, lighting and video services<br />
to the touring, corporate and special event<br />
marketplace.<br />
Meyer Sound<br />
has appointed Kasi<br />
Miller to the position<br />
of public relations associate,<br />
supporting<br />
the efforts to create<br />
greater visibility of<br />
the company’s products<br />
and their applications<br />
worldwide.<br />
Previously serv- Kasi Miller<br />
ing as marketing coordinator<br />
at Meyer<br />
Sound’s Berkeley<br />
headquarters, Miller<br />
will use her knowledge<br />
of the company<br />
and the industry in<br />
her new position in<br />
the public relations<br />
department. Miller<br />
served in several Lothar Weimann<br />
marketing communications roles in the book<br />
publishing industry prior to joining Meyer<br />
Sound.<br />
www.fohonline.com<br />
On the Move<br />
2008 AUGUST<br />
13<br />
Ad info:http:// foh.hotims.com
14<br />
New Gear<br />
AKG D7 Dynamic Vocal Microphone<br />
AKG Acoustics introduces the D7 vocal microphone for live sound applications.<br />
AKG`s newest dynamic microphone features a humbucking coil that reduces<br />
electrical interference and stage feedback. The D7 also features an integrated<br />
high-pass filter that cuts out low frequencies, eliminates handling noise<br />
and provides audio clarity. The D7 delivers high-end sonic performance with its<br />
new Laminated Varimotion diaphragm. This design allows the diaphragm to be<br />
fine-tuned without extra tuning resonators. The D7 response evokes the subtle,<br />
open sound of a condenser microphone, while maintaining the rugged reliability<br />
of a dynamic microphone. The D7 comes complete with a carrying case, mounting<br />
clamp and replacement windscreen. Two additional models are also available:<br />
the D7-S, which features an on/off switch; and the D7-WL1 microphone capsule<br />
for use with AKG wireless systems.<br />
www.akg.com<br />
Checkers Guard Dog<br />
Checkers introduces the Guard Dog Low Profile Heavy<br />
Duty Cable Protector. With a height of 1.25”, the Guard<br />
Dog is a low-profile, top-loading, multi-channel<br />
cable protector. This design features<br />
wide, gently sloping ADA Compliant<br />
ramps that allow effortless crossing<br />
and a hinged lid to organize valuable<br />
cables/wires into separate channels.<br />
Guard Dog Low Profile Cable Protectors fit multiple<br />
cable sizes and are compact for easy setup, takedown<br />
and storage.<br />
www.cableprotector.com.<br />
Community M12<br />
The Community M12 stage monitor has been<br />
redesigned in response to customer feedback.<br />
Community has improved the M12 with rubber<br />
pocket grip handles for portability and<br />
a larger, easier-to-access connector base.<br />
The ergonomically designed stage monitors<br />
feature recessed handles designed<br />
to simplify lifting and carrying by both<br />
handles or just one. The M12 is designed<br />
for any application where low visibility is a<br />
key requirement. The base of the M12 has been redesigned<br />
to provide easier access to the input connectors,<br />
streamlining setup and teardown times for live events and portable<br />
applications. The high-frequency driver is mounted to a molded one-piece asymmetrical<br />
horn with a 90-degree pattern at the top and 40 degree at the bottom, allowing full-range<br />
monitor output close up or at a distance. This pattern delivers even coverage while keeping<br />
energy away from stage walls. For installers seeking to mount the M12 to walls or ceilings, an<br />
optional built-to-order install version will also be available with four M10 hang points and a<br />
mounting bracket plate for permanent installation.<br />
www.communitypro.com.<br />
Electro-Voice DC-One<br />
The Electro-Voice DC-One digital<br />
loudspeaker system controller,<br />
based on a two-in-six-out topology,<br />
is designed primarily for users of<br />
small- to medium-sized sound systems<br />
in both mobile and installed<br />
applications. While the unit is a new<br />
development based on a SHARC<br />
processor, it is 100% compatible<br />
with all settings from other Electro-<br />
Voice signal processors, including<br />
the Dx38. Though free PC-Editor<br />
software is available, the DC-One can be operated via the front panel. Direct access buttons,<br />
six predefined configuration modes (one being free configuration), straightforward output delay<br />
settings and professional metering allow for safe operation. DC-One’s “front-panel-access-<br />
control” allows the user to select a personal library of accessible presets (out of 60 factory and<br />
20 user presets). In addition, the user can determine which individual parameters in each preset<br />
are locked (e.g. factory predefined output parameters) or editable (e.g. master EQ or delay<br />
settings). The DC-One has a 1U 19-inch chassis that is deep enough to match typical amplifier<br />
depths, a front panel USB connector for the PC-Editor, and accepts either analogue or digital<br />
(AES-EBU) input signals; a 6-dB input pad is available. The RS232 on the rear also provides eight<br />
contact closures for preset changes, or allows two units to be linked for larger systems.<br />
www.electrovoice.com<br />
AUGUST 2008 www.fohonline.com<br />
Invisible Waves IW1800<br />
The Invisible Waves series of PC-based RF spectrum<br />
analyzers are touted as the world’s first, PC-based RF spectrum<br />
analyzers, which offer automatic charting of open<br />
white space (open RF frequency) for use with wireless microphones,<br />
in-ear monitors, remote control, etc. The Invisible<br />
Waves model IW1800 covers the frequency span of 100<br />
KHz to 1.8 GHz. Resolution bandwidth (RBW) is 1 KHz with a typical sensitivity of -120 dbm. The<br />
Invisible Waves (IW) analyzers feature an Automatic White Space Finder that identifies all open RF<br />
space within a user-defined range. The White Space Finder graphically depicts the ideal frequency<br />
positioning of transmitters within the given open space. The Priority Monitored Frequencies<br />
feature allows the user to select up to 10 different frequencies, monitored in a colored barograph<br />
display, for quick identification of priority channels, their signal presence and strength. The IW<br />
analyzers are designed to offer intuitive and easy-to-use sweep analysis, (including the ability to<br />
split-screen the display into simultaneous broad span sweeps and a zoomed-in view), spectral<br />
image printout capability and extended logging and playback capability.<br />
www.rfanalyzers.com<br />
L-ACOUSTICS SB28 Subwoofer<br />
Designed as the successor to the SB218 subwoofer,<br />
L-ACOUSTICS’ new SB28 enclosure brings more powerful<br />
low-frequency impact and improved bass articulation to<br />
tours, installations and corporate productions utilizing<br />
KUDO, V-DOSC, dV-DOSC and ARCS systems. The fourohm<br />
SB28 contains two front-loaded, 18-inch direct radiating<br />
transducers integrated into a bass-reflex tuned<br />
enclosure capable of operating down to 25 Hz. These<br />
specially designed LF transducers provide cone excursion capability combined with low thermal<br />
compression even at the highest operating levels. The enclosure’s bass-reflex vents feature a progressive<br />
profile allowing for laminar airflow. The combination of the SB28’s modern components<br />
with the new vents ultimately delivers a +5 dB SPL output compared to the previous standards.<br />
Control and amplification of the SB28 is managed by L-ACOUSTICS’ new LA8 amplified controller<br />
platform. The LA8’s DSP filtering encompasses crossover functions, system EQ and L-DRIVE thermal<br />
and over-excursion protection of the transducers. Made of Baltic birch plywood, the cabinet<br />
features industry-standard aeroquip rails for column rigging, a single 4-pin Neutrik Speakon connector<br />
on the rear panel, integral side handles for portability and a black epoxy perforated steel<br />
grille covered with an acoustically transparent “Airnet” cloth.<br />
www.l-acoustics.com<br />
NEXO NXAmps<br />
Two new high-powered amplifiers manufactured<br />
by NEXO and powered by Yamaha<br />
will make their debut at Yamaha Commercial<br />
Audio Systems, Inc. The NEXO NXAmp 4x4<br />
and 4x1 provide a cost-effective integration of<br />
command, control, protection and amplification of NEXO loudspeaker systems. Using Yamaha<br />
EEEngine technology, the amplifiers offer sonic purity of conventional class AB, but with a heat<br />
dissipation equaling class D technology. The UL-certified NXAmp models both feature four<br />
amplifier channels that can be configured in 2x2 bridge mode, providing up to 4x 4000W at 2<br />
ohms per channel or 2x8000W at 4 ohms per channel on the NX 4x4 and 4x1300W per channel<br />
at 2 ohms or 2x2600W per channel at 4 ohms on the NX 4x1. The NX 4x4 is 4U high, contained<br />
in a 19 in. rack and weighs 49 lbs., and the NX 4x1 is 3U high, in a 19 in. rack space weighing<br />
33 lbs. The NXAmp power supplies are full resonance-type with half bridge converters, and its<br />
design minimizes noise via ZCS (Zero Crossing Switch) technology. The NEXO NX 4x4 employs<br />
four times the structure of a mono amp to realize high power with a low-impedance load. Front<br />
panel features include three amp status LED indicators, LED display, encoder, user-control navigation<br />
buttons, volume and channel indicators, and mute and select buttons. NXAmp signal<br />
processing is identical on both models and derived from the NX242 TD controller features.<br />
www.yamahaca.com<br />
Worx Audio M80X2-P Line Array<br />
WorxAudio Technologies introduces the M80X2-P Line Array. A<br />
new addition to the company’s TrueLine Series, the M80X2-P is<br />
a two-way, high efficiency, ultra-compact line array loudspeaker<br />
system. It incorporates two modules, each with a medium format,<br />
1-inch exit compression driver coupled to a stabilized proprietary<br />
FlatWave Former (wave shaping device) that is designed<br />
to deliver clear, penetrating high frequencies over a predictable<br />
and controlled coverage area. These compression drivers are<br />
paired with dual 8-inch cone transducers coupled to the Acoustic<br />
Intergrading Module that minimizes cone filtering throughout the<br />
entire operating spectrum and provides a rich, fully balanced sound with a frequency range that<br />
spans from 45 Hz to 20 kHz (-10 dB). The M80X2-P loudspeaker system provides a total of two high<br />
frequency drivers and four bass drivers — all housed in a rugged enclosure.<br />
www.worxaudio.com
Ad info: http://foh.hotims.com/
Soundco<br />
American<br />
Audio Visual<br />
ST<br />
Venue<br />
Yellowknife, NT<br />
CREW<br />
<strong>FOH</strong> Engineer: Dave Coe<br />
Broadcast Mixer: Chase Tower<br />
Monitor Engineer: Greg Clinton<br />
Pro Tools Engineer: John Hilderbrand<br />
System Engineer: Dave Coe<br />
System Techs: Mitch Rutherford<br />
Soundco<br />
Clearwing<br />
Productions<br />
- Phoenix<br />
Ad info:http:// foh.hotims.com<br />
16<br />
Showtime<br />
Venue<br />
Marriott Orlando World Center<br />
Orlando, Fla.<br />
CREW<br />
<strong>FOH</strong> Engineer: Robert Sanchez<br />
System Engineer: Robert Sanchez<br />
Production Manager: Tommy Hart<br />
System Techs: Dave Demron<br />
National Aboriginal Day 2008<br />
GEAR<br />
<strong>FOH</strong><br />
Console: Yamaha PM5D<br />
Broadcast: Soundcraft MH4 - 48<br />
Speakers: 16 EV Xi1152, 8 EV MTL2B,<br />
2 EV ZX5<br />
Amps: QSC PL218<br />
Processing: Klark Teknik DN9824<br />
Power Distro: Spectrum, Motion Labs<br />
Breakout Assemblies: Ramtech<br />
Snake Assemblies: Ramtech<br />
Venue<br />
Campgrounds<br />
Oshkosh, WI<br />
AUGUST 2008 www.fohonline.com<br />
Just Read Florida<br />
Country USA – Sugarland, Lonestar,<br />
Dierks Bently, Kenny Chesney, Brooks & Dunn<br />
CREW<br />
<strong>FOH</strong> Engineer: Tom Giatron and Al Mir<br />
Monitor Engineer: Andre St. Pierre<br />
System Engineer: John Tellis<br />
Production Manager: Tom Bothof /<br />
Gary Brunclik<br />
System Tech: Adam Burghout and John<br />
Bryant<br />
GEAR<br />
<strong>FOH</strong><br />
Consoles: Yamaha DM 1000 (Distribution),<br />
Yamaha PM 5000, Yamaha PM5D<br />
RH, Midas Venice (playback + RF)<br />
Speakers: 66 L-ACOUSTICS V-DOSC, 12<br />
MON<br />
Consoles: Soundcraft K3 - 40<br />
Speakers: EV Xw12, EV MTL2B<br />
Amps: QSC PL218, PL 1.8<br />
Processing: Xilica DL4080<br />
Mics: Shure, EV, AKG, Crown<br />
Power Distro: Spectrum<br />
GEAR<br />
<strong>FOH</strong><br />
Console: Soundcraft MH-2<br />
Speakers: 20 JBL 4888, 18 JBL VRX932LA<br />
4 JBL MS26, 12 Tannoy CPA 12.3B<br />
Amps: 6 Crown MA5000, 4 MA3600, 16<br />
XTi4000<br />
Processing: DBX4800, System Arquitech<br />
Mics: Audio technica Slim line, Shure Beta<br />
87, Shure UH-R wireless<br />
Power Distro: 200amp/100amp Motion<br />
Labs<br />
Rigging: 36 1/2 ton CM<br />
Snake Assemblies: Rapco<br />
dV-DOSC, 12 dV subs, 4 Meyer UPJ<br />
Amps: Lab.gruppen 6400, LA 48, Crown<br />
Macrotech 5002<br />
Processing: XTA DP 226 and DP 448 with<br />
Wireless Tablet Control<br />
Mics: Shure, Shure UHF-R, Sennheiser,<br />
Beyer<br />
Power Distro: 4 Motion Labs 200A 3<br />
Phase<br />
Rigging: CM 1 Ton, CM 1/2 Ton, CM 1/4<br />
TON, L-ACOUSTICS<br />
Breakout Assemblies: Clearwing Custom<br />
and L-ACOUSTICS DOM Series<br />
Snake Assemblies: 1 Radial ISO 3way 48<br />
x 16 and 2 Whirlwind Concert Series 56<br />
x 16.<br />
ST<br />
MON<br />
Console: Soundcraft MH-2<br />
Speakers: 4 JBL SRX 712<br />
Amps: 2 Crown XTi 4000<br />
Processing: Ashley 31 bands<br />
Mics: Audio Technica Slim line,<br />
Shure Beta 87, Shure UH-R wireless<br />
Power Distro: 200amp/100amp Motion<br />
Labs<br />
Rigging: 36 1/2-ton CM<br />
Soundco<br />
Sound Art Calgary<br />
ST<br />
MON<br />
Consoles: Yamaha PM5D RH and Yamaha<br />
M7CL(back-up)<br />
Speakers: Martin LE 700 Wedges, Martin<br />
Blackline Sub with 2 JBL VRX (drumfill),<br />
and 4 L-ACOUSTICS ARCS flown with 2<br />
SB 218 Subs per side (sidefills)<br />
Amps: Lab.gruppen 6400, Crown Macrotech<br />
3600, 2402<br />
Processing: XTA DP 226 and Crown PIP<br />
IQ2 DSP Cards<br />
Mics: Shure UHF-R, Sennheiser, Beyer<br />
Power Distro: 4 Motion Labs 200A 3<br />
Phase<br />
Rigging: CM 1 Ton, CM 1/2 Ton, CM 1/4<br />
Ton, L-ACOUSTICS
ST<br />
Venue<br />
Arena tour<br />
CREW<br />
<strong>FOH</strong> Engineer: Carter Hassebroek<br />
Monitor Engineer: Darren Hughes<br />
System Engineer: Kenny Sellars<br />
Production Manager: Chris Farnsworth<br />
Tour Manager: Denny Keitzman<br />
System Techs: Michael France, David Harrison<br />
Soundco<br />
Rat Sound Systems<br />
Soundco<br />
Music Lab<br />
Venue<br />
Frisco, Texas; Atlanta, Ga.;<br />
Fremont, Calif.<br />
CREW<br />
<strong>FOH</strong> Engineer: David Nordyke<br />
Monitor Engineer: Thomas Smith<br />
Production Manager: Scott Langston<br />
Tour Manager: John Honning<br />
Casting Crowns<br />
GEAR<br />
<strong>FOH</strong><br />
Console: Digidesign Profile with ProTools<br />
HD<br />
Speakers: 24 Meyer Milo, 4 Meyer Milo<br />
120, 10 Meyer 700hp, 12 Blackhawk Audio<br />
BAI 3 (sidehang), 4 Meyer UM1C (sidehang<br />
downfill), 4 Meyer Melodie (frontfill)<br />
Amps: QSC<br />
Processing: Meyer Galileo, Meyer M1A<br />
Mics: Shure UHF-R<br />
Power Distro: Motion Labs<br />
Rigging: CM Lodestar<br />
Venue<br />
On tour<br />
CREW<br />
<strong>FOH</strong> Engineer: Brett Eliason<br />
Monitor Engineer: George Squiers<br />
System Engineer: Matt Fox<br />
System Techs: Lee Vaught, Peter Baigent, Greg Mayler<br />
GEAR<br />
<strong>FOH</strong><br />
Console: Yamaha 2404DFX<br />
Speakers: QSC I-282, QSC HPR Subs<br />
Amps: QSC PL Series<br />
Processing: Rane, Furman<br />
Mics: Audio-Technica 4000 Series<br />
Wireless<br />
Power Distro: Tristar<br />
Snake Assemblies: Whirlwind<br />
MON<br />
Speakers: 2 Meyer MSL-4, 3 Meyer<br />
700hp, Sennheiser G2, Westone<br />
www.fohonline.com<br />
MON<br />
Speakers: T.C. Electronics Helicon<br />
Mics: Audio-Technica<br />
Power Distro: Tristar<br />
GEAR<br />
<strong>FOH</strong><br />
Console: Midas XL8<br />
Speakers: L-ACOUSTICS V-DOSC and dV-DOSC, Rat Dual<br />
18” Subwoofers<br />
Amps: LA 48A Amplifiers<br />
Processing: XTA DP428<br />
MON<br />
Speakers: EAW MicroWedge 12s<br />
Amps: LA 48A, Chevin Q6s<br />
Processing: TC 6000, Klark Teknik DN9696<br />
Advanced Micro Devices ST We<br />
Want You!<br />
<strong>FOH</strong> wants your gig<br />
shots, horror stories and<br />
resume highlights! Go to www.<br />
fohonline.com/submissions<br />
to send us your Showtime pics,<br />
Nightmare stories and In The<br />
Trenches stats. Or e-mail<br />
bg@fohonline.com<br />
for more info. We cover<br />
the industry<br />
— and that means<br />
you!<br />
2008 AUGUST<br />
Soundco<br />
Blackhawk Audio, Inc.<br />
R.E.M. ST<br />
17
18<br />
<strong>FOH</strong> Interview<br />
Hitting the Road with<br />
Boston, Styx and Slamhammer<br />
Photos and Text by MarkAmundson<br />
Take two big rock bands from the 1970s,<br />
make them co-headliners, let them loose<br />
on the summer shed circuit and pray for<br />
ticket sales and no rain. Boston is your typical<br />
“make it sound like the records” kind of show,<br />
with the studio engineer bribed into going<br />
out on tour to preserve the essence of leader<br />
Tom Scholz and bandmates. Then take road<br />
veterans like Styx, who do yearly tours with<br />
150 to 200 gigs per year for the last 10 years<br />
and has done the co-headline thing with everyone<br />
from Journey to Peter Frampton, but<br />
also tours with their studio guy at <strong>FOH</strong>.<br />
Both bands kicked off the summer tour<br />
together, using the Grand Casino amphitheater<br />
in central Minnesota as the first gig of the<br />
summer. They came in a day early to dust off<br />
the performance cobwebs. I got to check out<br />
good portions of both band’s sound checks,<br />
and that was much more informative from<br />
a production standpoint, as I could see the<br />
evolution of touring. Everything has become<br />
personal monitoring with instrument techs<br />
playing a key role in getting the signature<br />
sounds nailed.<br />
Styx really drove the point home with a<br />
wall of Ampeg SVT amps and Marshall amps<br />
on the backline, but they were all for show<br />
— “tech-row” is really where the sound was<br />
made with racks of effects and SVTs/Marshalls<br />
driving Palmer cabinet simulators with<br />
Bass amps on the stage.<br />
the mics headed for the consoles. Tom Scholz<br />
had three full-height racks (about 30U) of<br />
guitar and keyboard signal processing. The<br />
instrument tech not only tuned and polished<br />
guitars, but had to dial-in on cue all the tones<br />
needed for each song.<br />
Here are the interviews with the band engineers<br />
and racks and stacks provider Slamhammer<br />
Sound of St. Paul, Minn.<br />
Bill Ryan, <strong>FOH</strong> for Boston <strong>FOH</strong><br />
<strong>FOH</strong>: What does Tom (Scholz) call you for a<br />
nickname?<br />
Bill Ryan: The “little guy” or the “hobbit.”<br />
(Onstage) they are all six foot or taller.<br />
Who do you have up on stage?<br />
BR: We have Tom Scholz, of course, and<br />
we have our new dueling front men Michael<br />
Sweet; and the guy we liberated from Home<br />
Depot, Tommy DeCarlo — he is thrilled to be<br />
here. We had him for three weeks of rehearsals<br />
and he’s getting it down. And we have<br />
Kimberly Dahme, who has played bass with<br />
the band for seven years. On the far stage left<br />
is Gary Pihl, who used to play with Sammy<br />
Hagar, came over a long time ago, since the<br />
early 1980s. Michael Sweet holds his own on<br />
guitar. All three of these guys are awesome<br />
guitar players. Jeff Neal on drums, a schoolteacher<br />
from Maine, also has a set of pipes<br />
AUGUST 2008 www.fohonline.com<br />
on him; everybody in this band sings. A lot of<br />
harmonies are many voices.<br />
How many inputs do you have running into<br />
your console?<br />
BR: We have 48. We have a couple of<br />
spares, but we are using it all.<br />
Did Tom give you the choice of your console<br />
and outboard?<br />
BR: No, I pretty much picked everything. I<br />
had the choice, he gave me the liberty, which<br />
is unusual from what I hear. I have been his<br />
studio engineer for 13 years, and we just remastered<br />
the first two records. I have spent a<br />
lot of time in the studio with him, so he trusts<br />
me. If he can’t trust me than he can’t trust<br />
anybody, and he has had a problem in the<br />
past with that.<br />
What console do you use in the studio?<br />
BR: He (Tom) has an old Auditronics console.<br />
I have an old Amek 2500 in my room, too.<br />
So both of you are Mister Analog?<br />
BR: Mister Analog, yeah. I am also a studio<br />
tech, too, so that helps a lot, as well as a<br />
studio engineer.<br />
So what do you have running here as far as<br />
a console?<br />
BR: A Midas XL4 and also a couple of old<br />
Lexicon 300s (reverbs), a PCM42 mono delay<br />
and a TC D-Two for stereo tapped delays, and<br />
that’s pretty much it.<br />
Any special things you do on vocals?<br />
BR: Well, we worked a lot in preproduction<br />
on getting all the balances right. So, I<br />
have a lot of starting-off marks. The interesting<br />
thing about Tom is he listens to the frontof-house<br />
mix as his monitor.<br />
Am I going to see him on headphones all<br />
night?<br />
BR: He wears a pair of BOSE noise canceling<br />
headphones. He cut the wires off and<br />
just uses the noise canceling part, and then<br />
he has his in-ears. The cups cancel the ambient<br />
noise so he can run the in-ears at a much<br />
lower level. His hearing gets sensitive as he<br />
gets older, and he does not like a lot of level.<br />
That is why our stage volume is very low and<br />
the front-of-house level is comfortable. We<br />
are not trying to kill anybody here.<br />
View of the stage at Casino Amphitheater<br />
You keep an eye on the SPL meter?<br />
BR: I absolutely do. My ears are getting<br />
old, too. I definitely do.<br />
What do you aim for, 105 dB at <strong>FOH</strong>?<br />
BR: No more than 100 dB. I’m more comfortable<br />
between 96 and 100 dB at the house.<br />
I’m almost 200 feet back.<br />
Any tips or tricks you want to share?<br />
BR: The thing about Boston and the<br />
band’s sound is the guitar tones are extremely<br />
processed and everything is coming up to<br />
me at line level. Everything is pre-compressed<br />
and EQ’d and everything.<br />
So how wild do you get on compression for<br />
percussion and vocals?<br />
BR: I try not to overdo it. I’m running more<br />
of a mix bus compressor, like this old dbx 162<br />
on my house mix. I’m trying to make it sound<br />
period specific like the old records, and the<br />
only way to do that is to use some old stuff.<br />
Gary Loizzo – <strong>FOH</strong> for Styx <strong>FOH</strong><br />
<strong>FOH</strong>: How long have you been doing frontof-house<br />
for Styx?<br />
GL: Only since 1996 . I recorded their Man<br />
of Miracles album, which was their fourth album,<br />
in 1974. And then bits and pieces up to<br />
their Cornerstone album in 1978, which was all<br />
done in my studio. From then on, I recorded<br />
everything as an engineer and became their<br />
co-producer in 1999.<br />
Who do you have onstage tonight?<br />
GL: James Young, Tommy Shaw and<br />
Ricky Philips on bass. Lawrence Gowan has<br />
been our staple since 1999 when Dennis<br />
(De Young) left the band. All these guys are<br />
gentlemen. Every artist has to have an ego to<br />
become who they are. But these guys really<br />
check their ego at the door, especially with<br />
the crew, who they treat like their family. Todd<br />
Sucherman rounds out the group on drums.<br />
What do have at <strong>FOH</strong>? Just that Yamaha<br />
PM5D?<br />
GL: About two years ago, we needed to<br />
share a console with Journey, and the only<br />
console we could agree on was the PM1D.<br />
This was the first digital unit that came out by<br />
Yamaha. We were forced to go on that, and I<br />
kind of got a sour taste in my mouth. Because<br />
I am an old analog dog, even though I went
System Tech Myles Kennedy Slamhammer System Engineer Brian Klingenberg and Styx <strong>FOH</strong> engineer Gary Loizzo Bill Ryan, Boston’s <strong>FOH</strong> engineer<br />
to Pro-Tools, but I have Apogee converters.<br />
When the PM5D came out, I heard from some<br />
of my friends who I respect from very highly<br />
that it sounded a lot better. So, I gave it another<br />
shot and used a Big Ben clock, and it<br />
has really come a long, long way. You can see<br />
how small a footprint this takes up and I lack<br />
nothing.<br />
And the effects?<br />
GL: Everything. They even got a program<br />
in here that I made sound like a H3000 harmonizer<br />
and it is very, very good. I have not<br />
had any service problems.<br />
Do you run pretty heavy effects?<br />
GL: Outdoors, I am allowed a little more<br />
leeway. When you’re indoors you get clouded<br />
be the room reverb. I am a little disappointed<br />
that I am so far away; it defeats the purpose<br />
in that I do not get the true perspective that<br />
the bulk of the audience gets. I don’t get the<br />
real direct sound back here, so I am guessing<br />
(on effects).<br />
Do you get a chance to walk during the<br />
show?<br />
GL: No, it is a very active show. In a live<br />
show, you must get rid of any live microphones<br />
that are not being used. As you will<br />
see, they are very active. So, as they leave a<br />
mic that mic fader goes down. I mix it like I<br />
would on an analog console.<br />
You use a lot of compression on the mix?<br />
GL: I do. Just use a pinch on the overall<br />
mix. Because I have a digital console, I have<br />
compression, gates, EQ, everything on every<br />
channel. I might touch things a little, but I do<br />
not abuse anything. I try not to go heavy unless<br />
I am going for an effect.<br />
How much compression on the vocals?<br />
GL: I am 4:1 on vocals — my favorite<br />
ratio. You’ve got to remember that with<br />
these guys, I am trying to capture that Styx<br />
block harmony. I order to capture that fullness<br />
at all times I have to go that thick. On<br />
my outputs, I go 2:1 for lightness. I like to<br />
round things off a bit.<br />
So how many channels do you have active?<br />
GL: Looks like 42. I got 48 so I could get<br />
into a few more inputs if I have to.<br />
So is everybody a vocalist?<br />
GL: No, Todd doesn’t sing. The solid, solid<br />
guys are Tommy, JY and Lawrence. Ricky occasionally<br />
steps up. Todd can actually sing<br />
very well, but it becomes a nightmare back<br />
there to get a mic clean. Plus, he is an active<br />
drummer.<br />
What do you use as overheads on Todd?<br />
GL: I have a new mic;, it’s an Audix condenser,<br />
SCX-25. They are very open, and boy<br />
does that make a difference because Todd<br />
plays a lot of top (cymbals). As aggressive as<br />
he is, he is a delicate guy, too. The mics give<br />
me a better overall kit sound.<br />
What do you use for vocal mics?<br />
GL: An Audix OM-5 for Tommy. Other Audix<br />
OMs for the other guys.<br />
Any other tips to share?<br />
GL: When I am in the studio, I think of<br />
the mix as a collage. But when I am a live<br />
guy, I think more like a caricature. You must<br />
force people to listen to what is important<br />
in a song in different places. Having<br />
a good lighting girl, like I have back here,<br />
also directs attention to different proximities;<br />
it helps my job. Highlight somebody<br />
with a light — you automatically in your<br />
mind hear them better. I accentuate that,<br />
too. People get the whole deal.<br />
Now a lot of rock bands are instruments<br />
first, vocals second. Do you give equal billing<br />
in the mix?<br />
GL: I love the drums so much that I’ll<br />
mix the drums as hot as the vocals. This is<br />
a vocal band. People know Styx because of<br />
their songs. But these guys are in their 50s<br />
and are in tremendous shape. Their energy<br />
level is really great. But if I can complement<br />
that with a younger guy (Todd), who<br />
has even more energy, it makes everything<br />
even more energetic.<br />
Brian Klingenberg SE, Myles Kennedy<br />
System Tech — Slamhammer Sound<br />
<strong>FOH</strong><br />
What kind of rig are you running for racks<br />
and stacks?<br />
BK: Martin W8LC, 12 boxes a side. Martin<br />
WSX subs, single 18” per box and 16 subs.<br />
I see you have a pair of BSS Minidrives at<br />
<strong>FOH</strong> — any other processing?<br />
www.fohonline.com<br />
BK: No, just splits at the amp racks.<br />
What kind of amps do you have running?<br />
BK: Crests; we got a 9001, 8001 and two<br />
7001s in each amp rack. Two amp racks per<br />
side. The 9001s have the subs, and the flown<br />
lows, mids and highs get the 8001s and<br />
7001s.<br />
And the W8LC boxes, what are they loaded<br />
with?<br />
BK: 12” on lows, two 6” on mids and three<br />
1” on horns.<br />
And this is your preferred rig?<br />
BK: This is what we own (laughing). As<br />
a touring guy, I like this; I’m so used to it<br />
now. When Pete (the owner) started buying<br />
boxes, he went with Martin; no one<br />
else had that around and he wanted to be<br />
different. Martin was really good helping<br />
him out, so when he wanted to advance<br />
with something a little better, like a line<br />
array, Martin was the way to go.<br />
Want kind of power consumption do you<br />
have running?<br />
BK: We have a three-phase 400-amp<br />
distro, but I do not know the draw. We use<br />
Motion Labs rack and have a 100-amp, three-<br />
Guitarworld<br />
phase hookup. Each amp rack gets a Hubbel<br />
L14-30 feed.<br />
How many crew do you have here today?<br />
BK: There are three of us from Slamhammer<br />
Audio and 24 stagehands from the promoter/production<br />
company (Grand Casino).<br />
How long does it take to the system up and<br />
running?<br />
BK: If you got five hours, it takes five<br />
hours. If you got two hours, it takes two<br />
hours. Myles and I can fly a side in a half<br />
hour if everything is ready.<br />
So Myles, do you agree it can be really a<br />
two-man job?<br />
MK: It’s definitely very easy with these<br />
boxes; they fly very fast with just two men. It<br />
goes up and together quite well. Once you<br />
got the computer program, and know the<br />
tuning, you just slap it together and go.<br />
So you know the rigging points really well<br />
here?<br />
MK: We have not been here in 10 months<br />
because of winter. But once you get the chain<br />
motors rigged, you just let ‘er rip.<br />
BK: It took him about 10 minutes per<br />
side to rig, if that. Very quick.<br />
2008 AUGUST<br />
19
Beth A. Pinney<br />
Craig Doubet<br />
Installations<br />
From the Stage to the Sanctuary<br />
By DavidJohnFarinella<br />
Putting a system together for a tour is<br />
one thing. All the equipment has to<br />
be flexible enough to consistently<br />
work in acoustically challenging rooms; it<br />
has to go up and down easily and deliver<br />
quality audio. This challenge, for some, is<br />
daunting, especially with the pressure of<br />
thousands of expectant fans who surround<br />
the <strong>FOH</strong> position nightly.<br />
A live installation system is just as intimidating,<br />
considering the issues are similar —<br />
dealing with acoustics, fidelity demands,<br />
flexibility concerns — but an installer doesn’t<br />
have the ability to adjust on the fly like an engineer<br />
does on a day-by-day basis.<br />
It’s enough to make the average person<br />
quake in their Keds, yet David Lawler<br />
and Craig Doubet have enough experience<br />
in both markets to approach the challenge<br />
with confidence. The duo has an impressive<br />
set of <strong>FOH</strong> mixing credits including Diana<br />
Krall, Michael Bublé, k.d. lang, Luis Miguel<br />
and dozens of others. They’ve also handled<br />
design/install projects for the Maui Arts &<br />
Cultural Center, Kodak Theatre and Bass Performance<br />
Hall. Lawler and Doubet also count<br />
on Eric Laliberte, who they call a sound web<br />
guru and networking expert.<br />
“We’re the guys who have worked in<br />
a lot of theaters and tried a lot of things,”<br />
Doubet states. “We know how to answer the<br />
question: ‘Okay, I have this rig and I’m going<br />
into this room. How do I make it work?’ We<br />
can tell people that we’ve done it and we<br />
know what works.”<br />
Looking down the Nave from above the Chancel.<br />
20<br />
Life In the Balance <strong>FOH</strong><br />
For the past couple of years, the team has<br />
balanced road gigs with installation assignments<br />
at two houses of worship in Southern<br />
California — Laguna Presbyterian Church in<br />
Laguna Beach and Templo Calvario, an Assembly<br />
of God church in Santa Ana. The two<br />
installs are as different as their style of worship,<br />
although both are projects that Lawler<br />
and Doubet were able to influence early on.<br />
Laguna Presbyterian Church is in the<br />
midst of a complete renovation and seismic<br />
retrofit that has taken the building all the way<br />
down to studs. Lawler was able to get into<br />
the sanctuary to analyze the acoustics of the<br />
room before it was demolished.<br />
“The reverberation time in the room<br />
was shorter than usual,” he reports. “We<br />
liked that, so we’re trying to emulate a similar<br />
time.” In addition to watching the design<br />
of the room and adding his opinion where<br />
possible, Lawler will be using a spray-on<br />
product to touch up the room’s acoustics to<br />
ensure the short reverberation time. That’s<br />
important, Lawler says, because church<br />
events rely so much on the spoken word<br />
AUGUST 2008 www.fohonline.com<br />
David Lawler and Craig Doubet put<br />
their touring chops into HOW installs.<br />
where, in his opinion, a shorter reverberation<br />
time is crucial.<br />
One of the pluses of working on a project<br />
that is basically a new construction is the access<br />
to the walls for running conduit. Lawler<br />
and Doubet are maximizing that opportunity<br />
before installing a Meyer Sound Labs Constellation<br />
system to make sure they can get the<br />
speakers and microphones in the proper location<br />
to get adequate coverage.<br />
“We know how to answer the question:<br />
‘Okay, I have this rig and I’m going into this<br />
room. How do I make it work?’ We can tell<br />
people that we’ve done it and we know<br />
what works.”<br />
Beth A. Pinney<br />
As for other gear going into the new church,<br />
the team is looking at smaller sized Meyer CQ<br />
and UPJ boxes. The two systems will be interfaced<br />
via the Constellation’s Matrix3 processors.<br />
“They have CobraNet as well as analog,<br />
so we will be interfacing the two together for<br />
certain areas where there’s coverage needed,<br />
but we don’t want to put double systems in,”<br />
he says. Examples of those areas include lobbies,<br />
crying rooms and under balconies.<br />
The <strong>FOH</strong> position will be located in the rear<br />
balcony, but a desk has not yet been selected<br />
because the team wanted to keep their options<br />
open. “They do have a praise band, so it<br />
has to be at least 32 channels,” Doubet reports.<br />
“They also have a need to be able to take some<br />
Beth A. Pinney<br />
Interior of the Laguna Presbyterian Church Sanctuary before construction.<br />
In the midst of the renovation<br />
of the stuff outside and put it in a courtyard, so<br />
it has to be portable. We’ll probably give them<br />
UPJ monitors that can turn into speakers on<br />
stands and the console can roll out the door.”<br />
One of the other challenges at LPC was<br />
working with a large vintage pipe organ that<br />
was installed sometime in the late 1920s. The<br />
organ had to be removed during the demolition<br />
and the decision was made to add MIDI<br />
voices to it when it was reinstalled. “I did a<br />
giant research project on how pipe organs<br />
work these days,” Lawler states. “The keyboard<br />
is basically a high-class MIDI controller.<br />
Of course, mechanically that’s great because<br />
there is much less going on in the actual keyboard<br />
unit as far as maintenance and reliability<br />
goes.” The construction is ongoing with an<br />
anticipated reopening date of Easter 2009.<br />
Going Big <strong>FOH</strong><br />
Templo Calvario is slated to open sometime<br />
this fall and the system that Lawler and<br />
Doubet are installing has to work in more of<br />
a commercial-style building that features a<br />
giant stage, flat ceiling and seating for about<br />
4,000 congregants.<br />
One of the challenges at the new space,<br />
Lawler reports, was ceiling height. “It’s always<br />
tricky trying to interface sound, lighting and<br />
everything else and get it high enough to not<br />
be in the sight lines and to have even distribution,”<br />
he says.<br />
To overcome that challenge the team selected<br />
Meyer M’elodie arrays. “We have lowmid<br />
cabinets in there as well as subwoofers so<br />
Beth A. Pinney
that the line array didn’t have to be so long<br />
to get low mid control,” Lawler explains. “We<br />
are actually doing it as a three-box system<br />
so you can high pass the line array higher<br />
and not have it go backwards on to the<br />
stage.” There will also be distributed sound,<br />
he adds, to cover the wide balcony.<br />
A console for <strong>FOH</strong> has yet to be selected,<br />
but Lawler points out that they are<br />
always thinking of ease of use when choosing<br />
gear. In fact, it’s rare that the two will<br />
spec in a piece of gear that they haven’t<br />
used before. “We don’t change our brands<br />
much, unless there is a compelling reason<br />
to do so,” he says. “We don’t change because<br />
there’s a sale on something. We are<br />
always open to new ideas, mind you, because<br />
things are changing, but I like working<br />
with stable companies, and equipment<br />
is there for a reason.”<br />
For the most part, he adds, their systems<br />
feature a short signal path that runs<br />
from Sennheiser and Neumann microphones<br />
to a console through either BSS<br />
Sound Web or Meyer Galileo via Rapco wiring<br />
to Meyer powered speakers. “There are<br />
not many devices in the signal path,” Lawler<br />
says. “That has been reliable and the results<br />
have been very predictable for us.”<br />
Doubet concurs and adds: “We try to<br />
make all of our installs rider-friendly, so<br />
we’re going to use the same stuff that people<br />
want to use on the road. The only difference<br />
is that instead of chain motors, perhaps<br />
there is a winch or a permanent hang. Even<br />
then, all of our installs are done so they can<br />
be taken out very easily and put back in.”<br />
The key to their success so far, both<br />
agree, is the combination of road experience<br />
and technical knowledge. “On tour,<br />
we get to use and (Meyer) SIM all brands<br />
of consoles, processors and speaker systems,”<br />
Lawler reports. “That helps us, too,<br />
to keep abreast of what everybody else’s<br />
progress is as well. We’re not just going to<br />
trade shows looking at it, but we’re using it.<br />
I think that helps us when we are advising<br />
people about why they should use something<br />
or not, because we’ve done it.”<br />
Beth A. Pinney<br />
Laguna Presbyterian Church<br />
(L to R): Eric Laliberte and Dave Lawler in front of a Soundcraft Vi6 console. Architectural drawing of the new Laguna Presbyterian Church sanctuary layout.<br />
thirtieth Street ArchitectS PrinciPle John loomiS.
Production Profile<br />
Eighth Day and Wigwam Provide the Punch for George Michael’s U.S. Swan Song.<br />
By BreanneGeorge<br />
It’s been nearly two decades since British<br />
pop superstar George Michael — known<br />
as much for his bad boy reputation as<br />
his chart-topping hits — toured U.S. arenas.<br />
From his start in the 1980s pop group Wham!<br />
to his illustrious solo career, hits like “Careless<br />
Whisper,” “Faith” and “Father Figure” catapulted<br />
him into a certified pop culture icon<br />
and sex symbol. After a five-year absence<br />
from the music scene, Michael returned to<br />
the stage in 2006 with an 80-show European<br />
tour. He stepped it up the following year<br />
with the “25 Live Stadium Tour 2007,” which<br />
featured less tour dates but larger venues<br />
including Wembley Stadium in London.<br />
To coincide with his retrospective greatest<br />
hits album, Twenty Five, released this year,<br />
Michael announced the North American<br />
segment of his “25 Live” tour — his first U.S.<br />
tour in 17 years — which he also claims to be<br />
his last. For all these reasons, Michael’s fans<br />
were pumped with high expectations for a<br />
flawless-sounding show.<br />
Viva Las Vegas <strong>FOH</strong><br />
The MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las<br />
Vegas was the third stop on Michael’s<br />
22-city tour, which kicked off in San Diego.<br />
Although not a sell-out show, loyal fans<br />
filled the venue, eagerly anticipating, for<br />
most of the 20-something crowd, their first<br />
George Michael concert experience.<br />
The set list included hits over the decades<br />
from Wham! (Wake Me Up Before<br />
You Go-Go) and solo efforts including<br />
dance numbers “Easier Affair and “Hard<br />
CREW<br />
<strong>FOH</strong> Engineer: Gary Bradshaw<br />
George Michael Monitor Engineer: Steve<br />
May<br />
Band Monitor Engineer: Simon Hall<br />
PA Crew Chief and <strong>FOH</strong> Technician: Don<br />
Parks<br />
Stage Technician: Guy Gillan<br />
Radio Technician: Bill Flugan<br />
PA Technician: Trevor Waite<br />
PA Technician: Chez Stock<br />
GEAR<br />
PA Speakers:<br />
Main Hang<br />
24 d&b J8 speakers<br />
4 d&b J12 speakers<br />
Side Hang<br />
20 d&b J8 speakers<br />
4 d&b J12 speakers<br />
12 d&b Q1 speakers<br />
22<br />
Day” along with some new material. Michael’s<br />
stage setup was simple, yet visually<br />
striking, with three large curving video<br />
screen backdrops and three-tier balconies<br />
behind the stage for his band and backup<br />
singers. This setup allowed an unobtrusive<br />
view of Michael, ensuring attention never<br />
strayed from the star.<br />
<strong>FOH</strong> Engineer Gary Bradshaw first<br />
toured with Michael in the early ‘80s as<br />
monitor engineer for Wham! His resume<br />
as <strong>FOH</strong> engineer includes Annie Lennox,<br />
Depeche Mode, Simple Minds, Pink Floyd,<br />
Roger Waters and Bryan Ferry. For the U.S.<br />
tour, he is standing in for Andy “Baggy”<br />
Robinson, Michael’s audio consultant and<br />
<strong>FOH</strong> engineer. He admits that Michael<br />
is quite a perfectionist when it comes to<br />
sound. “All artists care about what they<br />
sound like, but George is very particular<br />
about his songs — he’s got amazing ears,”<br />
he reports. “He’s not difficult to work with,<br />
but he demands perfection.”<br />
And unlike many touring artists who<br />
want a raw and un-produced vibe to their<br />
music, Michael wants every song to sound<br />
identical to the studio version.<br />
“I’ve done those kinds of tours where a<br />
band won’t have a set list, will play whatever<br />
song they want, and you just keep up<br />
with them, but this tour is very specific,” he<br />
says. “George wants it to sound exactly like<br />
the CD, so we go through great lengths to<br />
make it sound studio-quality.”<br />
A DiGiCo D5 Live console at front-ofhouse<br />
allows Bradshaw to create a snap-<br />
Frontfills<br />
4 d&b Q7 speakers<br />
6 d&b q10 speakers<br />
Subwoofers<br />
12 d&b J series Cardioid Bass groundstacked<br />
6 per side, 3 cabinets high<br />
Monitors<br />
Speakers:<br />
2 speaker clusters flown onstage left &<br />
right each containing<br />
3 d&b Q1 speakers<br />
2 d&b J Series Cardioid Bass<br />
8 d&b M4 Monitor Wedges<br />
Amplification<br />
All amplifiers are d&b D12 amps<br />
<strong>FOH</strong> Control<br />
1 D5 Live DiGiCo console<br />
3 stage racks & 1 local rack<br />
3 XTA DP448 audio management<br />
1 Lexicon 224<br />
1 TC 6000<br />
2 Yamaha SPX990<br />
2 TC D2<br />
AUGUST 2008 www.fohonline.com<br />
shot for every song, and as a result, he<br />
doesn’t have to remember specific cues<br />
for each song. When Michael starts playing<br />
“Careless Whisper,” for example, Bradshaw<br />
presses one button on the console that<br />
automatically resets all the reverbs, delays,<br />
EQs and levels. “A band member will<br />
be playing a particular guitar in one song<br />
and a different guitar in another song that<br />
requires unique level settings,” he says.<br />
“That’s all remembered in one particular<br />
snapshot.”<br />
Three Times the Charm <strong>FOH</strong><br />
A total of three consoles are used on<br />
the tour: two DiGiCo D5 Live consoles for<br />
front-of-house and Michael’s monitors and<br />
a DiGiCo D5T to mix the band. Michael<br />
has his own monitor engineer, Steve May,<br />
who will communicate with him between<br />
songs and who is solely responsible for the<br />
singer’s mix. This allows monitor engineer<br />
Simon Hall to focus entirely on mixing the<br />
band. Because of the hidden location of<br />
monitorland backstage, both engineers<br />
rely on video cameras to see what’s happening<br />
on stage.<br />
A DiGiCo system was chosen because<br />
of its ability to handle the show’s large<br />
number of inputs — over 100 — and 15<br />
band members on stereo personal monitors.<br />
This allows May to concentrate on<br />
Michael’s needs without interfering with<br />
band mixes. “In order to accommodate the<br />
large number of inputs for this production,”<br />
adds Bradshaw, “I have had to disable the<br />
1 XTA SIDD<br />
1 TC Fireworks<br />
1 KT 6000 Analyser<br />
1 Tascam CD player<br />
1 HHB CDR<br />
1 Marantz PMD570<br />
1 112-channel ADL MADI recording<br />
system<br />
IEMs<br />
12 IEM radio systems<br />
9 IEM hardwire systems<br />
Personal Monitor Earpieces<br />
George Michael: Westone UM2 earpieces<br />
Band: Mix of Sensaphonics and Ultimate Ears<br />
Monitor Control<br />
1 DB Live DiGiCo console<br />
1 D5T DiGiCo console<br />
4 local racks and 2 stage racks<br />
3 Midas XL4 channel strips<br />
2 Midas XL 88<br />
2 Custom VCA faders<br />
1 TC EQ station<br />
2 Lexicon 224XL<br />
2 Lexicon 960<br />
George Michael in concert at the MGM Grand Garden<br />
Arena in Las Vegas<br />
D5 onboard effects. However, I am using no<br />
external dynamic processing or additional<br />
EQ. All the compression and equalization<br />
for every input is done in the desk. This has<br />
resulted in a very small <strong>FOH</strong> footprint that<br />
keeps production happy.”<br />
Eighth Day Sound of Highland Heights,<br />
Ohio, supplied d&b gear while U.K. contractor<br />
Wigwam Audio supplied the DiGi-<br />
Co consoles, control equipment and Sennheiser<br />
mics. The d&b gear includes two<br />
main speaker clusters flown left and right<br />
containing 12 J8 and four J12 speakers.<br />
Two side hang speaker clusters flown offstage<br />
left and right contain 10 J8 and two<br />
J12 speakers, while two 270-degree clusters<br />
flown on the extreme left and right<br />
contain six Q1 speakers. The stage has four<br />
Q7 and six Q10 speakers as front fills and<br />
12 J series cardioid bass ground stacked<br />
six per side, three cabinets high.<br />
The load-in started at 8 a.m. and crew<br />
had to be out the door by 3 a.m. to travel<br />
to the next gig in Phoenix, Ariz. Sound and<br />
lighting were setup before the stage was<br />
complete, a common occurrence in large<br />
venues. “Many times, at these large shows,<br />
the stage gets built down here,” Bradshaw<br />
says pointing to the middle of the arena,<br />
“and later gets pushed into place.” Bradshaw<br />
adds that about 50 crewmembers<br />
pushed the stage to the front of the arena<br />
where it must align precisely with the video<br />
screen backdrop. Once the stage is in<br />
place, everything gets powered and crew<br />
can then begin sound check.<br />
1 TC Fireworks<br />
1 Eventide Eclipse<br />
1 HHB CDR<br />
1 Marantz PMD570<br />
1 Samson headphone amp<br />
8 TC EQ stationS<br />
1 TC EQ station fader controller<br />
1 Yamaha SPX2000<br />
1 HHB CDR<br />
2 Thumper Amps<br />
2 Thumper Units<br />
1 Aviom base station<br />
8 Aviom outstations<br />
2 Rozandal World Clock Gen<br />
Breanne GeorGe<br />
Microphones<br />
8 Sennheiser SKM/KK104 vocals<br />
4 Neumann U87 drum & percussionoverhears<br />
1 TLA 170 Sax<br />
4 KM 184 Hihat, ride and congas<br />
2 SM 57 Snare<br />
4 E904 Toms<br />
1 E901 Kick<br />
1 E914 Acoustic Guitar<br />
24 Avalon DIs
(L to R): Simon Hall, monitor mixer for the band, and Steve<br />
May, monitor mixer for George Michael<br />
Bradshaw reports that Michael was<br />
late to sound check. “It didn’t look like<br />
George was going to show up for it,” he<br />
says. “We just went ahead and did a few<br />
songs with the band.” Michael eventually<br />
showed up for sound check and warmed<br />
up to his typical routine of songs. Because<br />
certain songs were more popular in America<br />
than Europe, Bradshaw says the set list<br />
for the show varies greatly from the European<br />
tour. “There is a huge list of songs<br />
— we have about 60 songs programmed<br />
into the D5.”<br />
From Wham! to Father Figure <strong>FOH</strong><br />
The concert started 45 minutes after its<br />
scheduled 8 p.m show time, although this<br />
did not come as a surprise to crew. Bradshaw<br />
reports that Michael is notoriously<br />
late for almost every show — perhaps to<br />
make an entrance, or build anticipation,<br />
or allow additional time to fill seats. With<br />
Michael’s CD-sounding vocals and energetic<br />
performances throughout the twohour,<br />
23-song concert, there were few<br />
complaints from fans. The highlight of the<br />
tour is, without a doubt, Michael’s voice.<br />
At 45 years old, the range and quality of<br />
his voice has matured, sounding even<br />
stronger than it did in his younger years.<br />
“When we did the first couple of rehearsals,<br />
I was blown away,” Bradshaw says. “I<br />
just pushed that fader up and his voice<br />
was amazing — I never heard anything<br />
like that before. The best I’ve worked with<br />
in the history of my career.”<br />
“All artists care about what they sound like, but George is very particular<br />
about his songs — he’s got amazing ears. He’s not difficult to work<br />
with, but he demands perfection.” — <strong>FOH</strong> Engineer Gary Bradshaw<br />
TIM shaxson<br />
Breanne GeorGe<br />
<strong>FOH</strong> Engineer Gary Bradshaw beside a DiGiCo D5 Live console<br />
www.fohonline.com<br />
Breanne GeorGe<br />
2008 AUGUST<br />
23<br />
Ad info:http:// foh.hotims.com<br />
TIM shaxson
24<br />
Personal Monitor Earpieces Buyers Guide<br />
Personal Monitor Earpieces<br />
By Bill Evans<br />
When people ask me what part of the live event audio world has changed the<br />
most in the past three to five years, they probably expect an answer like digital<br />
consoles or line arrays. Most would probably be surprised that my answer<br />
would be — hands down — personal monitors. They have come a long way since Marty<br />
Garcia used some Sony earbuds and denture cream for Todd Rundgren.<br />
Today, there are at least a half dozen companies making full-on pro custom fit personal<br />
monitors, and while they may look the same, the differences are huge and almost<br />
totally subjective. Just like some of us prefer the sound of a specific <strong>FOH</strong> speaker over<br />
another that may be of equal or even greater quality, the best personal monitor for<br />
you depends on, well, you. But there are a few things to look for. Extended frequency<br />
response. Removable cables, so that if a cable goes bad you can replace just the cable.<br />
Comfort and fit are huge and very subjective.<br />
While all of the big companies will work with you to make your PMs fit as well as<br />
Custom Fit<br />
AUGUST 2008 www.fohonline.com<br />
possible, some brands extend farther into the ear canal than others, and some people<br />
prefer the material used by one company over another. It is totally subjective. The PMs<br />
I really like, you may hate, and vice versa. Sometimes your best bet as a MON engineer<br />
is to go with whatever your “star” is using so you hear the same thing he or she does<br />
in the mix.<br />
But the coolest trend of the past few years has little to do with the pro market.<br />
The folks who make these products are not stupid and they know they can sell a hell<br />
of a lot more to iPod users than they can sticking just to the pros. And some of these<br />
“pro-sumer” models are pretty damn good. It is a lot easier to have three or four sets of<br />
universal fit PMs in your briefcase than it is to pop for multiple custom jobs at $500 per<br />
and up, plus the cost of impressions shot by an audiologist.<br />
The following list is more than the tip of the iceberg, but it is still only a chunk.<br />
More lies below the surface, but it gives you a place to start.<br />
Company Make/Model Price Frequency Response<br />
Future Sonics<br />
www.futuresonics.com<br />
Livewires<br />
livewiresforyou.com<br />
Sensaphonics<br />
www.sensaphonics.com<br />
Shure Incorporated<br />
www.shure.com<br />
Ultimate Ears<br />
www.ultimateears.com<br />
Westone<br />
www.westone.com<br />
Universal Fit<br />
Input Sensitivity<br />
(dB @ 30 Hz/1 mW)<br />
Ear Monitors brand $898.00 20 Hz - 20,000 Hz 112 dB @ 30 Hz/1 mW<br />
Livewires $249.00 20 Hz-16,500 Hz 119 dB/mW<br />
2MAX $850.00 20 Hz-16 kHz 105 dB-SPL @ 0.1 V<br />
3D-1 Active Ambient $2,000.00 20 Hz-20 kHz 124 dB max SPL (500 Hz)<br />
SCL5 Sound Isolating Earphones $479.00 20Hz-18.5kHz 122 dB SPL/mW (@ 1 kHz)<br />
SCL3 Sound Isolating Earphones $179.00 25 Hz-18.5 kHz 115 dB SPL/mW (@ 1 kHz)<br />
Custom UE 11 Pro $1,150.00 10 Hz-16,500 Hz 119 dB @ 1mW<br />
ES2 Custom Fit In-Ear Musicians’<br />
Monitors<br />
$650.00 20 Hz-18 kHz 119 dB/mW<br />
Company Make/Model Price Frequency Response<br />
Audio-Technica U.S., Inc.<br />
www.audio-technica.com<br />
Carvin Corp<br />
www.carvin.com<br />
Etymotic Research, Inc.<br />
www.etymotic.com<br />
Future Sonics<br />
www.futuresonics.com<br />
M-Audio<br />
www.m-audio.com<br />
Sennheiser<br />
www.sennheiserusa.com<br />
Ultimate Ears<br />
www.ultimateears.com<br />
Westone<br />
www.westone.com<br />
Input Sensitivity<br />
(dB @ 30 Hz/1 mW)<br />
EP3 In-Ear Headphones $139.00 18-18,000 Hz 100 dB<br />
EM902 $39.99 20-20 kHz 114 dB/mW<br />
ER-4P $299.00 20 Hz-16 kHz 104 dB SPL<br />
Atrio professional earphones<br />
(rev. 2)<br />
$199.00 18 Hz - 20,000 Hz 112 dB @ 30 Hz/1 mW<br />
IE-30 $299.95 20 Hz-16 kHz 119 dB/mW<br />
IE-40 $499.95 20 Hz-16 kHz 117 dB/mW<br />
Sennheiser $89.95 18-21,000 Hz 112 dB @ 1 kHZ, 1V rms<br />
Super.fi 5 $169.99 15 Hz-15 kHz 115 dB SPL/mW at 1 kHz<br />
UM2 True-Fit Dual Driver<br />
Earphones<br />
$299.00 20 Hz-18 kHz 119 dB/mW
Westone UM2<br />
www.fohonline.com<br />
Westone ES2 Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5 EB<br />
Isolation Cable Length, Connector Type Type and Number of Drivers<br />
21 dB +/-<br />
50” (64” optional); 1/8” gold stereo<br />
mini-connector<br />
MG4plus FS proprietary single dynamic<br />
Up to 25 dB 50” cable Dual-balanced armature<br />
Up to 37 dB 50” stereo mini-plug 2, balanced armature<br />
Up to 37 dB<br />
Gray Soft Flex: 30 dB (90% of ambient<br />
noises) 37 dB (93% of ambient noise)<br />
Gray Soft Flex: 30 dB (90% of ambient<br />
noise), Foam Sleeves: 37dB (93% of<br />
ambient noise)<br />
52” propietary dual-stereo miniplug<br />
(Memory-Fit Cable) 61”, 1/8” connector<br />
SCL3-K: 56”, SCL3-GR: 62”, SCL3-W:<br />
62”, 1/8”connector<br />
1, custom balanced armature<br />
Dual Low Mass High Energy Drivers (dedicated high-definition tweeter and woofer drivers<br />
couple with an inline crossover)<br />
WideBand microdriver (Single Low Mass High Energy Driver)<br />
26 dB 46” or 64”, 1/8”, gold-plated 4 proprietary balanced armatures with an integrated three way crossover<br />
25 dB<br />
50” removable cable, 3.5 mm stereo<br />
jack<br />
2 balanced armature drivers<br />
Isolation Cable Length, Connector Type Type and Number of Drivers<br />
N/A 1.1 m (3.6 ft) locking TRS 3.5 mm Dynamic (1)<br />
23 dB 58” Single<br />
36 dB triple-flange; 42 dB foam eartips. 5’ cable; 3.5 mm w/ 1/4” adapter incl. Single driver; balanced-armature<br />
26 dB +/- depending on fit option<br />
26 dB<br />
26 dB<br />
Shure Incorporated SCL5 Sound Isolating Earphones<br />
1.3 m QuietCable II; 1/8” gold stereo miniconnector<br />
46” cable, gold plated 1/8” input connector<br />
with 1/4” adapter<br />
46” cable, gold plated 1/8” input connector<br />
with 1/4” adapter<br />
MG5pro FS proprietary single dynamic<br />
Dual-armature driver<br />
Triple-armature driver<br />
N/A 20” (right) 7” left to center/2.8’ to plug Dynamic, closed, single driver<br />
26 dB 46”, 1/8”, gold-plated Single driver: proprietary balanced top fire armature<br />
20-25 dB 50”, 3.5 mm stereo jack 2 balanced armature drivers<br />
2008 AUGUST<br />
Carvin EM902<br />
25
26<br />
Road Test<br />
Waves MaxxBCL<br />
OK, so I have come into the digital age<br />
in a lot of ways. I own four digital consoles<br />
and I use Reason in my studio.<br />
While I am plenty comfortable with plug-ins,<br />
there are still times when I just want a piece of<br />
hardware — a box with knobs that responds<br />
exactly how I expect without having to think<br />
about it. Waves is best known for their plug-ins.<br />
It you are a Pro Tools guy or mixing on a Venue<br />
system, I’ll bet dollars to donuts that you have<br />
at least one of them in your arsenal. But what<br />
a lot of people don’t know is that they make<br />
some pretty nice hardware as well.<br />
The Gear rt<br />
The Maxx BCL is a serious piece of hardware.<br />
Two rack spaces and it’s hefty — some<br />
of my power amps weigh less. The short version<br />
is that the BCL combines the MaxxBass<br />
system with a compressor and limiter. The idea<br />
is more low end and total signal level without<br />
increasing distortion. Bottom line is a louder<br />
mix with at least the perception of more bass.<br />
According to Waves, the guys mixing acts including<br />
Gwen Stefani and Metallica are using<br />
them as part of their system.<br />
A quick note: The BCL is every bit as useful<br />
in the studio as it is onstage, which I will get<br />
into later. The reason I bring it up now is that<br />
the first controls you will see on the front panel<br />
are for choosing sample and bit rates, which<br />
comes up in recording more often than live.<br />
Next are four preset buttons for saving and re-<br />
calling a few scenes for different purposes and<br />
the compressor, which has all of the controls<br />
you would expect, plus the addition of both<br />
opto and electro modes. Your choice.<br />
The next section is the MaxxBass, which<br />
is what I mostly used this for live. The idea —<br />
apparently it has been around for years and<br />
organ makers used something similar — is<br />
to increase perceived bass without actually<br />
increasing low-frequency energy. In other<br />
words, more thump without the risk of blowing<br />
your drivers. Finally, we have a limiter that<br />
allows you to goose overall program volume.<br />
A nice touch is that all of the meters are backlit<br />
so you can see them under a wider range of<br />
lighting conditions.<br />
The back panel has all of your inputs<br />
and outputs, both digital and analog. Digital<br />
formats cover the gamut — S/PDIF, AES and<br />
optical in both lightpipe and coaxial flavors.<br />
Input on the analog side is a pair of Neutrik<br />
combo jacks and outputs are XLR and balanced<br />
1/4” TRS.<br />
The BCL combines the MaxxBass<br />
system with a compressor and limiter.<br />
The idea is more low end and total signal<br />
level without increasing distortion.<br />
Bottom line is a louder mix with at least<br />
the perception of more bass.<br />
The Gig rt<br />
My first use was in my studio where I noticed<br />
an immediate difference — a huge difference.<br />
Mixes using the BCL sounded richer<br />
throughout the entire range — not just in<br />
the low end, which is what I expected. I actually<br />
had to be reminded several times that we<br />
needed to take this out on a couple of gigs because<br />
I really did not want to take it out of the<br />
studio rack.<br />
JLH AxeTrak<br />
Whether you are mixing in a club,<br />
at a house of worship or almost<br />
any venue for that matter —<br />
what is the age-old problem? The stage<br />
is too loud, right? You tell the drummer<br />
to play softer and he complains. You tell<br />
the bass player to turn down and he<br />
says he can’t feel it anymore. You tell the<br />
guitar player to turn down and he says<br />
that now he doesn’t have good tone. Being<br />
a guitar player turned sound guy, I<br />
can’t say that I disagree with him. If you<br />
can’t turn the amp up, it’s hard to make it<br />
sound the way you want to. But as an engineer,<br />
especially in a house of worship, I<br />
want to kick the speakers out of the amp<br />
and throw it away.<br />
The Gear rt<br />
I’ve been searching near and far to<br />
find a solution that works for me at frontof-house<br />
and keeps my musicians happy<br />
at the same time. In comes the AxeTrak.<br />
At first glance, this little guy looks rather<br />
unassuming. It’s a box that’s about onesquare-foot<br />
with a quarter-inch speaker<br />
jack and an XLR on the side of it. Inside is<br />
a custom-designed speaker and microphone<br />
diaphragm.<br />
It’s as easy to use as it sounds. You<br />
connect the speaker output of any amp,<br />
whether a combo or just a head, to the<br />
speaker jack on the AxeTrak. Next, you<br />
take the mic cable for your guitar mic<br />
and plug it in. Turn on the amp and play.<br />
It’s as simple as that. Said and done, it<br />
only makes about 65 dB of ambient<br />
noise. Away goes my stage volume, but<br />
we don’t have to sacrifice the tone because<br />
it’s still a speaker with a mic.<br />
The Gig rt<br />
Our church is fairly large. A sanctuary<br />
that can seat up to 3,000, but on any<br />
given Sunday we’ll have between 1,500<br />
and 2,000 in attendance. The room is a<br />
Waves MaxxBCL<br />
AUGUST 2008 www.fohonline.com<br />
When I finally pulled it out it was for a large<br />
outdoor gig. I have a city client that does several<br />
festivals throughout the year, and this one<br />
had 25,000 people in attendance for a very<br />
good classic rock cover band onstage.<br />
While we were setting up the system, we<br />
inserted the BCL and put on a Madonna track<br />
known for huge low end. Now, my systems are<br />
never under-boxed when it comes to subs. I<br />
own a bunch of Quake cabinets and the truth<br />
is that I have more of an issue with my namebrand<br />
top boxes keeping up with the subs than<br />
the other way around. So, I may not be the best<br />
candidate for this system, but I can tell you that<br />
with the sub level dialed in at less than half of<br />
what it normally is, we had all of the bass we<br />
needed. But more tellingly, the amps were not<br />
working as hard as they usually do and the drivers<br />
were nowhere near over-excursion.<br />
It comes down to this. For me, the Maxx<br />
BCL is better in my studio where I love it and<br />
don’t want to take it out of. But then I am, if<br />
anything, over-boxed on subs on nearly every<br />
rig that goes out the door. But I can see a real<br />
use for this if you are under-boxed or under-<br />
gigantic concrete box with an openbeam<br />
ceiling. I liken it to mixing in a<br />
huge fish bowl — reflection everywhere.<br />
Our pastor has asked that we mix frontof-house<br />
at around 95 dB; however, our<br />
stage volume is typically 97+ dB. I told<br />
my guys we needed to fix this and they<br />
were willing to work with me.<br />
I called up Jeff at JLH Products. It’s so<br />
cool when you call to order something<br />
and you actually talk to the guy that made<br />
it. I said, "I saw your product on the Internet<br />
and I want try it out. How soon can<br />
I get it?" He said, "You're with a church?<br />
I’ll ship it tomorrow." We went over the<br />
particulars: You can order the device in<br />
whatever ohm load matches your current<br />
setup so that there's as little change<br />
to your tone as possible. I decided on 8<br />
ohms because that’s what both of my guitar<br />
players use. Jeff shipped them and I<br />
had them in two days. No joke, two days. I<br />
actually got service and the guy was cool<br />
By LarryHall<br />
powered when it comes to the low end. I can<br />
also see it as a way to protect your system on<br />
bass-heavy hip-hop and dance gigs. If the<br />
perceived amount of bass is where the client<br />
and crowd want it, and your boxes and amps<br />
are not on the edge of meltdown, it is a good<br />
thing. The Maxx BCL is not cheap. But if you<br />
factor in the cost of replacing amps and drivers<br />
when someone pushes the system past<br />
its limits it does not look quite so pricey.<br />
Waves MaxxBCL<br />
What It Is: Bass enhancement, compressor<br />
and limiter.<br />
Who It’s For: Rental companies that<br />
could use a few more subs and pretty<br />
much any serious studio.<br />
Pros: Sounds great and very easy to<br />
use. Could save your drivers in the<br />
right situation. Made every mix I used<br />
it on sound better.<br />
Cons: Pricey.<br />
How Much: $2,499.<br />
By JamesElizando<br />
over the phone. He even gave me a shirt<br />
and hat just for ordering his product.<br />
I unpack these cute little guys and<br />
I’m already thinking of some clever story<br />
to tell my guys about how they are going<br />
to sound. Quite frankly, they don’t look<br />
like they are going to have the fat sound<br />
that a guitar player is used to. I walk into<br />
the rehearsal with what looks like my<br />
lunch in my hand and say, “Here we go<br />
guys, this is an AxeTrak.” The look could<br />
burn a hole in lead.<br />
I plug it in, fingers crossed, and head<br />
up to front-of-house. We used it on a Vox<br />
AC30 with a Telecaster. He starts playing<br />
and I wonder if it works because I<br />
can’t hear anything at <strong>FOH</strong>. I look at the<br />
channel and I see a strong signal. I say a<br />
prayer, un-mute it, and slowly push up<br />
the fader. What to all of our wondering<br />
ears should appear but the sound of<br />
Mike’s guitar just as it’s sounded for the<br />
last two years. We unplug the AxeTrak,
Peavey Versarray 112<br />
We first saw the Peavey Versarray system<br />
almost two years ago, and have<br />
been trying to work out a road test<br />
ever since. As we have done with larger pieces<br />
of gear (including other line arrays) in the past,<br />
instead of having Peavey send out a rig for us<br />
to use on a gig, we went to a gig that had the<br />
system already on it and worked the show. In<br />
this case, that meant hooking up with Dave<br />
Albro, who is doing <strong>FOH</strong> and associated duties<br />
for the VIP events surrounding the current<br />
Tim McGraw tour. Most of the stops on the<br />
tour feature “side” events including local and<br />
regional acts, plus a VIP-only acoustic show by<br />
McGraw prior to the actual arena show, which<br />
is a Clair deal.<br />
The Gear rt<br />
Each cabinet in the array weighs in at 53 lbs.<br />
Construction is 13-ply Baltic birch. Drivers are<br />
a 12” neo Black Widow with a dual-4” voice<br />
coil and two ribbons to handle the highs. The<br />
specs say the box will go down to 100 Hz and<br />
you can put as many as 18 in a single array —<br />
although the system is really meant for small<br />
to medium venues, and you are more likely<br />
to see between four and eight boxes on most<br />
gigs.<br />
The rigging allows for full articulation from<br />
0 to 15 degrees between each box in 2.5-degree<br />
increments, which allows for a multitude<br />
of array-shape options. And a Versarrayspecific<br />
version of EASE is downloadable from<br />
Peavey, as are project presets for Versarray<br />
systems for the Peavey VSX 26 loudspeaker<br />
manager, which was used on this gig. All input<br />
connectors are four-pin Neutrik Speakons.<br />
For the larger of the two stages, Dave used<br />
a flybar and hung six boxes per side over three<br />
Peavey 218 subs. All amps were Crest (5200 series<br />
on the highs and 8200 series on the subs).<br />
For the smaller stage in the VIP tent, it was<br />
three-over-two with the top boxes “groundstacked”<br />
on top of the subs.<br />
One of the nice things about this system<br />
is that you have plenty of options for flying<br />
or stacking, and Peavey provides the gear<br />
to make it happen. If you need to fly a small<br />
listen to the amp and plug it back in<br />
again. PERFECT! Right out of the box it<br />
sounds just like his AC30. My sigh of relief<br />
could be heard around the world.<br />
The boys at JLH have also added two<br />
other features to help you if you need it.<br />
There’s a port on the side of the box. Removing<br />
the cover helps create more lowend<br />
if desired. Also, there’s a high-end<br />
roll off switch on the box. I didn’t need<br />
to use either of them — I just plugged<br />
it in and it worked great. It was a solved<br />
problem right out of the box.<br />
Without the guitar volume on stage,<br />
I was able to turn everything else down<br />
and now my stage volume is 88 dB at<br />
<strong>FOH</strong>. I can mix the service at our pastors<br />
desired level without having to sacrifice<br />
the quality of our sound. For a relatively<br />
small price tag, it’s the best solution I’ve<br />
run across for this problem.<br />
If you mix in a large church like I do or<br />
you have a small church, I would recom-<br />
system, you can get six boxes up to 13 feet in<br />
the air without worrying about Genie Lifts or<br />
chain motors. A crankable Vermette lift, available<br />
from Peavey, will do the job and fold flat<br />
to fit in the truck.<br />
The Gig rt<br />
I was invited to go hear the Peavey Versarray<br />
112 when the McGraw tour came to USA-<br />
NA amphitheater in Salt Lake City. I spent the<br />
day working with Albro on the Frito StyleSonic<br />
StageLine SL100 stage and the VIP Tent stage.<br />
(Side note: While this Road Test is specifically<br />
on the Versarray 112, Peavey and Crest Audio<br />
manufactured nearly all of the gear on these<br />
stages. This is a real turnkey rig.)<br />
I arrived just in time to help setup the<br />
SL100 and then fly the six boxes per side over<br />
three groundstacked 218 subs. I could easily<br />
lift a box and — unlike some more expensive<br />
systems — it was a piece of cake to array and<br />
to fly. Pins slid right in with a minimum of “adjustment”<br />
(isn’t that what you call the all to<br />
common act of shaking the array back and<br />
forth until the pin you are trying to insert lines<br />
up with the proper hole?).<br />
The band on the SL100 was a veteran<br />
country act with both male and female vocalists.<br />
The band was made up of a drummer,<br />
pedal steel guitar, bass and electric/acoustic<br />
guitar in addition to the vocalists. The audience<br />
ranged from about 500 to 2,000 people<br />
gathered around the stage where the performance<br />
took place two hours prior to the main<br />
show.<br />
The stage was near a beer garden, so the<br />
audience size varied quite a bit, and the system<br />
proved more than adequate for the coverage<br />
area. In fact, Albro had to keep the top two<br />
boxes and one of the subs per side turned off<br />
during the show. If he had not done this than<br />
the sound would have carried too far into the<br />
other areas of the amphitheater. The sound<br />
pressure level at 50 feet was exceeding 100 dB,<br />
so this system can keep up with loud bands.<br />
OK, the big question we all want answered…<br />
How does it sound? It sounds really<br />
good. Plenty of clarity on the top and tons of<br />
mend the AxeTrak to anyone. It flat-out<br />
rocks. They also offer the AxeTrak in a version<br />
for bass as well as a 3x12, 1x12 and<br />
bass cab with 3 6s and a 15. Jeff and his<br />
team did their homework on the AxeTrak<br />
and it really shows.<br />
JLH AxeTrak<br />
What It Is: Sort of a direct box for<br />
guitar amps. Sort of.<br />
Who It’s For: Anyone who needs to<br />
control stage volume without sacrificing<br />
tone.<br />
Pros: Small and easy to hide, Easy to<br />
use. Great tone right out of the box.<br />
Cons: You can’t create controlled feedback.<br />
They don’t make one for every<br />
instrument on the stage.<br />
Price: $399 (Factory Direct).<br />
www.fohonline.com<br />
punch on the bottom coverage and sound<br />
was consistent on both systems.<br />
I was very impressed with how the Versarray<br />
system worked and sounded. These musicians<br />
expected tour-grade equipment and a<br />
professional sound and they got it. Especially<br />
with the small size and myriad mounting options,<br />
I can see this system in schools, churches<br />
and other smaller venues both as a rental and<br />
installed. As the owner of an anklebiter company,<br />
I would heartily recommend this system<br />
to anyone that needs a solid, road-worthy system<br />
that is affordable and can be purchased<br />
from one vendor.<br />
Peavey Versarray 112<br />
What It Is: Compact line array.<br />
Who It’s For: Smaller sound companies<br />
trying to get into the line array<br />
game and smaller HOW-type installs.<br />
Pros: Solid construction, lightweight,<br />
easy to rig, sounds good.<br />
Cons: None.<br />
How Much: $1,599 per box MSRP;<br />
$1,749.99 for the Versarray 218 sub.<br />
Peavey Versarray 112<br />
JLH AxeTrak<br />
Road Test<br />
By PaulOverson<br />
2008 AUGUST<br />
27
BUSINESS<br />
Who: Tony Marra, owner/founder of<br />
Thermal Relief Design, Inc.<br />
Where: “Vegas, Baby!”<br />
When: “I started the company with my<br />
wife, Lori, as TLM Electronics in 1987 in<br />
Pleasantville, N.Y. When we moved to<br />
Las Vegas in 1996 I changed the name<br />
to Thermal Relief Design.”<br />
Oh, so you’re heating and cooling…<br />
“I should get this out of the way: When<br />
I started Thermal Relief Design in Vegas,<br />
I was doing a lot of PCB design<br />
for manufacturers. A ‘thermal relief ’ is<br />
a PCB term for a pad that is ‘relieved’<br />
from a large copper area to aid PCB<br />
soldering. And since we’re in one of<br />
the hottest cities in the country (it’s<br />
just dry heat, though...), I thought the<br />
name fit us. To this day, you won't believe<br />
how many people call us to ask if<br />
we repair air conditioners.”<br />
Services provided: Thermal Relief<br />
services most pro audio equipment<br />
manufactured today, all the way from<br />
large format digital consoles to Switch<br />
Mode Pulse Width Modulation Amplifiers.<br />
In Las Vegas, they are known as<br />
the “Guitar Amplifier Specialists” as<br />
all the music stores send their broken<br />
amps to them. Even the local techs<br />
look them up when they are stumped.<br />
Full-time employees: Four who occupy<br />
tech benches and do double<br />
duty with reception, shipping/receiving,<br />
office management and Web site<br />
design.<br />
Current clients served include: Big:<br />
Clair Brothers, Delicate Productions<br />
and Solotech. Local and regional: New<br />
World Audio, HAS Productions and<br />
Soundsmith; and everything in between.<br />
28<br />
Vital Stats<br />
Tony Marra<br />
of Thermal Relief Design<br />
By Kevin M.Mitchell<br />
First gig of note: “The 1977 Rod Stewart<br />
Tour. One day I went straight from<br />
installing discotheques in Buffalo to<br />
setting up the PA for 20,000-seat auditoriums<br />
for Rod’s 1977 National Tour.”<br />
Recent company highlight: Making<br />
payroll again this month.<br />
Badge of honor: “I survived with my<br />
hearing intact after serving three years<br />
on the road as house engineer for Ted<br />
Nugent (1977-1980).”<br />
Why the hoopla? “We are deeply concerned<br />
about customer satisfaction.<br />
Our motto from Vince Lombardi is posted<br />
in everyone’s workspace: ‘We are<br />
going to relentlessly chase perfection,<br />
knowing full well we will not catch it,<br />
because nothing is perfect. But we are<br />
going to relentlessly chase it, because<br />
in the process, we will catch excellence.<br />
I am not remotely interested in just being<br />
good.’”<br />
PERSONAL<br />
Home front: Wife and “volunteer” bookkeeper,<br />
Lori; son, Joseph; and Sisco, the Bassett<br />
Hound.<br />
People might be surprised to know: “I still<br />
cry every time I see Mrs. Jumbo taken away<br />
from Dumbo the flying elephant.”<br />
“If I could tell my younger self one thing,<br />
it would be... Quit being curious about<br />
how stuff works and be more conscious of<br />
how much you can sell it for. There’s more<br />
money in sales than service.”<br />
“Best part about my job is... I’m the boss,<br />
and I can come in whenever I like, leave whenever<br />
I like and take days off whenever I like.”<br />
Rick Hahn<br />
AUGUST 2008 www.fohonline.com<br />
TRD staff (L to R): Roy Page, Erika Earl, Tony Marra and Rick Hahn<br />
“Biggest drag about my job is... I’m the<br />
boss, so I gotta be here first in the morning,<br />
be the last to leave at night and work seven<br />
days a week, 52 weeks a year.”<br />
“If and when I get on vacation, you’ll find<br />
me... in a lonely mountain stream fly fishing<br />
for brook trout.”<br />
“My pet peeve about live concerts is…<br />
tickets have gotten too expensive. It’s hard<br />
for the young kids to be exposed to real live<br />
music as opposed to CDs and MP3s when<br />
concert tickets are so expensive.”<br />
“The best concert I probably ever saw<br />
was... in 1980, Pink Floyd performing The<br />
Tony Marra, owner/founder of Thermal Relief Design, Inc.<br />
Erika Earl<br />
Wall in Los Angeles, Calif.”<br />
“What CD is in my car right now… nothing<br />
because my CD player is broken. But if<br />
it was working, I’d be listening to Jimi Hendrix,<br />
Stevie Ray Vaughan, Robin Trower and<br />
Kenny Wayne Shepherd.”<br />
“In the kitchen, I make a mean... pasta<br />
sauce. Load it on some of my homemade<br />
manicottis and meatballs and you’d think<br />
you died and went to heaven.”<br />
Words to live by: “Do what has to be<br />
done, when it has to be done, as well as<br />
it can be done, and do it that way every<br />
time.”
30<br />
Welcome To My Nightmare<br />
Anklebiter or Stuntman?<br />
I<br />
don't like taking parties or bar gigs, but<br />
sometimes you have to pay the bills,<br />
right? So there I was loading gear into<br />
task at hand... rain. Fortunately, plastic<br />
trash bags make wonderful speaker covers,<br />
and as the mist passed, the band be-<br />
the back of my Toyota Prius. We were loadgan<br />
to show. After attempting to reassure<br />
ing for a venue that did not provide park-<br />
the band, apparently "the hottest band in<br />
ing, and a rooftop gig meant a very small<br />
town,” about the power concerns, they be-<br />
amount of gear. Of course, I was reassured<br />
gan their pre-show ritual of whiskey and<br />
there was an elevator. Fortunately, years of<br />
beer and said, "just make it f***in’ loud<br />
experience told me to look at this venue<br />
man!" And loud we made it. This was one<br />
the night before, which by the way was just<br />
of those rare moments when I told the gui-<br />
about an hour after I got the call to do the<br />
tarist to turn it to 11 and stay there, and<br />
gig. Yup, no elevator!<br />
the bass let it all out because my little PA<br />
Friday night, I arrived at the location<br />
is for the vocal and a bit of drums!<br />
and began to carry my orange Home Depot<br />
After reaching a 110 dB on an open<br />
buckets of cables and connectors up four<br />
air rooftop and finding out the music was<br />
flights of steps, only to find another artist<br />
heard during a pro basketball game three<br />
playing in my setup time. After a brief yet<br />
blocks away, I felt complete in my journey.<br />
intense discussion with the owner, I was<br />
Alas, the party for the little spoiled rich girl<br />
reassured that the artist would be finished<br />
ended, cables were packed back up in our<br />
only an hour after I was supposed to be<br />
orange buckets, four flights of stairs were<br />
setup. Then I began to address the issues<br />
descended many times with all the gear,<br />
of a one-power outlet on the roof for a<br />
attempting not to run down the drunks<br />
four-piece rock band. He just shrugged his<br />
in the way, and the Toyota Prius was re-<br />
shoulders and said it's not his problem and<br />
covered from a parking garage six blocks<br />
don't run any extension cords on the floor<br />
away. In the end, the promoter was happy,<br />
or down the stairs.<br />
power for my board and two small amps, orange bucket and pulled out yet another the owner could have cared less, the music<br />
After looking fervently for options, I no- but the one plug on stage would never be length of manna from heaven and tied the was loud, and no anklebiters were harmed<br />
ticed a frozen margarita machine behind a enough for the guitar and bass amps that 10-gauge cord around the young warrior’s performing stunts in search of power. But<br />
makeshift bar. Lo and behold, I saw a plug would soon be arriving.<br />
waist and said “JUMP – it'll hold you if you as we left the venue, I couldn't help but<br />
sitting behind it amongst the bags of trash I looked over the horizon to the roof of fall!” And so he jumped, and yes, the young- wonder how long it would be until they<br />
and whatnot. I pull out my trusty 10-gauge the building next to me and saw the founster made it safely to the building holding figured out why the margarita machine<br />
extension cord and ever so covertly find my tain of AC attached to the neighbor’s HVAC the treasure we sought.<br />
wasn't working!<br />
way to the source of glorious power. After unit. Oh, glorious day! I did what any good- After disguising our power among<br />
disguising my cord in the rafters and over natured and resourceful tech would do… I the remnants of an old satellite dish, the Paul Kocel<br />
doorframes, I diverted my attention to the grabbed the young grunt helping me and youngster made his way down one fire es- Soul Fuel Music<br />
next dilemma... more power! I now had pointed out his destiny. I reached into my cape and up another to return to the next Denver, CO<br />
In The Trenches<br />
Danny Leake<br />
<strong>FOH</strong> Engineer<br />
Urban Guerrilla Engineers<br />
Chicago, IL<br />
312-310-0475<br />
www.urban-guerrilla-engineers.com<br />
DRLUrbanG@aol.com<br />
Services Provided: <strong>FOH</strong>/live recording.<br />
Clients: Dennis DeYoung (Styx), currently<br />
<strong>FOH</strong> for the Stevie Wonder’s 2008 “A Wonder<br />
Summer's Night” U.S. tour, upcoming <strong>FOH</strong><br />
for Stevie's European and Australian tours.<br />
Quote: "Painting pictures with sound."<br />
Personal Info: Forty years in the business,<br />
20 in recording studios, expert at integrating<br />
orchestras with high volume rhythm<br />
sections (Rock and R&B).<br />
Hobbies: History, science fiction, aviation, books.<br />
Equipment: Midas Heritage 3000 (two of them on the Stevie Wonder tour).<br />
Don’t leave home without: “My Massenburg GML 8200 Parametric EQ, SPL Transient Designer<br />
and Cranesong STC8 Compressor.”<br />
AUGUST 2008 www.fohonline.com<br />
WHERE WHERE IS THE<br />
*@%#ING *@%#ING INPUT? INPUT?<br />
We can’t print ‘em if you don’t send ‘em!<br />
We want to hear from ALL our DIE-HARD<br />
readers out there! Don’t be shy...<br />
Send your complaints,<br />
ideas and plans for<br />
world domination to:<br />
bevans@fohonline.com
By SteveLaCerra<br />
Since studios have been moving<br />
into less acoustic-friendly spaces<br />
(e.g. spare bedrooms that quite<br />
frankly have no business hosting a music<br />
production system), the need for<br />
some means of compensating for poor<br />
acoustics has materialized. Studio monitor<br />
manufacturers have responded by<br />
developing various types of room correction<br />
technology. At the most basic<br />
level, room correction analyzes the frequency<br />
response of a room/loudspeaker<br />
combination and produces compensatory<br />
equalization.<br />
How It Works TBE<br />
A test signal is played through the<br />
loudspeakers and captured using a<br />
measurement microphone, preferably<br />
placed at the mix position. The room<br />
correction system analyzes the loudspeaker/room<br />
response, compares it to<br />
the known response of the speakers and<br />
the measurement microphone, and then<br />
applies equalization to correct for the<br />
deficiencies of the acoustic space. This<br />
is not far off from the concept of shooting<br />
a room with pink noise, analyzing<br />
the results with a real-time spectrum<br />
analyzer (RTA) and applying inverse EQ,<br />
with say, a 31-band graphic.<br />
Of course, the possibility that the average<br />
Joe owns (and understands how<br />
to use) an RTA are slim, so loudspeaker<br />
manufacturers such as Dynaudio Acoustics,<br />
Genelec and JBL started building<br />
studio monitors incorporating active<br />
electronics and on-board DSP with the<br />
ability to play a test signal (either noise<br />
or a series of blips and bleeps) and automate<br />
this process so that user error can<br />
be avoided. In some cases, the results<br />
can be a startling improvement over the<br />
uncorrected response of the speaker.<br />
At least two audio manufacturers<br />
are marketing real-time room correction<br />
systems designed to work with any<br />
loudspeaker system. ARC from IK Multimedia<br />
runs real-time software in the<br />
form of a DAW plug-in to correct room<br />
response. ARC gets “plugged in” on the<br />
master L/R bus of say, a Pro Tools session,<br />
working in real time to correct<br />
changes in the room response. If you are<br />
mixing a song and an entire band steps<br />
into the control room and squeezes into<br />
the mix position, ARC recognizes the<br />
fact that the high-frequency response<br />
in the listening area has changed and<br />
compensates.<br />
What Is CONEQ? TBE<br />
CONEQ (CONvolution Equalization)<br />
from Real Sound Lab is a correction<br />
technology that can be employed in<br />
sound reinforcement systems to apply<br />
real-time room correction based upon<br />
the acoustic power frequency response<br />
of an audio system. Traditional acoustic<br />
measurement systems analyze sound<br />
pressure level (SPL) of sound waves at<br />
specific frequencies. So, if the system<br />
Correct Yourself<br />
recognizes a 4.5 dB peak in the response<br />
at 3.15 kHz, a complementary cut is applied<br />
at the same frequency. The issue<br />
here is that an SPL measurement is<br />
made at a single point in space. CONEQ<br />
analyzes the sound field produced by<br />
the loudspeaker rather than the response<br />
at a specific point. In a process<br />
that takes only several minutes, CONEQ<br />
measures hundreds of points in a listening<br />
area, integrates these measurement<br />
points into a composite response plot<br />
using a proprietary algorithm, creates<br />
a high-resolution, inverse-response correction<br />
curve, and applies that curve to<br />
the speaker or speaker array to flatten<br />
its response.<br />
The CONEQ measurement process<br />
is facilitated using CONEQ WORKSHOP<br />
software, run on any PC. The software<br />
provides a rapidly repeating sweptsine<br />
wave for the test signal. This signal<br />
is generated from your computer’s<br />
sound card and sent to the audio system.<br />
While it is being played, the microphone<br />
is slowly moved through the<br />
coverage pattern of the speaker and the<br />
software acquires measurement data at<br />
several hundred physical points. Real<br />
Sound Lab has a list of recommended<br />
www.fohonline.com<br />
sound cards and microphones so that<br />
measurements may be taken accurately,<br />
and sample rates may be user-defined<br />
to comply with the capabilities of the<br />
sound card.<br />
Measurable Results TBE<br />
After the measurement process has<br />
been completed, CONEQ WORKSHOP<br />
software interprets the data and creates<br />
a 4,096-point correction filter as well as a<br />
graph depicting the acoustic power frequency<br />
response of the loudspeaker. Res-<br />
olution of the correction curve may be<br />
increased or decreased to fit user needs,<br />
and multiple measurement sequences<br />
can be combined to balance the spectral<br />
response of left, right, center, surround<br />
and even delay fill loudspeakers.<br />
Though a PC is always required to run<br />
CONEQ WORKSHOP for the measurement<br />
process and to generate the correction<br />
curve, this mega-filter set can be<br />
applied to the audio system in two ways<br />
depending upon the application. In the<br />
case of a PC-based recording/playback<br />
system, an engineer would use the<br />
software-based CONEQ P1 Equalizer or A1<br />
Equalizer. When used with a traditional<br />
PA system that may not incorporate a PC,<br />
The Bleeding Edge<br />
the data gathered in the measurement<br />
process is uploaded to non-volatile<br />
memory onboard the CONEQ APEQ-<br />
2PRO, a two-channel hardware box that<br />
hosts the CONEQ correction process<br />
and allows it to be applied to any sound<br />
reinforcement system.<br />
Some of the benefits claimed by Real<br />
Sound Lab when using CONEQ include<br />
increased sonic realism and improved<br />
intelligibility, with a reduction in feedback<br />
— and indeed their demonstrations<br />
support these claims. In addition<br />
CONEQ (CONvolution Equalization) from Real Sound Lab<br />
is a correction technology that can be employed in sound<br />
reinforcement systems.<br />
to CONEQ’s basic algorithm (intended to<br />
create flat response), the system may be<br />
used to target specific curves. For example,<br />
CONEQ could flatten the response<br />
of a computer’s sound card to improve<br />
measurement accuracy, compensate<br />
for deviations in the measurement microphone<br />
itself, or apply a preferred<br />
“house” EQ curve. It could possibly be<br />
used to make one type of loudspeaker<br />
sound nearly indistinguishable from another.<br />
Hmmm…<br />
Steve “Woody” La Cerra is once again out<br />
on tour this summer mixing front-of-house<br />
for Blue Öyster Cult. He can be reached via<br />
email at Woody@fohonline.com.<br />
2008 AUGUST<br />
31<br />
Ad info:http:// foh.hotims.com
32<br />
Regional Slants<br />
(L to R): Tom Kneisel, Tony Baldwin, Scotty Matzinger, President Bill Robison, Vice President Todd<br />
Mitchell, Cliff Fuller, Jessica Lerum, Ken Mille, Joe Gilreath and Jeremiah Majo<br />
Bill Robison got into the sound business while working with some of the hardest working<br />
musicians in the Midwest. It was the mid-1980s and the bar band business was booming<br />
with bands calling for relatively sophisticated PA and lighting rigs.<br />
As his reputation grew he added a couple more bands, tossed in a DJ or two, bought<br />
some more gear and then started answering the phone using the name Great Lakes Sound.<br />
In the 20 years since, Robison has been at the helm as Great Lakes Sound has evolved<br />
from a local music sound company to a supplier of corporate events at the Edward Jones<br />
Dome in St. Louis to a provider of services when political candidates roll through town.<br />
Expanding that base has been crucial to the success and longevity of the company,<br />
Atlanta Sound & Lighting crew (L to R): Sean Henry, Scott Waterbury, Bill Abner, Kate Halsey,<br />
Mike Ertle, Brian Hatten, Steve Stapleton. Not pictured: Jesse Launder, Chris Motta, Tom<br />
Smith II, Rich Henry and Jon Waterbury.<br />
Scott Waterbury had big plans that included nights standing on a stage entertaining legions<br />
of fans while playing bass in a band. So, what happened? “A friend of mine asked<br />
me to do sound for this new band in the late ‘70s,” he recalls. “Ever hear of Return to Forever?<br />
I got my first view of Stanley Clarke and I realized I wasn’t going to be the best bass player in<br />
the world, so I’d have to move on to something else.”<br />
Then Waterbury laughs, because his second choice was starting Atlanta Sound and<br />
Lighting, and that hasn’t turned out to shabby. “No,” he admits. “I’m the luckiest guy on the<br />
planet.” ASL started off supplying backline to bands in the area; Waterbury got into audio<br />
AUGUST 2008<br />
www.fohonline.com<br />
The votes have been tallied – the regional<br />
winners of the <strong>FOH</strong> Hometown Hero Awards are…<br />
In the world of pro audio, regional<br />
soundcos are among the hardest<br />
working people in the biz. Often involved<br />
in a multitude of markets (concerts,<br />
corporates, HOW) and offering<br />
a variety of services, they work hard to<br />
stay competitive in a hyper-competitive<br />
market. Often overshadowed by their<br />
national touring big brothers, these unsung<br />
heroes of the audio world deserve<br />
recognition for their hard work and contribution<br />
to the industry.<br />
By DavidJohnFarinella<br />
The 2008 <strong>FOH</strong> Hometown Hero<br />
Awards are picked from a selection of<br />
several regions around the United States<br />
and Canada. The regional soundcos are<br />
both nominated and voted on by their<br />
peers. Winners from each region become<br />
the nominees for the annual Hometown<br />
Hero/Regional Sound Company of the<br />
year at the 2008 Parnelli Awards ceremony<br />
in Las Vegas. <strong>FOH</strong> profiled each region’s<br />
winning soundco to uncover their secrets<br />
to success.<br />
Great Lakes Sound<br />
Robison says. “If you had asked me 15 years ago where our customer base was, it would<br />
have been centered around a much smaller number of clients,” he says. “Today, I would like<br />
to say that maybe our largest client is somewhere around 10 percent of our business, which<br />
is, I think, pretty comfortable. I value all of my clients, but I certainly don’t want to feel that if<br />
I lose one client, I am going to go out of business.”<br />
Robison has also guided the company through a series of equipment purchases, including<br />
a recent move into digital scenery and media server technology as well as creating<br />
smaller equipment packages. “We figure that every five years of so you almost have to restart<br />
your game plan,” Robison explains of the shift into a new service. “Technology evolves<br />
so fast and what the customer is looking for changes. If we don’t make changes we’re going<br />
to stagnate.”<br />
The move was also made with an eye toward today’s economy, reports Vice President<br />
Todd Mitchell. “Obviously, the economy is not doing as it once was, and if we can offer customers<br />
smaller packages, like smaller sound systems, LED lighting and digital scenery, then<br />
great,” he says. “The big concert and festival market sucks right now, and on top of that there<br />
are people that are willing to go out and do things for pennies on the dollar. So, for us it was<br />
reinventing a new way of doing things. Obviously, we’ve still got a lot of horsepower back<br />
there in terms of audio systems, and we do use them, but we’re just trying to be more intelligent<br />
with our approaches to things.”<br />
Robison and Mitchell also continue to focus on the needs of companies in the northwest<br />
region of Ohio. “It’s good to look at the big regional touring market and what they<br />
are doing, but frankly we’re on a much smaller regional level. So, for us it’s a little different,”<br />
Mitchell says. “We like to spend our dollars wisely, and the past couple of years it’s been<br />
about educating the staff and trying to take a foundation of the business and make it stronger<br />
and more stable.”<br />
Atlanta Sound & Lighting<br />
because he was consistently coming home disappointed after hearing a band live. “I’d say,<br />
‘Oh, man, that ruined it for me.’ So, we based our company on what’s best for the audience,<br />
then the artist and then the promoter,” he explains. “The audience wants to hear good<br />
sound, so we’re always going to push in that direction.”<br />
The company works in a number of markets these days, including entertainment, event,<br />
some corporate and a little bit of touring. In fact, some ASL staffers recently returned from a<br />
short five-city jaunt supporting an act that producer Dallas Austin is creating.<br />
One of the ways that Waterbury is giving back to the Atlanta community, and building<br />
some good word of mouth, is by donating lighting and a not-so-seasoned engineer to a<br />
local band who is appearing on a local television show. “It works out because the engineer<br />
gets experience and the band gets stuff they normally couldn’t afford,” he says. “We have<br />
a solid program for helping up-and-coming artists.”<br />
Over the years, the company has grown to include sound and lighting, but Waterbury<br />
only made the move into illumination grudgingly. “The guy we were getting lights<br />
from was renting them to our customers for less than he would rent them to me,” he<br />
reports. “I said to him, ‘Treat me fair or I’ll have to get into lighting, too.” He didn’t, so I got<br />
into lighting. It was a really good move for us, though.”<br />
To date, Waterbury has resisted getting into video. “Of course, that means I’ve avoided<br />
some good pay checks,” he jokes, “but there are only so many things you can excel at, don’t<br />
you think? I just haven’t met the video guy that’s like us.”<br />
To Waterbury, the term “like us” is crucial and it’s one of the main factors why he<br />
believes he’s been in business for 30 years now. “I mentioned I’m the luckiest guy in<br />
the world and that’s because I attract some of the nicest people on the planet,” he<br />
says. “I really get some of the nicest people working for me. They want to do a good<br />
job and they understand customer service.”
LD Systems crew Mike Graham and Carlos Olivares on the Hinder tour.<br />
There are a lot of things to do in high school, some of them legal and some of<br />
them make a kid a bit of dough. It’s rare, though, that 30 years later a kid is doing<br />
the same thing he did during those post wonder years.<br />
Andy DiRaddo is one of those rarities, since he started a little audio company<br />
with friend John Larson while the two were in high school that’s become LD Systems<br />
in Houston. Even after Larson left to join the armed services, and Rob McKinley<br />
came on as the new partner in 1975, the company retained the name. DiRaddo<br />
and McKinley kicked into full gear after the two graduated from Rice University.<br />
“Early on we did sound for bands,” DiRaddo recalls. “We used to do a thing<br />
called Country Sunday where a bunch of country arts played. We did a little bit<br />
of everything. I remember we pulled out some speakers for a company that was<br />
demoing crop duster planes.”<br />
While LD Systems hasn’t provided sound services for a crop duster plane company<br />
since, the company’s Production Services team have worked at all kinds of<br />
tours, corporate and entertainment events. The company also boasts an install division<br />
that has put systems in places like Minute Maid Park and Reliant Stadium.<br />
“I feel like we’ve been fortunate to do a lot of the major events in the city,”<br />
TIE<br />
HAS Production Crew (L to R): Cory Poulin, Larry Hall, Bob “Bobo” Gibson, Margo Fletcher, Danny Lane<br />
It is said that Las Vegas is a town that runs on something called “juice.” And most<br />
people misunderstand juice as “who you know.” Actually juice is not about who<br />
you know, it is about who knows you. And these days there are very few venues<br />
and promoters in Las Vegas that do not know HAS Productions. The HAS story<br />
seems typical on the surface, but dig a little deeper and it gets more interesting.<br />
Yes, owner Larry Hall started as a musician and at some point figured out<br />
he was making more money renting his small P.A. system to other bands than<br />
he was playing gigs. But that is where the typical part pretty much ends.<br />
First, while Hall was making his musical mark back in South Carolina, he<br />
was also getting in his licks as a ranked Golden Gloves boxer and his “day gig”<br />
was as a firefighter outside of Charleston. (Yes, THAT Charleston. A year ago, he<br />
took a week out of the height of the summer season to go back home and bury<br />
nine of his firefighting brethren after a furniture store fire that made national<br />
headlines.) And, unlike most of us, he actually had a big degree of success as<br />
Breanne GeorGe<br />
LD Systems<br />
DiRaddo says. “We’ve been doing the International Festival now for 25 years and<br />
the Houston Livestock and Rodeo for 19 years. We also are out on tour with 3<br />
Doors Down and a couple of other bands. We toured with ZZ Top for five years doing<br />
sound and lighting. Lately, we’ve had an upswing in the touring market.”<br />
The company has also worked with a number of major corporations, including<br />
an event at Minute Maid Park for a Microsoft convention, Shell Oil’s annual events<br />
in Houston and the Jiffy Lube corporate conventions in Orlando and Colorado<br />
Springs.<br />
The secret to the company’s success, DiRaddo states, is simple. “We’ve always<br />
treated it like a business,” he explains. “Some people view it more as a hobby, but I<br />
think part of our strength has been the diversity of things we do, from churches to<br />
straight-ahead rock shows to special events. We do every aspect of the business.<br />
We have a pretty brisk pace of business through the year and that keeps us going.<br />
Obviously, Houston has never been a big entertainment or corporate capital, so<br />
we’ve had to do all different things to grow to the size we are today.”<br />
Monitor engineer Mark Thompson at the 3 Doors Down sound check<br />
HAS Productions<br />
a musician with a record deal and the whole shot. But we know<br />
how such things often go, and a management shakeup at the label<br />
meant no more deal. Looking for steadier musical work brought<br />
Larry and his family to Las Vegas where there were more dues to be<br />
paid. “I cleaned carpets for 13 months before I got a gig,” he recalls.<br />
It wasn’t long before he got himself a truck and some more gear<br />
and started up Hall Audio Services.<br />
Today, the issue is keeping up with the gigs. From humble beginnings<br />
doing club and small casino gigs that the big companies<br />
considered “beneath” them, Hall and his crew have turned a reputation<br />
for getting the job done right and within budget into gigs<br />
that the bigger companies in town now wonder why they are not<br />
getting anymore. He added lighting and staging plus extensive<br />
backline and changed the company name to HAS Productions.<br />
Today, HAS is the “house” provider for properties that include a<br />
6,000-seat arena, outdoor amphitheatres and large showrooms in<br />
addition to regular gigs at venues including the Fremont Street<br />
Experience (with crowds that can exceed 10,000), Nellis Air Force<br />
Base and city- and county-sponsored festivals with single show attendance<br />
exceeding 20,000. They were even asked to provide house sound at the Democratic<br />
Party presidential debate in Vegas late last year.<br />
While HAS has kept current on gear with line arrays from JBL and DAS plus<br />
Yamaha and Soundcraft digital consoles, this is a company that “gets” it. They<br />
understand that the best car is useless without a great driver. “Our full-time staff<br />
is not huge,” says Hall. “But we know every good <strong>FOH</strong> and MON guy in the Valley,<br />
and most of them work for us regularly. And Danny Lane, my operations guy, has<br />
been doing this for big companies including ATK for a long time. We know what<br />
it takes to get the job done and we will not rest until the client is happy.”<br />
The payoff of that work ethic and philosophy is that HAS is virtually always<br />
asked back when working with a new customer even in the overtly political<br />
environment that is Las Vegas and, against the odds, continues to expand. It’s<br />
all about juice and HAS has it.<br />
www.fohonline.com www.fohonline<br />
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fohonline.com<br />
2008 AUGUST<br />
33
Regional Slants<br />
MHA Audio provided sound for the Virgin Mobile Music Festival in<br />
Baltimore, Md.<br />
While Mike Scarfe was traveling around<br />
the States with the B-52s for the last 10<br />
years providing entertainment for corporate<br />
events, he got a first hand look at the workings<br />
of regional sound companies. It was a<br />
priceless education for a man who was looking<br />
to get into the regional business in the<br />
Mid-Atlantic area. “I used a new company<br />
every week,” he recalls. “It helped me understand<br />
what I would need to do to be successful<br />
in the regional market.”<br />
Scarfe turned his attention to regional<br />
work in 1993, after a touring career that began<br />
in 1973. Utilizing his experience in the music<br />
business, Scarfe looked to increase his business<br />
by selling to corporate and political clients and<br />
local promoters. The strategy paid off, as MHA<br />
now blends music, political and corporate clients.<br />
“I think it is one of the reasons that we are<br />
successful because we can bring national quality<br />
to a regional event,” he says.<br />
On the music side of things, MHA works<br />
at a number of regional theaters, amphitheaters<br />
and performing arts venues between<br />
Baltimore and Washington D.C., as well as<br />
multi-day festivals, such as Capital Jazz Festival,<br />
Virgin Music Festival in Baltimore, African<br />
34<br />
AUGUST 2008<br />
MHA Audio<br />
American Heritage Festival and<br />
Artscape Festival, the largest<br />
free arts festival in the U.S.<br />
MHA’s political work runs<br />
the gamut from touring with<br />
presidential candidates to inaugural<br />
balls. The company also<br />
provided sound services for the<br />
Pope’s recent visit to Nationals<br />
Stadium in Washington, and<br />
the dedication of the Air Force<br />
Memorial in Arlington, Va.<br />
Finding and keeping that<br />
variety of work has been one<br />
of the key ingredients to success<br />
for MHA, Scarfe believes.<br />
“I was never tempted, when a lot of others<br />
were, to concentrate on only corporate<br />
work,” he reports. “A lot of those companies<br />
that concentrated on corporate work have<br />
experienced serious downturns in their business,<br />
particularly during summer months.<br />
We don’t have that because we have strong<br />
ties to the music market, and we enjoy doing<br />
concerts. So, we tend to keep very busy<br />
throughout all 12 months because of the<br />
range of events. “I always felt that having a<br />
variety would serve us well.”<br />
At the same time, MHA has steadfastly remained<br />
an audio house. “I’m not particularly<br />
interested in lighting or video,” he says. “I’d<br />
much rather provide an excellent job at the<br />
one thing that we know how to do well, sound<br />
reinforcement. People know to come to us for<br />
quality audio and knowledgeable personnel.”<br />
More than that, Scarfe believes that clients<br />
call on MHA because of the quality of<br />
the people working there. Indeed, he is sure<br />
that the company earned the Hometown Heroes<br />
accolade because of the team of sound<br />
techs. “The quality of our people stands out,”<br />
he says. “I believe they have won this award<br />
and not just the company.”<br />
Back Row: Charlie Morgan, Brett Rudy, Adam Kozie. Front Row: TJ Loehman, Rose Andrews, Aaron<br />
Fisher, Adam Holloway, Steve Boyce, Tim Harding. Not pictured: Paul Hudson, Alex Bruce<br />
It’s as if the folks at Morgan Sound in Lynwood, Wash. play a little game called “PA Chicken”<br />
where they pick an event or venue and then see if they can put a package together that will<br />
work. Talking heads? Speakers on sticks. Easy peasy. A 70,000-seat festival? Roll out the VerTecs.<br />
Nothing to it. College commencements? Events at Safeco Field? Corporate something or others?<br />
Not a problem.<br />
Turns out that 35-plus years of experience counts for something, especially when it contributes<br />
to the confidence necessary to service a wide variety of gigs in dozens of venues in the<br />
Pacific Northwest. Beyond live sound services, Morgan Sound has expanded to include retail<br />
www.fohonline.com<br />
Tour Tech East<br />
Tour Tech East President Peter<br />
Hendrickson has been busy<br />
this morning trying to find that<br />
delicate balance between servicing<br />
local clientele and opportunities<br />
for a national tour. What’s<br />
complicating things for him these<br />
days is the simple fact that three<br />
gigs — providing sound services<br />
for the civic events during his<br />
hometown’s annual celebration, a<br />
show with The Eagles and an Avril<br />
Lavigne Canadian tour — all happen<br />
within a week of each other.<br />
Making the decision how best<br />
to service each opportunity comes<br />
down to looking at the big picture, Hendrickson<br />
says. “We could just stay and please<br />
the local clients, but if we want to grow the<br />
company we’re going to have to look at going<br />
outside our normal type of business,” he<br />
says.<br />
That might mean bringing in some subs,<br />
he adds, especially because appearances<br />
(and delivery, obviously) are important. “You<br />
don’t want to go into situations appearing<br />
that you’re busting at the seams,” Hendrickson<br />
reports, “you want to go in with the customer<br />
feeling like they are being professionally<br />
looked after and they want it to be as<br />
seamless as possible. That’s been one of the<br />
challenges today for us — just making sure<br />
that all the clients are satisfied and that they<br />
feel comfortable with what they are being<br />
given or told.”<br />
Of course, this isn’t anything new for<br />
Hendrickson and the Tour Tech Team who<br />
have been working out of Dartmouth, Nova<br />
Scotia since 1984. At first, the company only<br />
offered lighting services, but over the years<br />
Tour Tech East has added sound, staging,<br />
power distribution and trucking to its base<br />
of business. “Everything that we ended up<br />
Nickelback performing at the Festival of Lights<br />
doing was complimentary to what we were<br />
doing right from the very beginning,” he<br />
says. “It was just a natural progression.”<br />
While the company has been adding services,<br />
Hendrickson has kept an eye on riders<br />
to determine what products he should buy.<br />
“In the early days, I used to buy what I really<br />
liked and what I thought was great. Unfortunately,<br />
what I think is great doesn’t always<br />
translate to cash, and I can’t grow the business<br />
if I only buy what I like. I am in business<br />
to stay in business and I can be either right<br />
or I can be dead right. I have given up on the<br />
dead right.”<br />
With that, Hendrickson has to get back<br />
to planning where the company’s gear and<br />
engineers will be heading. He knows one<br />
thing for sure, which seems to be the key to<br />
becoming one of this year’s Hometown Heroes.<br />
“No matter how big the gig is, it has to<br />
be dealt with professionally,” he says. “What<br />
separates the professionals from the nonprofessionals<br />
is that the customer walks<br />
away feeling that even though he may not<br />
be the Rolling Stones or The Eagles or Toby<br />
Keith, that he got treated as well as if he was.<br />
That’s what is really important.”<br />
Morgan Sound<br />
sales, electronic and speaker repair and installation. “Live sound has always been the heart and<br />
soul of the business, but it’s very diverse,” reports Sound Reinforcement Director Steve Boyce.<br />
While the company has history on its side, Boyce is quick to point out that history is only as<br />
good as people remember. “We feel like we have to constantly prove ourselves each time we<br />
go out,” Boyce says. “That’s one of our big motivators because there are all sorts of people that<br />
would like to take our business from us.”<br />
So, Morgan Sound has dedicated itself as a company that takes great care with each job,<br />
paying attention to details and making sure there is constant communication with each client.<br />
“If there is an issue that comes up, we are not afraid to bring it up,” Boyce says. “I’ve found that<br />
over the years people certainly prefer an honest and open communication more than feeling<br />
like someone is trying to pull something over on them.”<br />
As for the next 12 months, Boyce points out that the company will be looking to<br />
continue to build its corporate book of business as well as investigating opportunities<br />
in music. “I really enjoy the corporate market,” he says. “We’ve found that in the<br />
corporate market we can service them very well and they are very pleased that we’re a<br />
specialized audio company. Not to be disparaging, but some A/V companies do a little<br />
of everything and we’re able to specialize and service them very well. And, for us, it’s<br />
certainly less stressful and more economically lucrative for us.<br />
“We all love to do rock shows, we love to do music,” he continues. “But there are so<br />
many companies out there that promoters have a wider variety of companies to choose<br />
from, and they will play everyone off one another on the quotes and drive the price<br />
downward. In this day and age, with trucking and fuel costing as much as it does and<br />
capital expenses, I’d rather see the price go the other way. I mean, we’ll continue to do<br />
both. It’s just what we do. If the phone rings and we’re available and we can negotiate<br />
it, we’re there.”<br />
Rob Vanier
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By JamieRio Heavenly<br />
Over the last two months, we have<br />
spent time exploring the variety of<br />
microphones and the importance of<br />
having your ears as sharp as possible. This<br />
month, I would like to talk about basic stage<br />
setups and EQ scenarios. I know a lot of you<br />
have a basic idea of how to make your pastor,<br />
choir or worship band sound good. However,<br />
some of you don't, and we can always use a<br />
little tune-up, especially me. So, here we go.<br />
Listen To What the Man Says ss<br />
I think we can all agree that the words<br />
that pour out of the mouths of our pastors,<br />
priests, rabbis or whoever our worship orator<br />
happens to be is ultimately the most important<br />
part of the service. We will call the person<br />
talking about God the preacher to simplify<br />
our discussion. Your preacher either stands<br />
behind a podium or pulpit or travels freely<br />
about the stage delivering the word. Whether<br />
the preacher prefers a wired or wireless mic<br />
makes no difference. We are only interested<br />
in how clear and natural he or she sounds.<br />
If you have time before a service, it's a very<br />
good idea to test the microphone that your<br />
preacher will be using — even better if you<br />
have an assistant on stage so you can remain<br />
at the mixing board. Start with your EQ flat<br />
and have your assistant talk boldly into the<br />
preacher's mic. Bring up the gain until your<br />
meters (LEDs) are in the yellow zone. If your<br />
board only has LEDs that show "signal present"<br />
and "too hot,” push the gain until you<br />
are too hot then back it off a ¼-turn. If your<br />
preacher has dynamic vocals, it would be nice<br />
if you had a compressor or limiter to handle<br />
the potential peaks. If you don't, just back the<br />
gain off a bit and plan on riding your channel<br />
fader during the message part of the service.<br />
Sound Sanctuary<br />
Mixing<br />
Now there is no reason for you to put the<br />
preachers' voice in the stage monitors unless<br />
it is specifically requested. You have good<br />
signal strength from the microphone, so just<br />
listen as your assistant talks and talks. Do you<br />
hear any boominess? If you do, engage your<br />
high-pass button or cut your low-EQ knob.<br />
Subtle adjustments always seem to work better<br />
than cranking the knobs up or down. Is<br />
the voice sounding natural? 315 Hz to 600 Hz<br />
is important for a smooth, natural voice. Cut<br />
or boost in this area; if your board does not<br />
have a sweepable mid EQ, try slightly increasing<br />
or decreasing the mid-frequency knob.<br />
Listen again to your assistant's voice. If the<br />
voice sounds harsh than the problem may reside<br />
in the 2 kHz to 4 kHz range.<br />
Whether the preacher prefers a wired<br />
or wireless mic makes no difference.<br />
We are only interested in how clear and<br />
natural he or she sounds.<br />
N<br />
These frequencies also cause ear fatigue<br />
so you don't want your preacher slamming<br />
the congregation with them. On the other<br />
hand, intelligibility also lives in these frequencies.<br />
Therefore, it is a bit of a balancing act. So,<br />
once again, listen closely. The spoken word<br />
can produce harmonics up to 8 kHz. Boosting<br />
those up can add some sparkle as long as you<br />
don't create a brittle sound with your EQ. By<br />
the way, if you don't have an assistant, plug<br />
your preacher's mic into your board and test<br />
it yourself.<br />
Preaching to the Choir ss<br />
Your choir’s voices follow the same audio<br />
rules as your preacher. The only difference is<br />
that there are more people and they are all<br />
singing. Let's say you have a dozen members<br />
in your choir: If your house has installed choir<br />
mics (generally hanging from the ceiling), I<br />
like to position the choir so the mics are two<br />
feet in front of the singers and about two feet<br />
above their heads. Same distances if you use<br />
Optimization of<br />
High-Frequency<br />
Drivers<br />
As an owner/operator of a sound company, you<br />
need to be given the knowledge to shop-tweak<br />
the rigs you own to optimum flatness before your<br />
customer/guest engineers mess with the equalizer.<br />
And nothing repels a guest engineer from the <strong>FOH</strong><br />
equalizer more than a great sounding rig at the<br />
<strong>FOH</strong> position. But the crucial system setup aspect<br />
is getting the 1 kHz and up, high-frequency filtering<br />
perfect before hand.<br />
— Mark Amundson from his “Theory and Practice”<br />
column in the July 2008 issue.<br />
www.fohonline.com<br />
mics and stands for your singers. Two good<br />
condenser microphones will work well, or use<br />
four if you want to mic the individual vocal<br />
groups (bass, tenor, altos and sopranos).<br />
If you have condenser mics, that's good.<br />
Mainly because this type of mic is ideal for<br />
hearing a sound sources from a distance and<br />
is more sensitive than a dynamic mic. Did I<br />
mention that your microphones hear? It's<br />
good to think of them in this manner. Knowing<br />
how a mic hears can help you with proper<br />
positioning and, of course, using the right<br />
mic. The reality, however, it that you will be<br />
using whatever mics and configuration that<br />
your house has. Now, set up your microphones<br />
and bring up the gain. It's the same<br />
drill friends — flat EQ and signal strength<br />
in the yellow. Before you reach for the EQ<br />
knobs, listen to the singers. Sometimes just<br />
moving your microphones around can help<br />
with the overall blend and smoothness of<br />
the voices.<br />
Tenors, Altos and Sopranos, Oh My! SS<br />
With your mics set in the optimum positions,<br />
you can begin adjusting EQ as needed.<br />
Bass and tenor frequency fundamentals lie<br />
in the 160 Hz to 250 Hz range and altos and<br />
sopranos in 315 Hz to 500 Hz. As I mentioned<br />
before, 600 Hz to 1K is important for the natural<br />
sound of your vocalist. 630 Hz is represented<br />
by a slider on all 1 /3-octave graphic EQs. So,<br />
if your house of worship is heavy on singing,<br />
this is a frequency that can be very important<br />
in the overall tuning of your worship space.<br />
Your choir will probably have some sort<br />
of stage monitors. Be careful of feedback in<br />
the 1 K to 4 K area. Keep in mind that these<br />
same frequencies greatly affect intelligibility<br />
and also are responsible for ear fatigue. Actually<br />
there is a lot going on in this range. I suggest<br />
you listen carefully and adjust sparingly<br />
throughout this frequency band. Occasionally,<br />
I will boost a bit the 10 K to 12 K range.<br />
This can add "air" to the choir, but it also can<br />
add noise. As always, use your ears (twice).<br />
I realize that I haven't gotten to the miking<br />
and EQing of the worship band and all the<br />
instruments that can entail. But worry not,<br />
next month I will be tackling that sometimes<br />
difficult subject. I will get into topics from<br />
drums to flutes and everything in between —<br />
not to mention the politics and etiquette of<br />
your average worship band.<br />
Contact Jamie at jrio@fohonline.com.<br />
2008 AUGUST<br />
37<br />
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38<br />
Anklebiters<br />
Trials<br />
and Tribulations<br />
By KenRengering<br />
Oh, into the summer I go, alone, as apparently<br />
my writing partner is MIA.<br />
Join me as I relate the exciting trials<br />
and tribulations of a true anklebiter. And let<br />
me know some of your experiences so I can<br />
pass them on to other catfish in the sound<br />
engineering pond.<br />
Size Isn’t Everything <strong>FOH</strong><br />
Let’s start with system size. I am comfortable<br />
enough with my sexuality to admit<br />
my system is not overly large with a 4-top<br />
and 4-bottom mains rig — two stacks per<br />
side — and six matched powered monitors.<br />
Not enormous, but I have some pretty big<br />
amps pushing it and almost everything is at<br />
4 ohms. Being an anklebiter means every day<br />
is a lesson in how things work correctly and<br />
efficiently. I am always looking to work smart,<br />
not hard. I often refer to a 2-top, 2-bottom,<br />
4-monitor on a 4-mix system as a “lounge<br />
starter system.” It includes a 16-channel desk<br />
with built-in effects, amp rack, EQ rack, 100foot<br />
snake, mics, DIs, stands, cables and AC.<br />
Yes, I know it’s not even a proper sidefill sys-<br />
tem for you big rig mofos! Maybe a drum<br />
fill…<br />
This system packs incredibly well into a<br />
1998 Chevy Silverado with an eight-foot bed.<br />
My supposed friends, also sound engineers<br />
with the big line arrays and digital consoles<br />
AUGUST 2008 www.fohonline.com<br />
(the previously<br />
referred to mofos),<br />
like to sing the<br />
“Sanford and Son”<br />
theme song when I pull<br />
up with my loud and proud<br />
I try to learn something each gig. I find it’s<br />
usually before or after the gig where you<br />
learn the hardest lessons. And I guess the<br />
hardest earned are the best learned.<br />
rig. Not only is it unoriginal, but I really don’t<br />
find it all that humorous.<br />
Working Hard for Cheap <strong>FOH</strong><br />
The reason I am telling you all this is because<br />
I used to load and unload this myself.<br />
I was young and stupid and unwilling to pay<br />
someone else to help me do something I<br />
thought I not only could do, but I should do<br />
myself. It was exhausting and dangerous, and<br />
I was literally risking the family jewels for a<br />
few more shekels. At that time, the shekels<br />
were coming in less frequently and my clients<br />
were unwilling to part with them at an appropriate<br />
level. I was working too cheap! I bet<br />
none of you have ever done that.<br />
Oh, yes, there were promises of cash<br />
and labor help for the in /out. The load-in<br />
would wind up to be a clusterf*#& with<br />
my inexperienced “help” making things<br />
take twice as long. And on the outs, the<br />
“help” would disappear into the night,<br />
along with the client, to head to some after-<br />
party while I tried to talk a bartender or<br />
bouncer into helping me load the truck.<br />
Due to circumstances beyond my control,<br />
I was recently put in that position again, and<br />
being an anklebiter, I can’t really afford to<br />
turn down many gigs. But this time I made<br />
sure to keep the client with me at the end of<br />
the night, as he was my help. This gig was outdoors<br />
in Las Vegas. About half an hour into<br />
down-stacking speakers, wrapping cables<br />
and so forth, he said he finally understood<br />
why I needed and contractually obligated<br />
him for the labor. His friends had left him to<br />
do the work after all the usual empty promises.<br />
And the best part, he tells me that in the<br />
future he would prefer to pay me to have my<br />
ONE MAN<br />
SHOW<br />
guys, who are more efficient and sometimes<br />
almost professional, do this crap! I believe<br />
that’s Ken: 1 Clients: 0 (for this gig).<br />
A Learning Curve <strong>FOH</strong><br />
There is a learning curve, albeit sometimes<br />
a long, slow one, for all of us involved — the<br />
clients, the labor and me. But in this instance,<br />
I felt like the proud papa who sees the light<br />
bulb turn on for his child as he connects the<br />
thoughts and comes up with the right answer<br />
for the first time. It did take the willpower of<br />
G. Gordon Liddy to bite my tongue and not<br />
tell/scream at him, “I told you so!”<br />
I try to learn something each gig. I find it’s<br />
usually before or after the gig where you learn<br />
the hardest lessons. And I guess the hardest<br />
earned are the best learned. But sometimes<br />
it is someone else who learns the lesson and<br />
you just wind up grinning like an idiot on the<br />
drive back to the shop.<br />
Dynamic Versus Condenser Mics<br />
Dynamic mics are the most common type of microphones used in live sound applications.<br />
First and foremost, they are very durable. Church mics can receive some very harsh physical<br />
treatment. A good dynamic mic can endure a fall, an orator’s spit and even double as a hammer<br />
on some occasions. You can find designs for almost any applications and they can sound very<br />
good. Condenser microphones for the most part are the second choice<br />
for sound engineers. To my ears, a good condenser is better sounding<br />
than a good dynamic mic. They are also more able to pick up sound from<br />
a distance. You will find that all top quality choir and podium mics are<br />
condenser. They are typically smooth and natural sounding.<br />
— From Jamie Rio’s “Sound Sanctuary” column in the June 2008 issue.<br />
N
Come Together<br />
Have you noticed the music in your elevator<br />
getting better lately? Installed<br />
sound, in general, has taken leaps forward<br />
in terms of quality and management in<br />
the last few years. At the InfoComm show in<br />
June, the purveyors of installed sound systems<br />
gave plenty of praise to the live sound sector<br />
for raising the sonic bar across the board. They<br />
cited how the enhanced emphasis on touring<br />
in the music business has raised expectations<br />
of consumers for better audio in all aspects of<br />
their lives.<br />
Install Prime Time biz<br />
And if imitation is flattery, their live sound<br />
counterparts are returning the favor in the form<br />
of adapting gear to meet the requirements of<br />
the installed sound universe. David Scheirman,<br />
vice president of tour sound for JBL Professional,<br />
says the inherent robustness of live sound<br />
technology makes it ready for install prime<br />
time. “Product characteristics like integral, loadrated<br />
suspension fixtures and comprehensive,<br />
standardized software for remote control and<br />
monitoring all make tour sound products readily<br />
adaptable to the needs of the fixed installation<br />
sound system market,” he says.<br />
Paul Freudenberg, vice president of sales<br />
and marketing with L-ACOUSTICS, pointed<br />
to the more stylishly rounded and nuanced<br />
rigging connector on the company’s 112<br />
XGH cabinet. “In the old days, you’d have to<br />
fasten the dolly boards, and it didn’t matter<br />
much how it looked as long as it worked,”<br />
he says. “But if the cabinet is going to be installed<br />
and becomes part of the interior design,<br />
it needs to look like it was esthetically<br />
designed.”<br />
40<br />
The Biz<br />
Theory and Practice<br />
Apples and Oranges biz<br />
This was only L-ACOUSTICS second InfoComm<br />
appearance, an arrivisté status<br />
they shared with several other live sound<br />
companies at the show. As recently as just<br />
five years ago, manufacturers regarded live<br />
and installed audio as apples and oranges.<br />
But that all changed with phenomenon like<br />
churches morphing into performance spaces<br />
and traditionally static spaces like retail<br />
stores and museums looking to create im-<br />
mersive lifestyle environments with sound<br />
as a critical element. With the inclusion of<br />
the NSCA expo merged with this show, Info-<br />
Comm, this year, underscored the extensive<br />
convergence that’s taking place between<br />
live and installed audio.<br />
Jeff Rocha, sales director at EAW, says the<br />
convergence has been taking place at the<br />
highest levels. “When CEOs hear touring acts<br />
sound great at their corporate events, it naturally<br />
follows that they won’t want less when it<br />
comes to sound in other parts of their businesses,”<br />
he says. EAW is also restyling some of<br />
its gear to give a better esthetic in installed<br />
applications. He adds that mid-sized and<br />
small line arrays have literally had a new niche<br />
created for them in installed scenarios.<br />
“It’s not that touring equipment hadn’t<br />
been used in installed sound situations like<br />
theaters and even churches,” he explains.<br />
“It’s that more spaces are becoming performing<br />
spaces” — retail, airport concourses,<br />
theme parks — “and the industry is learning<br />
to adapt touring sound technology into<br />
applications that used to be serviced by<br />
installed sound gear that wasn’t necessarily<br />
appropriate for music.” Dan Montecalvo,<br />
marketing manager for Audio-Technica, puts<br />
it succinctly: “More people are coming from<br />
More people are coming from the live-sound<br />
side of the business over to installed sound, and<br />
they’re bringing the stuff they like with them.”<br />
— Dan Montecalvo, Audio-Technica.<br />
Less Than Zero<br />
Zeroing out a console — the methodical<br />
process of bringing all the live audio<br />
mixing console knobs, faders and<br />
switches to a benign state of usage. This way<br />
the future engineer using the console will<br />
not have to be observant of every last detail<br />
before connecting the system to the console<br />
and fear immediate mayhem. But zeroing out<br />
a console is more than a courtesy after the gig;<br />
it should also be a practice before the gig.<br />
The Process tp<br />
Zeroing out most analog consoles typically<br />
starts with the faders. Unless the console<br />
is partially active providing recorded music<br />
before the gig, you want to turn down all the<br />
faders, including the main left-center-right,<br />
auxiliary, subgroup and channel strip faders.<br />
Yeah, having mute groups on helps, but until<br />
you have programmed them or understand<br />
why other channel faders have to be up, send<br />
all the faders to the bottom and hunt down<br />
the channel strip equalizers and flatten them<br />
all at unity gain first.<br />
I recommend centering the swept frequency<br />
controls on the parametric equalizers<br />
and choosing wide frequencies for high- or<br />
low-pass filters. Nothing aggravates the next<br />
console driver more than high-pass filters<br />
stuck at 200 Hz when gig time pressure is<br />
on. Choose a more wide-open value like 80<br />
Hz or lower to let the next person narrow up<br />
the response bands. Leave the channel strip<br />
equalizer strips “inserted” and not bypassed<br />
— another hair-pulling aggravation in stressful<br />
gigs with no zero-out time.<br />
For channel strip gains and assorted other<br />
preamp controls, bring the gains back down<br />
to around the 10 o’clock position with the XLR<br />
jack as the chosen input. Also, you can remove<br />
the pads, polarity flips and phantom power<br />
settings as you regain the channels. If there<br />
are high-pass switches or controls, leave the<br />
switches engaged or back off the controls to<br />
a low frequency so that channels needing extra<br />
bottom-end will have action taken by the<br />
next user. Nothing like chasing hum on channels<br />
not needing subwoofer support. For auxiliary<br />
sends, send them all packing back to full<br />
attenuation until you have effects and other<br />
mixes to support. Pay extreme attention to<br />
the pre/post and stereo/dual mono switches.<br />
A safe bet is leaving things in post-fader mode<br />
and each aux control in mono send mode.<br />
AUGUST 2008 www.fohonline.com<br />
the live sound side of the business over to installed<br />
sound, and they’re bringing the stuff<br />
they like with them.”<br />
Converging Markets biz<br />
Seeing veteran live sound mixer Robert<br />
Scovill, now marketing manager at Digidesign,<br />
at an installed sound exhibition viscerally<br />
clinches the sense of convergence between<br />
the two sectors.<br />
“From the manufacturers’ perspectives,<br />
the line has gotten pretty blurry,” he agrees.<br />
It’s also affecting Digi’s product and marketing<br />
strategy to an extent. “We’re not so<br />
much adapting the technology for the market<br />
as building scale for installed sound,” he<br />
explains. “We want to continue to work from<br />
a single-software platform, but we’re also<br />
Tackling the master section is mostly<br />
common sense. Once all the faders are down,<br />
check the signal routings and un-flip any fader<br />
flip switches so that groups and aux send<br />
masters are obvious. Also, check for global<br />
pre/post settings on aux masters on lower<br />
cost consoles. Then back down on the headphone<br />
monitoring levels and choose the L-R<br />
mix as the default monitor when a PFL or AFL<br />
switch is not activated. And, of course, leave<br />
the mute group in a safe condition with all<br />
channels muted by the groups or with individual<br />
channels muted if not in a mute group.<br />
If you have marked up board tape on the<br />
console, it is at your discretion to remove it.<br />
There is no reason to leave it on the console if<br />
a good zeroing out is performed. The exceptions<br />
would be if the next act is keeping the<br />
same mic patching or if there are bad channels<br />
that need identification.<br />
The Courtesy tp<br />
At the end of a gig, it is a nice courtesy<br />
if you zero out the console to leave it for the<br />
next user. Of course, if it is very likely you will<br />
be the next user, you may gamble on leaving<br />
things half-zeroed so that EQ settings and<br />
By DanDaley<br />
going to continue to move downmarket to<br />
build products that are smaller and that can<br />
address more markets.” Digi is also reconfiguring<br />
its existing products, such as creating a<br />
single-rack solution for its Icon console that<br />
eliminates the need for a snake, making it a<br />
better fit for fixed installations.<br />
In fact, Scovill confides, in the four years<br />
that Digidesign has exhibited at InfoComm,<br />
it took a while to realize that it wasn’t a matter<br />
of selling the odd console into the fixedsound<br />
market, but rather branding their way<br />
into it. “We realized we needed to position the<br />
brand, not just the technology and products,”<br />
he says. “It’s the difference between seeing<br />
a market where we can sell some stuff and<br />
a market where we can create demand that<br />
wasn’t there before.”<br />
Kevin Hill, managing director at Spanish<br />
speaker maker D.A.S., says the branding<br />
aspect is being helped by the fact that live<br />
sound companies are increasing the amount<br />
of installed sound work they do to balance<br />
revenues during off-touring seasons. “Historically,<br />
those customers have not been as<br />
brand-conscious as the touring clients are,”<br />
he says. “But that’s changing as the big touring<br />
sound providers are doing more installed<br />
work. They’re bringing brand awareness with<br />
them into this marketplace.”<br />
The increased emphasis on live touring<br />
sound as the music industry’s core revenue<br />
stream has been a boon to live sound systems<br />
manufacturers, but it’s also brought<br />
more competition to the field — it sometimes<br />
feels as if there is an individual microphone<br />
for every independent artist on the road.<br />
continued on page 43<br />
By MarkAmundson<br />
preamp gains are left for the next performance.<br />
An efficient console operator should<br />
be able to dial in EQ and rough gains very<br />
quickly from a zeroed-out console.<br />
Zeroing before the gig also helps familiarize<br />
yourself with the console if you have not<br />
been on that brand/model for a while. Feeling<br />
all those controls and faders may provide<br />
a clue on how well-maintained the console is<br />
before mixing. Loose controls and sticky faders<br />
may provide a scenario of how to defensively<br />
drive the console to avoid crackles and<br />
pops before the show goes on.<br />
The Ego tp<br />
I once had an ego enough to not zero<br />
out the console because I wanted the next<br />
user to see the mixing prowess I had as a<br />
teaching aid. Today, I am much more likely<br />
to play nice and zero out for fear that someone<br />
else will see my bad mixing habits instead.<br />
But there is another reason to zero out<br />
each night, especially when you really are a<br />
good console operator, to the point where<br />
your pay is very well up in the compensation<br />
ranks.We know of a few <strong>FOH</strong> engineers<br />
continued on page 43
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Come Together<br />
continued from page 40<br />
Understanding this, live sound manufacturers<br />
see the installed sound sector as the<br />
natural market to migrate to: It’s more affluent<br />
than the majority of touring tiers, the<br />
market keeps expanding, and it is for the<br />
most part just a matter of relatively minimal<br />
modifications to make products more<br />
appropriate for installed applications. “If<br />
you can sell [the same products] into both<br />
markets you increase revenues and split<br />
the cost of product development,” says<br />
Joe Rimstidt, speaker product manager at<br />
Yamaha, which now offers two rigging options<br />
for many of its speaker cabinets, one<br />
for touring and one for installed use.<br />
What’s To Come biz<br />
As the rewards of addressing the fixed<br />
installation sound market become more<br />
apparent, expect to see the technologies<br />
target the market more specifically. Renkus-Heinz’s<br />
Iconix modular solution that<br />
places a highly directional/intelleligible<br />
digitally steerable speaker stalk atop one or<br />
two subs in an easily scaled and managed<br />
package is a taste of things to come. “It’s a<br />
new product and we’re aiming it at the AV<br />
market,” says Jim Mobley, Renkus-Heinz’s<br />
senior applications engineer. This is also a<br />
new market for the proprietary networks<br />
that sound systems developers have been<br />
marketing in recent years, like Harman<br />
Pro’s HiQNet and EAW’s U-Net. In short, as<br />
Humphrey Bogart says to Paul Henreid at<br />
the end of Casablanca, these two parts of<br />
the sound business spectrum are ready to<br />
“make beautiful music together.”<br />
Dan Daley can be reached at ddaley@<br />
fohonline.com.<br />
Less Than Zero<br />
continued from page 40<br />
who had plenty of experience with top acts and used a few novel mixing tricks to<br />
nail each artist’s signature sound. The engineers never zeroed out each night because<br />
they were always at the console for the next show.<br />
But management changed its mind and let the expert <strong>FOH</strong> guy go very quickly<br />
— even without letting the guy mix his last show and zero out. A competent and<br />
much lower paid <strong>FOH</strong> engineer took note of the expert’s settings and continued<br />
to almost flawlessly preserve the sound of the show for the artist. The moral of the<br />
story is that your “mix” is your intellectual property, and not keeping it under wraps<br />
is letting others have free usage, possibly without the learning curve you went<br />
through. If you are on a digital console, zeroing out means resetting the board to<br />
factory defaults. Your settings are saved on your card for next time.<br />
Contact Mark at marka@fohonline.com.<br />
2008 AUGUST<br />
43
<strong>FOH</strong>-at-Large<br />
This is This<br />
I<br />
caress the smooth spool of<br />
solder as I wait in anticipation<br />
for the soldering gun<br />
to heat up. I strip the rubber<br />
from my cable just enough<br />
to give myself a workable<br />
amount of copper, and with<br />
heated iron in hand, I touch<br />
the tip to the end of the solder<br />
melting just enough to<br />
coat the end of the cable.<br />
I repeat the process over<br />
my solder point and leave a<br />
perfect shining spot where<br />
I then touch the end of my<br />
cable and hold for a moment<br />
before I release the iron. A<br />
thin line of smoke wafts up<br />
and tickles my nostrils with<br />
its delicate fragrance. Ah, I<br />
love the smell of solder in the<br />
morning.<br />
My screw gun sings its<br />
high-wailing song as I put together<br />
my racks. I go over my<br />
stage plot and program my<br />
input list and monitor mixes<br />
into the digital console. I<br />
clean my amplifiers and pack<br />
my cable trunks. I double<br />
check my microphones and<br />
count out my stands. I ensure<br />
that I have the proper steel<br />
package and that my motors<br />
are packed and ready to go.<br />
My power distro energetically<br />
lines itself up behind the<br />
feeder cable trunk and my<br />
line array looks ready to fly.<br />
Equipment gives back what<br />
one puts into it; if it is cared<br />
for and given enough energy<br />
it will not fail. “Stanley,<br />
see this? This is this. This ain’t<br />
somethin’ else. This is this.”<br />
COMING NEXT<br />
MONTH...<br />
INSTALL<br />
The MGM Grand and<br />
Foxwoods Casino join<br />
forces to build a new<br />
entertainment venue.<br />
RUSH<br />
We talk to Brad Madix<br />
and Brent Carpenter to<br />
find out what’s up with<br />
the chickens.<br />
PARNELLI PREVIEW<br />
A look at the lives and<br />
times of the Clair Bros.<br />
of Lititz, Pa.<br />
“I need you guys to set up with the speakers behind<br />
the band. I need you to take up less space.<br />
I need, I need, I need… yada, yada, yada.” Hey,<br />
forget you and your needs. What about me Ms.<br />
or Mr. Producer, eh, what about me?<br />
In Demand <strong>FOH</strong><br />
Then the phone rings and I shift to<br />
another part of my brain, “This is Baker<br />
speaking. May I help you?” It could be<br />
one of many voices on the other end<br />
of the line, a male, a female, a knowledgeable<br />
person or a complete novice<br />
in the field of audio. They might be on<br />
tour planning a stopover at one of the<br />
many television shows or arranging a<br />
showcase in some room that was chosen<br />
for décor and not for sound. The<br />
voice on the other end of the line might<br />
be supercilious and ignite my ire. Either<br />
that or the obsequious tone may inspire<br />
a sugar-coated nausea to rise up inside<br />
and gag me, but regardless of tone or<br />
timbre, these voices share in common a<br />
cry for help and a demand for a solution.<br />
“I need a sound system. I need in-ears.<br />
I need a microphone for 500 people. I<br />
need a lot, but only have a little. I need<br />
to fill a rider for a famous act I booked,<br />
but I’m a nonprofit organization. I need<br />
help! Help me please!<br />
www.fohonline.com<br />
The veins in my forehead are bulging<br />
and a red hue begins to filter my vision. I<br />
unclench my teeth and puffing up to my<br />
intimidating and green post Bruce Banner<br />
size, I scream into the mouthpiece of the<br />
technology that has brought me more<br />
than my share of irritation, “WHO CARES<br />
WHAT YOU WANT, WHAT ABOUT ME?”<br />
Sure, you have needs, but I have needs,<br />
too. How are you going to help me? Don’t<br />
just think you can throw money at me<br />
and I’ll jump at your every command or<br />
fill your every whim. I have my pride, you<br />
know, and I have grown weary of hearing<br />
that phrase “I need, I need, I need.” When<br />
do I get my share of the pie? When do I<br />
get to demand? WHAT ABOUT ME?<br />
What About Me? <strong>FOH</strong><br />
I push my gear to the loading dock and<br />
load the truck. I look forward to the magic<br />
and joy of putting all the pieces together<br />
and making them fit like some giant 3D<br />
jigsaw puzzle. There is a technical skill to<br />
packing a truck utilizing mathematical and<br />
By BakerLee<br />
Andy Au<br />
spatial relationships. The only<br />
stipulations are those that can<br />
be clearly defined by the physical<br />
boundaries of the box into<br />
which the smaller boxes are<br />
being loaded. There is no grey<br />
area and no room for misinterpretation,<br />
and while the puzzle<br />
might be put together in a variety<br />
of different ways, it either<br />
fits or not. It’s simple. “Stanley,<br />
see this? This is this. This ain’t<br />
somethin’ else. This is this.”<br />
Setting up the gear is<br />
pretty much the same as<br />
packing the truck; everything<br />
has its proper place. A certain<br />
amount of power is needed to<br />
drive the system and all the<br />
pieces fit like an Escher tessellation.<br />
All is going as planned<br />
until some event planner or<br />
hot shot producer comes up<br />
and demands that they need<br />
to move all the gear from one<br />
end of the room to the other.<br />
“I need you guys to set up with<br />
the speakers behind the band.<br />
I need you to take up less<br />
space. I need, I need, I need…<br />
yada, yada, yada.” Hey, forget<br />
you and your needs. What<br />
about me Ms. or Mr. Producer,<br />
eh, what about me?<br />
Never Ending <strong>FOH</strong><br />
Unfortunately, it never<br />
ends. Once the gear is all<br />
set (again) some visiting engineer<br />
invariably demands,<br />
“I need to change the input<br />
list. I need more effects. I<br />
need more subs. I need a<br />
different console. I need, I<br />
need, I need.” But, of course,<br />
it’s not over yet, as the band<br />
who has been waiting — not so patiently<br />
— has finally taken the stage so<br />
that they too can express their needs.<br />
“Yo, Mr. Soundman, I need more vocal.<br />
I need more kick drum. Hey yo, we all<br />
need more kick drum. Hey, Mr. Soundman,<br />
more snare in the drum wedge.”<br />
Now the “I needs” are multiplied by five<br />
or six. When will all these desires be satisfied<br />
and what about me? I have needs<br />
too. I go home and my wife needs me,<br />
my kids need me, my dog needs me, my<br />
three cats all need me. Believe it or not,<br />
my two fish and turtle need me, and<br />
what do I get in return? I get stress, agitation,<br />
a twitch under my eye and a really<br />
bad rash. Do I actually need to haul<br />
my ass in to work just for a bad rash I<br />
can easily get at home? Who needs all<br />
these people and their needs? From<br />
now on, it’s just the equipment and me.<br />
“Stanley, see this? This is this. This ain’t<br />
somethin’ else. This is this.”<br />
“I love the smell of solder in the<br />
morning.”
Ad info: http://foh.hotims.com/
Ad info: http://foh.hotims.com/