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PEOPLE. PRODUCTION. GEAR. GIGS. 

NOVEMBER 2008 Vol. 7 No. 2 

Parnelli Awards Honor Stars of Live Audio 

LAS VEGAS — The best and brightest in the live audio industry came together Oct. 24 for 

the 8th Annual Parnelli Awards held at the Rio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas to pay tribute to 

the companies and people nominated by FOH readers for their outstanding work this year. 

The night honored Roy and Gene Clair of CLAIR, recipients of the Parnelli Audio Innovator 

Award; and Dennis Sheehan, longtime tour manager for U2, who received the Parnelli Lifetime 

Achievement Award. Alice Cooper served as master of ceremonies for the evening. Above are 

the winners Dave Shadoan, Ken “Pooch“ Van Druten and Kevin “Tater“ McCarthy. For a re-cap 

of the night’s winners, turn to page 24. 

Metallica Kicks Off In-the-Round Arena Tour 

TAYLOR, Mich. — In support of Death Magnetic album released earlier this year, Metallica 

is now rocking arenas across North America in an in-the-round production with bone-rattling 

sound reinforcement. Longtime collaborator Thunder Audio of Taylor, Mich., is once again 

tapped to provide audio support on this tour, with a system of close to 200 self-powered 

loudspeakers from Meyer Sound. 

continued on page 6 

FCC Puts Screws to Live Event Audio Industry 

Commentary by Bill Evans 

WASHINGTON — FOH has been at the forefront of the white space battle with 

the FCC for almost two years. As this issue of FOH went to press, we received word 

that the Federal Communications 

Commission followed the money and 

voted to allow technology companies 

like Google, Microsoft, Dell and Motorola 

to produce consumer devices 

that will use radio frequency (RF) 

spectrum now being used by wireless 

microphone systems. The decision 

comes despite objections from FCC 

engineers and the 100% failure rate 

of prototype devices in “real world” 

tests. 

They did throw the industry a 

bone or two. According to USA Today, 

use of these yet-to-be-produced wireless 

consumer devices will be prohibited 

near television broadcast facilities 

or major entertainment venues. 

Smaller operators can request “safezone” 

treatment, but we’ll see how far 

that goes. 

This ruling has not been unexpected. 

The issue has been framed 

inaccurately by people like FCC chief 

Kevin “Weasel-Boy” Martin, while 

phony “consumer groups” are acting 

as shills for Google and the telecom- 

munications lobby have chimed in. 

They claim this is continued on page 5 

Live Audio Companies 

Find Strength in 

Numbers 

WEBSTER, N.Y. and GERMANY — 

Company partnerships and mergers 

continue to make front-page news in 

the live audio industry. With the current 

economic climate, we can anticipate 

this trend to continue as companies 

find strength in numbers. Most recently, 

Ashly Audio Inc. has announced that 

they have agreed to enter an exclusive 

partnership with Jam Industries, the 

company’s Canadian distributor. 

“We are extremely pleased to have 

entered into this agreement. Both companies 

have been in the audio market 

for over 30 years 

continued on page 8 

34 

40 

52 

Radiohead’s Green 

Rainbow 

Arden Ash 

How does sound go green? Recently, 

Radiohead took a new approach to 

touring that they hope will inspire others. 

Throughout their 2008 In Rainbows 

tour, Radiohead has been keeping an 

account of the carbon footprint they 

are creating and comparing it to past 

tours’ footprints. This means that even 

in the realm of sound gear, every choice 

is weighed against its own the ecological 

impact. The equipment chosen not 

only had to sound good — but it also 

had to be “green.” Turn to page 28. 

Road Tests 

We review the EV DC-One speaker 

processor and Yamaha IM8. 

Regional Slants 

Midwest Sound combines a 

Midwestern work ethic with cuttingedge 

technology. 

FOH-at-Large 

Keeping busy in the current 

economic climate.

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What’s hot 

What’s hot 

FOH Interview 

Feature 

Mötley Crüe’s Andy Meyer brings a small degree of 

discipline to Crüefest. 

Installations 

Horseshoe Casino is rockin’ on the river with a 

new concert venue. 

LETTErs 

20 

30 

Features 

16 AES 2008 REPORT 

FOH takes you through the show halls and 

shows you all the new gear. 

24 Parnelli Awards 2008 

The 8th Annual Parnelli Awards pay tribute to 

the best and brightest in live audio. 

28 Production Profile 

Audio goes green on Radiohead’s latest In 

Rainbows tour. 

34 Road Tests 

We review the long-awaited EV DC-One 

speaker processor and the Yamaha IM8, a 

mixing console with all the bells and whistles. 

38 Buyers Guide 

Digital Snakes take the spotlight in this 

month’s listing. 

40 Regional Slants 

Midwest Sound combines a Midwestern work 

ethic with cutting-edge technology for an 

unbeatable combination. 

44 Welcome To My Nightmare 

Well, to start out, the gig was in Philly... 

surround sound on Broadway 

I 

appreciate Dan Daley’s writings, his interest 

in surround sound and his references 

to numerous other pioneers in this medium 

in his “Surround Sound” article in the 

September issue. However, I wish to correct 

some inaccurate comments and to provide 

additional history and observations on this 

subject, drawn from my own experiences as 

a sound designer. Broadway surround sound 

did not start in 2002. No matter how you 

define it there were many surround-sound 

Broadway and off-Broadway shows well before 

the 2002 version of Into The Woods. 

Will Rogers Follies opened on May 1, 1991, 

10 years earlier, with the recorded voice of 

Gregory Peck playing Flo Ziegfeld, yelling 

down at the actors from his perch high in the 

back of the house. Peter Fitzgerald designed 

this show. It not only ran more than a year (891 

performances) in surround sound, but it also 

had many national tours that used the system, 

which was supplied by Sound Associates. 

A little show called Squonk was in complete 

surround sound, with music and sound 

effects moving all around throughout the 

whole performance. It opened Feb. 29, 2000 

at the Helen Hayes Theater. Sound Associates 

also supplied this system. The Circle in 

the Square version of Sweeney Todd (opening 

Sept. 14, 1989) used entirely electronic 

instrumentation. The orchestra sat as far 

from the stage as possible in the audience. 

The music, sound effects and dialog were 

fed to a complete surround-sound system 

located above the heads of the audience 

and time-aligned to the actors. 

(Interestingly, Time magazine said the 

show was one of the year’s best, completely 

natural, with no body microphones, as if there 

was no amplification at all. In fact, it used 32 

shotgun microphones and a completely 

electronic orchestra and sampled sound effects, 

all fed into a surround-sound system.) 

In 1999, an off-Broadway show in surround 

sound and with surround-sound effects was 

Quien Mato a Hector Lavoe? (Who Killed Hector 

Lavoe?). The sound effects were the original 

sounds from Hector Lavoe’s live concerts, 

recorded in multi-channel and played back 

effectively to reproduce the sense of being 

at those concerts. GSD Productions supplied 

this surround-sound system. This show led to 

the making of the feature film “El Cantante.” 

The West Bank Café, a New York theater/ 

club landmark for over 30 years, has had an 

ultra-high definition surround sound system 

since 1998. I am sure there are many others 

— I just happen to know, personally, of these 

few that I have mentioned. Surround Sound 

for theater, theme parks, clubs, concerts and 

www.fohonline.com 

NOVEMBER 2008, 

Vol. 7.2 

Columns 

42 On the Bleeding Edge 

Computer programming and live audio can make 

a potent career combo. 

46 Theory and Practice 

When it comes to generators, size matters. 

47 The Biz 

The latest line-array lowdown. 

48 Sound Sanctuary 

Putting the squeeze on worship sound. 

49 Anklebiter 

When bidding on a gig, know when to hold ‘em, 

know when to fold ‘em. 

52 FOH-at-Large 

The economy may be in a mess, but that doesn’t 

mean your business has to be. 

Departments 

4 Editor’s Note 

5 News 

10 International News 

14 On the Move 

18 Showtime 

44 In the Trenches 

recording is, and has been, an ongoing development 

with many people involved. No 

one person was responsible for its beginning. 

More people will become conscious of 

surround sound, as it is fun to do and exciting 

to experience. 

How shall we define surround sound? Is it a 

“surround-sound show” if the sound effects are 

in surround but not the music? Is it “surround 

sound” if we sit in Carnegie Hall with no amplification 

and are engulfed in a Beethoven Symphony? 

Are we talking about only amplified 

surround sound? Is it the aim of a surroundsound 

recording to reproduce a concert in a 

recording, and if so, why must we sit in the center 

to hear it in playback? Did everyone have to 

sit in the center to hear surround sound at the 

original concert? I could go on. 

— Bernard Fox


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Editor’s Note 

Show Me The Money 

Recent conversations that play into the current economic climate affecting our industry 

First, a conversation with a soundco owner 

in the Midwest who said he was busy 

but broke. “Not a box or an amp in the 

shop — everything is rented. But cash flow is 

down significantly.” As we talked we figured 

out that clients are not paying as quickly as 

he would like and that “some checks are better 

than others.” 

That one is obvious in its connection to 

what we do. The second one is less so on the 

surface. A musician I know took a double 

whammy lately when a regular gig he had 

dried up because tourism is down. At the 

same time, this person’s “dream day gig” 

as music director for his church also “went 

away.” As this person put it, “when money is 

tight tithes go down and they lost the budget 

for the position.” 

So what does it all mean? If I knew that I 

would be making big bank as a financial advisor 

and not editing a magazine, but if I had 

to guess it would go like this: 

Entertainment has traditionally been 

somewhat immune to economic downturns, 

and that will probably remain true. But it all 

depends on what it is you do. If you are in 

the touring industry, margins will be down 

as management grinds us all for every dollar, 

but touring will be largely okay. Ditto local 

and regional companies who do shows for 

acts that are touring without production and 

rent in each town they stop in. (And expect 

to see more and more of this happening.) 

No one is selling records so everyone and his 

brother will be on the road and often doing 

smaller gigs than they are used to. 

If your specialty over the past few years 

has been installs, I would buckle in and prepare 

for a bumpy ride. There are at least a 

half-dozen big projects in Las Vegas alone 

that are on a kind of permanent hold. Stocks 

for gaming companies are way, way down, 

and there is talk of some actually having to 

declare bankruptcy due to the lack of easy 

credit and people spending less money even 

when they do come to town. 

And, yes, this applies to house-of-worship 

specialists as well. That has been one 

area that has been robust and largely immune 

to downturns lately, but two things 

It is like the small furry mammals who 

outlived the dinosaurs though they 

lacked the size and strength of their 

foes. We need to be smart, flexible and 

quick on our feet to stay healthy. 

4 

are at work. First, most of the large installs 

for churches have been done in the past five 

or so years, and my guess is that few of the 

mega-churches will be doing upgrades or 

spending a lot on audio production for a little 

while. Smaller but still large-ish churches 

may continue with plans for installs but the 

progress will likely slow and systems will likely 

be downgraded to reflect financial reality. 

But the area that I expect to see hit hard 

are the companies that specialize in corporate 

conferences and other events. No matter 

what side of the political spectrum you 

are on, I would be hard pressed to find much 

NOVEMBER 2008 www.fohonline.com 

By BillEvans 

of anyone who is not pissed about the greed 

and mismanagement that has put us in the 

pickle we find ourselves in now. 

Bottom line — those lavish Christmas 

and New Year’s parties? Expect the budget 

to go down, if the event even happens at all. 

Many of us will find gigs we have done for 

years just not happening this year. And corporate 

retreats and conferences will be fewer 

and farther between with smaller budgets. I 

have talked to at least a dozen mfgs. in the 

pro audio industry who are scaling back in 

trade shows because doing a big conference 

is expensive and marketing budgets are not 

going up. 

For most of us in 2009, and likely 

into 2010, “flat” will be the new “up.” If we 

can hold on to current clients, or replace 

those we lose with enough to stay even, 

we will be winning the race. There will be 

consolidation and some smaller companies 

— and a few big ones — will likely go away. 

It is like the small furry mammals who 

outlived the dinosaurs, though they lacked 

the size and strength of their foes. We need 

to be smart, flexible and quick on our feet to 

stay healthy. But one of the great things about 

people in this business is that they are used 

to having curve balls thrown at them on a 

daily basis. This is nothing new; it is just more 

intense than normal. Keep your head down, 

work hard, stay smart and you’ll make it. 

Oh, a chicken: You have likely seen it, but 

if not go to the www.fohonline.com/roadie 

and check out a commercial called “If Roadies 

Ran the World.” Really funny because it is 

so right on. But it also points out how much 

better off we would be with leaders who 

know how to “turn and burn.” Take an unexpected 

situation that looks bad and turn it 

into the best show of the tour. If you can do 

that, you’ll come out of this just fine. 

Publisher 

Terry Lowe 

tlowe@fohonline.com 

Editor 

Bill Evans 

bevans@fohonline.com 

Managing Editor 

Breanne George 

bg@fohonline.com 

Technical Editor 

Mark Amundson 

mamundson@fohonline.com 

Contributing Writers 

Arden Ash, Jerry Cobb, 

Dan Daley, Jamie Rio, 

Steve LaCerra, Nort Johnson, 

David John Farinella, Ted Leamy, 

Baker Lee, Bryan Reesman, 

Tony Mah, Ken Rengering 

Photographer 

Steve Jennings 

Art Director 

Garret Petrov 

gpetrov@fohonline.com 

Production Manager 

Linda Evans 

levans@fohonline.com 

Graphic Designers 

Crystal Franklin 

cfranklin@fohonline.com 

David Alan 

dalan@fohonline.com 

Web Master 

Josh Harris 

jharris@fohonline.com 

National Sales Manager 

Dan Hernandez 

dh@fohonline.com 

National Advertising Director 

Gregory Gallardo 

gregg@fohonline.com 

Advertising Manager 

Maria Kritikos 

mk@fohonline.com 

General Manager 

William Hamilton Vanyo 

wvanyo@fohonline.com 

Business and 

Advertising Office 

6000 South Eastern Ave. 

Suite 14J 

Las Vegas, NV 89119 

Ph: 702.932.5585 

Fax: 702.932.5584 

Toll Free: 800.252.2716 

Circulation 

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P.O. Box 16147 

North Hollywood, CA 91615 

Front Of House (ISSN 1549-831X) Volume 7 Number 

2 is published monthly by Timeless Communications 

Corp., 6000 South Eastern Ave., Suite 14J, Las Vegas, NV, 

89119. Periodicals Postage Paid at Las Vegas, NV and 

additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address 

changes to Front Of House, P.O. Box 16147, North 

Hollywood, CA 91615-6147. Front Of House is distributed 

free to qualified individuals in the live sound 

industry in the United States and Canada. Mailed in 

Canada under Publications Mail Agreement Number 

40033037, 1415 Janette Ave., Windsor, ON N8X 1Z1. 

Overseas subscriptions are available and can be obtained 

by calling 702.932.5585. Editorial submissions 

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Reserved. Duplication, transmission by any method 

of this publication is strictly prohibited without the 

permission of Front Of House. 

Publishers of...

FCC Puts Screws to Live 

Event Audio Industry 

continued from cover 

about expanding the availability of broadband 

Internet service to rural and lower 

income areas of the country. (Sounds a 

lot like how “expanding the availability” 

of home mortgages to people who could 

never hope to repay them laid the foundation 

for the sub-prime loan debacle of the 

last few months.) A lot of work and money 

went into making sure the public saw it 

that way. Google started a huge campaign 

called “Free the Airwaves,” and even interest 

groups including FreePress.net called 

on their troops to support the expected 

FCC action. (Fun fact: When FOH Publisher 

Terry Lowe received an e-mail blast from 

FreePress.net campaign director Timothy 

Karr, he wrote back trying to explain how 

important this issue was to the live entertainment 

industry and Karr’s response to 

his own people was, “Please no one respond 

to this.”) Yes, boys and girls, the fix 

was in. 

What is this really about? The tech 

companies who actually make stuff like 

Dell and Motorola don’t care a lot about 

broadband access for lower income and 

rural Americans. Most of that demographic 

does not have the money to buy the new 

devices they want to build. And the audio 

industry has never had a problem with 

fixed installation of broadband transmitters 

in rural and low-income areas. If they 

are fixed, we know where they are and can 

avoid them. This is more about a new generation 

of handheld computing/communication 

devices akin to the iPhone or Blackberry, 

but operating in spectrum that they 

don’t have to pay for. We call this “putting 

a charitable face on a grab for mo’ money.” 

Or maybe even “Putting lipstick on a pig.” 

For Google and Microsoft, it is all about 

advancing the idea of “ubiquitous computing.” 

Search has become the Holy Grail for 

Microsoft as they lose ground to Google 

and the company that once ran under the 

mantra “Don’t Be Evil” has invested more 

money than any of us want to think about 

on server and storage “farms” and already 

provides computing and storage for many 

of the leading photo and social networking 

sites online. The more people are tethered 

to their “personal communication 

devices” the more potential they have to 

sell that capacity and the advertising that 

goes with it. 

On the FCC side, keep this in mind. 

Commissioners like Mr. Martin are political 

appointees. This means following the 

election they all become part of a lameduck 

administration, and as such, their 

clout is gone. Everyone from the NFL to 

Dolly Parton, from mega-church pastors to 

Guns N’ Roses and from Hillary Clinton to 

the companies that run entertainment up 

and down the Vegas strip, have asked Martin 

and his fellow weasels to hold off. No 

one even knows what these new devices 

will be able to do. I guess Google and Microsoft 

just might have use for an unemployed 

FCC weasel on their own staffs. Just 

watch. 

So what does it all mean? Well first, if 

you own any wireless gear operating in the 

700-mHz range it may well become useless 

come Feb. That entire spectrum has 

already been auctioned off for other uses. 

Every mfg will be different and none that 

we know of has been selling gear in this 

range since that spectrum continued on page 8 

VIENNA, Austria — AKG Acoustics 

has announced the acquisition of the 

worldwide distribution rights for the 

Crown family of microphones. This 

move represents a consolidation among 

the Harman Group of Companies. 

Crown specializes in manufacturing 

amplifiers, microphones and system 

control products for audio markets 

worldwide. Thomas Stubics, product 

manager for recording and broadcast 

at AKG stated, “Crown microphones are 

among the elite and are top-of-the-line 


products that are well-known for their 

outstanding performance. The diversity 

of the Crown microphone line is the 

perfect match for AKG’s stronghold as a 

source of industry-leading products.” 

According to the company, AKG 

Acoustics is looking forward to its partnership 

with Crown International as 

each company has played a major role 

in the professional audio industry. 

Stubics continues, “With AKG’s 

expertise in the global microphone 

business, the new partnership of AKG 

News 

AKG Acoustics to Distribute Crown Microphones 

and Crown is a logical next step that 

will benefit the customers and business 

partners for AKG and Crown microphones. 

AKG has invested a large 

amount of time and money into its distribution 

infrastructure, and the partnership 

with Crown will solidify our 

global distribution strategy.” 

Harman International acquired AKG 

in 1993 and then purchased Crown in 

2000 in order to gain a stronger foothold 

in the microphone market. 

2008 NOVEMBER 

5 

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6 

News 

Metalheads Everywhere Unite for 

Heaven and Hell, Judas Priest Tour 

Lorenzo Banda and Doug Short at a Yamaha PM5D 

BUENA PARK, Calif. — Headliner Judas 

Priest and Heaven and Hell embarked on 

tour together as part of the Metal Masters 

Tour, which also included performances by 

Motorhead and Testament to delight of metalheads 

everywhere. Both the monitor engineer 

for Heaven and Hell and Judas Priest use 

Yamaha PM5D digital audio consoles. 

“I have found the desk to be very friendly 

to analog leviathans such as myself,” 

states Doug Short, monitor engineer for Judas 

Priest at the tour’s stop at Mohegan Sun 

Resort & Casino in Connecticut. “The small 

footprint is handy as well.” 

U.S. Open of Surfing 

Catches Waves 

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. — Comprised 

of professional surfing, BMX, skateboarding, 

freestyle motocross demos, live music and a 

fashion show, Go211 Live’s recently completed 

U.S. Open of Surfing offered something for everyone. 

The event included a fashion show and 

three days of music that included performances 

by a wide range of artists — including teen 

heartthrob Jesse McCartney. Held on the beach, 

sound reinforcement was a massive undertaking 

that was handled by Torrance, Calif.-based 

Broadcast Support and a sizeable collection of 

loudspeakers from DAS Audio. 

Being the provider of all foreground and 

background sound reinforcement for the U.S. 

Open of Surfing, Broadcast Support was tasked 

with supplying a sound system that could deliver 

clear sound under some very difficult conditions, 

as company founder and co-owner Scott Ramsay 

explained. “In addition to the usual issues of providing 

sound for an outdoor event,” said Ramsay, 

“this project was all the more challenging as we 

had to provide broad coverage that extended 

from the boardwalk — where the stage was located 

— all the way to the water’s edge and deal 

with sand and wind in the process. 

“In addition to the crowds on the beach, we 

also needed to deliver coverage for the people 

who elected to watch from the Huntington 

Beach Pier. To meet these requirements, we 

needed a system with long throw and broad 

horizontal dispersion characteristics that was 

equally capable of delivering clear speech intel- 

Jesse McCartney in concert at the U.S. Open of Surfing 

ligibility and music reproduction.” 

The system that Broadcast Support deployed 

for the event consisted of a sizeable 

number of loudspeaker enclosures from DAS 

Audio’s Aero product line, including 12 Aero 

38A self-powered, medium-format line array elements 

— with six elements ground stacked on 

the left and right sides of the stage. These were 

augmented by six Aero 218A self-powered subwoofers 

— three per side adjacent to the line array 

modules. For front fill, three of DAS Audio’s 

Variant 25A self-powered, ultra-compact line 

array modules were utilized as front fills along 

the lip of the stage. 

Onstage monitoring was also handled by 

DAS Audio loudspeakers. DAS SML-12A selfpowered, 

low profile stage monitors were present, 

as were DAS Audio’s Compact 218 Subs, 

which were used as sidefills. 

Metallica Kicks Off In-the-Round Arena Tour 


The tour began Oct. 21 with a grand 

kickoff performance at Jobing.com Arena 

in Glendale, Ariz. “This is quite an innovative 

system,” notes Thunder Audio VP Paul 

Owen. “The entire design of the system is 

in-the-round, and we’re using fiber optics all 

around and no analog equipment anywhere 

to minimize cable management. We are very 

excited about the dramatic results the configuration 

provides.” 

The system design features eight equally 

spaced arrays, each consisting of 12 MILO line 

array loudspeakers and four MICA line array 

loudspeakers. Bass power is delivered by an 

innovative configuration of 40 self-powered 

700-HP subwoofers, which effectively provide 

uniform low-end coverage in the arena. 

This subwoofer configuration was designed 

by Thomas Mundorf of Meyer Sound using 

MAPP Online Pro acoustical prediction pro- 

gram, and was deployed at Metallica’s Berlin 

and London record release events. 

“We’re pretty excited to get this whole 

system to work,” concludes Owen. “We tried 

this new subwoofer configuration on a couple 

of European promotional shows with 

unbelievable results. We’ve never been able 

to generate as much low frequency at a high 

SPL level equally placed throughout the 

whole arena with any other system we’ve 

used.” 

Twenty-four MJF-212A stage monitors 

provide monitoring. Processing is controlled 

by a Galileo loudspeaker management system 

with five processors networked in concert 

with the RMS remote monitoring system. 

Tuning of the system is handled using 

a SIM 3 audio analyzer. 


“I love the PM5D console immensely,” 

notes Heaven and Hell monitor engineer, 

Lorenzo Banda. Kevin “Tater” McCarthy, 

this year’s Parnelli Award winner for 

Monitor Engineer of the Year, is currently 

monitor engineer for Judas Priest. 

The tour, produced by Live Nation, 

was Priest’s first set of U.S. dates in 

nearly three years and kicked off the 

release of the band’s new CD, Nostradamus. 

The 15 special engagements 

began in Camden, N.J. and ended in 

Las Vegas with a tour stop that also 

included Toronto, Ontario. 

Blues Artists Perform 

at Opening of B.B. King 

Museum 

INDIANOLA, Miss. — The B.B. King 

Museum and Delta Interpretive Center 

opened Sept. 13 with a three-day celebration 

and a historic, Peavey-powered concert 

that paired the blues legend with several 

of the marquee artists he has inspired. 

Tracing King’s journey from the fields 

of the Mississippi Delta to Beale Street and 

beyond, the museum displays a trove of 

memorabilia to illustrate the artist’s life 

and inspiration. Among the guitars and 

artifacts are 1950s-era 78-rpm recordings 

from the personal collection of Peavey 

Electronics Founder and CEO Hartley 

Peavey, a lifelong blues aficionado. Even 

the $15-million facility itself is part of the 

collection, built onto the cotton gin where 

King worked as a young man. 

The 83-year-old King, who still performs 

more than 100 shows a year, headlined 

the celebration with a defining set of 

hits and standards featuring guest guitarists 

Robert Cray, Kenny Wayne Shepherd 

and Keb’ ‘Mo. The main stage, provided by 

Nashville-based TMG Production Services, 

featured twin ground-stacked Peavey Versarray 

212 line-array arrangements configured 

with four Versarray 212 line arrays 

and two Versarray 218 subwoofers per side 

and powered by 16 Crest Audio Pro 9200 

amplifiers. 

“The Peavey Versarray 212 performs 

exceptionally well,” said Jim Wakefield, Audio 

Department manager at TMG Productions. 

“I found that the 2 x 12 box focuses 

and couples really well. It has an extremely 

pleasant high end with very smoothsounding 

ribbon drivers that have no overriding 

side tones. They definitely keep up 

with the 12” woofers without a problem.” 

For the ribbon-cutting celebration, the 

system featured a Peavey Versarray 112 

line array, four per side flown on Vermette 

lifts and powered by six Crest Audio Pro 

8200 amplifiers. 

B.B. King performing for the opening of a museum in 

his honor. 

Pyramid 

Audio Mixes 

Analog and 

Digital at 

JazzFest 

NEW ORLEANS — The Fais Do Do 

stage at New Orleans’ legendary JazzFest 

represents the best of local music from 

Zydeco and Cajun-influenced styles to 

all the different blues and R&B forms that 

make up the city’s music scene. Pyramid 

Audio of Jefferson, La., has been doing 

production for Fais Do Do and other 

stages at JazzFest over the years. Eddie 

Pearce, chief audio and FOH mixing engineer 

was looking for equipment that 

could enhance the audio quality yet operate 

as efficiently as possible. 

“We chose the APB Spectra 48 console 

because one of the local bands I work had 

used the smaller ProRack Monitor mixer 

and it had very unique features and the 

sound of a very expensive large format 

console without the high price,” he says. 

“I was also impressed by the sonic nature 

of that console. 

The Fais Do Do Stage at Jazzfest 

”When it came time to do JazzFest, I 

worked out a situation where we could try 

out the larger format Spectra 48 console 

and we took it on sight unseen because 

of the quality of the ProRack. It worked 

incredibly well and made mixing in that 

environment fun because I got to mix music, 

I wasn’t mixing the board. Plus, I loved 

the sonic quality of the console. It was extremely 

easy to work with, very intuitive 

,with some interesting features in terms of 

how they group left-right mono outputs. 

”As far as the shows were concerned, 

everything worked perfectly in the 

sense that I’m normally used to tweaking 

out the main PA system to make up 

for inconsistencies in a console and I was 

able to re-tweak the FOH system a bit 

more flat without having to make up for 

harshness or inconsistency in the sonic 

output.” 

Given his use of an analog console, 

Pearce’s choice of Powersoft’s digital 

amplification system for the subwoofers 

was an interesting departure. Pearce explains, 

“We had a relationship with Tom 

Bensen for years in terms of other companies 

and everyone at Pyramid respects 

his opinion and knowledge. I started out 

with two amplifiers on each side just to 

power the subs. Then he convinced me 

to use the Powersoft K20 and that one 

amplifier replaced four 5,000-watt amplifiers.”



News 

Alice Cooper Drives a New Wedge into “Psycho-Drama” 

Alice Cooper shows no signs of slowing down with his lastest 

Psycho-Drama tour. 

TEMPE, Ariz. — After 18 albums and more 

than four decades of touring, Alice Cooper certainly 

isn’t showing any signs of slowing. Cur- 

rently out on his aptly named Psycho-Drama 

tour, the original shock rocker has among his 

collection of essential stage items a guillotine, 

electric chair, boa constrictor, plenty of fake 

blood, and now, 10 coaxial L-ACOUSTICS 115XT 

HiQ stage monitors. 

Along with a pair of L-ACOUSTICS ARCS 

and SB118 enclosures for side-fill and LA Series 

amplification, the 115XT HiQ wedges round out 

the loudspeaker complement of a monitor system 

package furnished by Tempe, Ariz.-based 

Precise Corporate Staging (PCS) LLC. 

“Night after the night, the HiQs are performing 

very well for Alice and his band,” says PCS 

President David Stern, who has worked with 

Cooper on and off for the past four years and is 

additionally providing the tour’s FOH console 

and processing racks. “In my opinion, there’s not 

a better monitor built. Just like the 30-box V- 

DOSC(r) rig we also own, the HiQ wedges are extremely 

clean and rarely need much EQ, if any.” 

Stern points out that the monitors are 

beneficial in that they help minimize the 

tour’s overall stage volume. “We’re running 

the stage system in zones and I know that 

Paul Bostic, Alice’s monitor engineer, appreciates 

the exceptional clarity and articulation of 

the HiQ’s design. This enables the musicians 

to better hear themselves while performing 

and spares them from the vicious circle of 

having to crank up their amplifiers to compete 

with the wedges. 

Live Audio Companies 

Find Strength in 

Numbers 


and share similar values and aspirations. I am 

confident that with the resources provided, 

Ashly will achieve strong sustainable growth,” 

said Dave Parse, CEO of Ashly Audio. 

Ashly Audio will maintain its brand identity; 

the company will continue to engineer, manufacture, 

and distribute the Ashly and Camco 

brands from their current offices located in 

Webster, N.Y. All employees of Ashly will be retained. 

“We are natural partners, and this 

investment not only provides synergy for both 

firms, but will further our long relationship and 

will allow us to bring Ashly branded products to 

their full potential,” said Executive Vice President 

Martin Szpiro. We are very excited about the 

leading-edge technologies, both in amplifiers 

and signal processors that Ashly is developing. 

The prospect for our future together looks very 

promising.” 

In other news, Riedel Communications, 

German manufacturer and supplier of communication 

systems for the broadcast, theatre and 

event industries, has acquired digital audio specialist 

Media Numerics. 

Media Numerics has developed the realtime 

audio network RockNet. Shipping began 

Q1 2008, and among the first users of RockNet 

are productions like Bruce Springsteen, Queen 

and the Grammy Awards. 

“With RockNet we have a new product line, 

which really complements our existing portfolio. 

The acquisition also strengthens our development 

expertise in the field of professional 

audio products. We really look forward to the 

further development and success of RockNet,” 

said Thomas Riedel, managing director of Riedel 

Communications GmbH & Co. KG. 

FCC Puts Screws to 

Live Event Audio Industry 

continued from page 5 

was sold. But check with your vendors and 

find out if they are going to have some 

kind of program in place to absorb at least 

some of the blow of replacing fairly new 

wireless gear. And no matter how good a 

deal it is on eBay, don’t buy anything in 

this spectrum. Period. 

The rest of the spectrum? No one really 

knows right now. Sabine makes a unit 

that operates in the 2.4 gHz range that 

should not be affected and X2’s digital 

wireless along with Audio Technica’s ultrawideband 

technology point to some possible 

future tech fixes but none of those 

by themselves are the answer to the entire 

problem. 

“While not unexpected, today’s FCC 

decision will greatly complicate the lives 

of wireless microphone users across the 

United States and negatively affect tens 

of millions of Americans listening to live 

and broadcast events,” said Mark Brunner, 

Shure senior director of Global Public and 

Industry Relations. Brunner is among many 

who have worked tirelessly on this issue for 

several years. And now they — and our entire 

industry — have lost. The future is not 

entirely clear, but be prepared for interference 

from lots of stupid and worthless 

text messages to start hitting your wireless 

mics and ears in the near future.


10 

News 

XXXX Audio System Hits the Tour Circuit 

XXXX Audio prepares for a Sheryl Crow concert at the Sleep Train Pavilion in Concord, Calif. 

ELKHART, Ind. — Crown’s MA-12000i 

amps were featured in XXXX Audio System’s 

live applications for a number of concerts, 

TORONTO — Held in late summer at the 

Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Tony Robbins’ 

popular seminar “Unleash The Power 

Within” was amplified by a Martin Audio sound 

system. Robbins is known for his high-energy 

delivery. The world’s leading personal development 

coach led the 4,000 participants through 

a dynamic program designed to make positive 

and lasting change in their lives. 

Stanco Productions provided “turnkey” 

production as they have for the past 15 years. 

Owner Stan Nickens is the event producer. Curtis 

Kelly is the audio director and Justin Slazas 

is the system tech. Asked about the challenges, 

Slazas mentioned controlling Robbins’ tremendous 

from-a-whisper-to-a scream dynamic 

range. This is handled using a unique gain 

structure and insert tools. “Plus Martin Audio 

speakers are very natural sounding boxes and 

speech intelligibility is very easy to achieve 

given the crossover points,” Slazas adds. 

Stanco carries an extensive complement 

of Martin Audio speakers including 32 W8LCs, 

12 W8LMs and four W8LMDs. As Slazas points 

out, “We’ve got more subs on this show than a 

typical rock show for 5,000 people.” 

Summing up, Nickens concludes, “Robbins 

delivery style is like a rock ‘n’ roll show. His 

teachings are punctuated with high-energy 

music and visuals. This keeps the audience 

International News 

GERMANY — Audio rental company 

BLL-Veranstaltungstechnik, based in the 

city of Krefeld, Germany, has undertaken 

a number of summer events with its Flex 

Array system complementing its large inventory 

of Turbosound Aspect and NuQ 

loudspeakers. 

The company provided sound reinforcement 

for many elements of the annual 

Loveparade festival, which all but 

consumes the city of Dortmund each year. 

As well as a wide array of Aspect, NuQ and 

TSW cabinets featuring on a range of the 

including KISS, Sammy Hagar, Jason Aldean, 

Frankie Valli, Daughtry, Lifehouse, Ne-Yo, 

John Michael Montgomery, Gladys Knight, 

energized, engaged and focused.” Tony is very 

astute regarding elements of production. 

He loves technology; however, hands 

down the most important of these elements 

is the audio.” A staff second to none coupled 

with the Martin product line allows Robbins 

to focus on “Unleashing the Power Within.” 

colorful (and noisy) floats that form the 

event’s centerpiece, the company deployed 

a major Flex Array rig at Circle of 

Love, one of the many outdoor stages. 

Featuring performances by Moby, Ricardo 

Villalobos, Richie Hawtin and other 

DJs, the system comprised nine flown Flex 

Array cabinets and 12 ground-stacked TA- 

880L per side. 

Flex Array and Aspect systems were 

also used at Nature-One — one of Germany’s 

premier dance music events — held 

at Pydna, the former U.S. missile base near 


Al Green, Sheryl Crow, 

Mike Ness and the 

Black Keys all performed 

with sound 

systems that integrated 

MA-12000i amps 

and JBL VerTec speaker 

systems. 

Doug Pumphrey, 

sound integrator for 

XXXX Audio Systems, 

said, “We constantly 

rely on the MA-12000i 

amps because they are 

built for tour sound 

applications. These 

amplifiers are made to 

power the larger venues 

we dealt with on 

a consistent basis this 

past summer. We have and will continue 

to utilize Crown, specifically the MA12000i 

for all the artists we work with.” 

OLD LYME, Conn. — 311 and 

Snoop Dogg used Sennheiser personal 

monitors and mics on their 30stop 

Unity Tour. Snoop took the stage 

with his wireless, gem-encrusted 

handheld that displayed his moniker, 

while 311’s vocalists opted for the 

Sennheiser SKM 5200 wireless handheld 

with Neumann KK 104 capsule. 

Snoop Dogg’s mic has a metal shield 

that spells the rapper’s name in gems 

wraps around Snoop’s fist when he 

grips the mic body, which is covered 

with a solid layer of bling. Hiding beneath 

the glitz is a Sennheiser SKM 

935 G2 series wireless microphone. 

“It’s a little bit trickier to ring out 

Snoop’s mic than a stock Sennheiser 

wireless due to all the reflective surfaces,” 

said Jeff Kaplan, Snoop Dogg’s 

monitor engineer. “But on the upside, 

Snoop can’t ever cup this mic, 

which makes for higher fidelity and 

perfectly-consistent vocals.” 

the town of Kastellaun. With three arenas 

(one inside a nuclear-proof bunker) reverberating 

to the beat of no less than 54 

Aspect and TSW cabinets between them, 

it was the outdoor USB-Hardtechno arena 

which saw 12 Flex Array and six TSW-718 

bass cabinets per side. 

“We often work in long, narrow rooms 

and so the 75° coverage is perfect for 

many of the events we service,” said BLL- 

Veranstaltungstechnik owner Sascha 

Schmitz. Most other line array systems 

have 90°, 100° or 120° coverage, which 

Comprised of three models — the 

MA-5000i, MA-9000i and MA12000i — 

the Macro-Tech i Series builds upon its 

predecessor by incorporating Crown’s 

patented Class-I circuitry, which is designed 

to deliver greater power while 

simultaneously reducing overall amplifier 

weight by more than half. The new 

lineup is also equipped with comprehensive 

status, fault and load monitoring 

via standard Ethernet networking 

and Harman Professional’s HiQnet connectivity 

and control protocol and System 

Architect interface. 

At 28 pounds, the Macro-Tech amps 

are practical for portable applications. 

“In our work, anytime you make something 

lighter and increase its performance 

at the same time you’ve done 

your job. We will continue to implement 

additional MA-12000i amps into our 

inventory for concert system applications,” 

says Pumphrey. 

Tony Robbins Unleashes the Power Within 

Finally a Solution to Keep Rap 

Artists from Cupping Their Mics… 

Tony Robbins’ high-energy speech gets energized with 

Martin Audio. 

Snoop Dogg can’t cup his mic even if he tries… 

Loveparade Festival Gets Colorful Sound 

is simply too much for us — using those, 

a significant proportion of the sound 

would be going straight into the side 

walls, which can cause real problems with 

reflections. 

“However, as we proved with Loveparade 

and Nature-One, the coverage of 

Flex Array also works very well outside. 

It performed excellently and, although 

the audio quality is slightly different to 

Aspect, Flex Array delivers particularly 

good low-mids for the small size of the 

cabinets.


SYDNEY — During their recent sevenstop 

Australian tour, the two-piece Brit 

band Goldfrapp stopped at the famous 

Sydney Opera House for a side show. In 

the grand setting of the Sydney Opera 

House, Goldfrapp emerged as a six-piece 

band dressed entirely in white, and were 

fittingly accompanied by a 14-piece string 

section including two harps on a stage set 

consisting of bunting and a maypole. Sydney’s 

own Norwest productions provided 

the PA system for the stop, as well as for 

Parklife Sydney and Parklife Brisbane Festivals. 

Sydney gig’s sound design was executed 

by the multi-tasking System Tech 

Justin Arthur, using Adamson’s latest version 

of Adamson Shooter software (2.7.0), 

which allows accurate predictions of all 

Adamson line array systems set-up in any 

venue. Arthur’s design placed a flown ste- 

12 

International News 

Paul McCartney Delivers Historic Concert in Tel Aviv 

TEL AVIV, Israel — Paul McCartney delivered 

a historic performance in the Israeli city 

of Tel Aviv, nearly 43 years after the Israeli government 

banned The Beatles’ show in 1965 for 

being too subversive. The highly anticipated 

occasion was held at the city’s Hayarkon Park, 

the site of concerts by Michael Jackson, U2 

and Elton John. Slovenia-based Festival Novo 

Mesto and Israel’s Kilim Electronics provided 

a Meyer Sound system for the event. 

The main system comprises two hangs of 

14 MILO line array loudspeakers each, augmented 

by two sidefill arrays of 10 more MILO 

boxes each and several UPA-1P loudspeakers 

for frontfill. Forty-eight 700-HP subwoofers 

cover the low frequency, and two towers of 

10 MICA line array loudspeakers each serve 

as delays. “Paul’s very much a live rock ‘n’ roll 

player, and he approaches 

the songs from a very 

straightforward, old-school 

perspective,” explains Mc- 

Cartney’s longtime FOH 

engineer Paul “Pab” Boothroyd. 

“People have an 

attachment to these songs, 

and it’s my job to reproduce 

it faithfully, with the 

vocals and the hooks as 

they expect to hear them. 

The MILO array does a 

great job of delivering that 

degree of accuracy, with a 

focus that will cover every 

seat in the house. And the MILO handles the 

full dynamic range, from the intimacy of Paul 

Sydney Opera House 

Brings Goldfrapp to Light 

Goldfrapp performing at 

the Sydney Opera House 

reo mains system, each array with 12 Y10s, 

a single SpekTrix with a 15° SpekTrix W 

(Wide Angle Vertical Enclosure) as an under-hang, 

to highlight the first few rows of 

the audience. 

Two sets of side-fills had six Y10 and 

five Y10 enclosures hung per side, covering 

the multiple balconies off to the sides 

of the stage. Another six SpekTrix enclosures 

were places on stage as front fills, 

with a four stack of T21 Subs aside. A total 

of 48 Lab.gruppen FP6400 powered the 

system and processing was handled by 

five Dolby Lake 4-12s. 

At FOH, a Digidesign Profile provided 

ample mixing room for both FOH engineer 

Ben Findlay and Arthur, who stood in 

for the opening act, the Australian songstress 

Bertie Blackman. As the 4th show of 

the seven Australian dates, Findlay commented 

that it had been the best sounding 

show on the tour thus far. For Arthur, 

the venue was perfect. “If one had to find a 

‘problem’ (with the Opera House), the only 

thing that comes to mind is that the room 

is so live, but that cleans up as soon as the 

room is filled with punters.” 

At monitors, gear consisted of a Yamaha 

PM1D, 14 Sennheiser G2 systems and a 

single EAW KF850 with a SB850 per side, 

processed with EAW UX8800s and powered 

by three Lab.gruppen FP+10000Qs. 

ROJO Rocks in Peru 

PERU — Allen & Heath’s iLive digital mixing 

system recently made its debut in Peru when it 

was employed in Lima’s Exhibition Park amphitheatre 

for the concert of Christian pop/rock 

band ROJO. 

Comprising the iDR10 mix rack loaded with 

48 inputs and 16 outputs and an iLive-144 control 

surface, the system managed FOH and Monitor 

sound for the four-piece band. Hailing from 

Mexico, ROJO is popular in Hispanic-speaking 

communities and regularly performs at venues 

across South, Central and North America. 

“The iLive digital mixer was easy to use, intuitive 

and provided direct and quick access to 

all functions, which makes it a great system for 

live use,” comments FOH operator, Christian Jesus 

Montenegro Giraldo. “The PA company offered 

us various EQ and compressor units, but 

iLive already has dynamics processors built in, 

which is a huge advantage. 

In addition to the main mix, in-ear and 

wedge monitor mixes were controlled from 

FOH and iLive was complemented by EAW 

speaker systems and Crest Audio amplification. 

FOH mixer Christian Jesus Montenegro Giraldo mixing 

the ROJO concert 

Paul McCartney performing in Tel Aviv 43 years after the Israeli government banned 

The Beatles’ from performing. 


playing solo with an acoustic guitar to the 

whole band rocking full on.” 

Maroon 5 

Goes Mobile on 

World Tour 

Maroon 5’s FOH mixer Jim Ebdon 

ENGLAND — These days, archiving 

nightly shows on tour is standard fare, with 

many A-list bands spending upwards of 

$50,000 at the drop of a hat to build a touring 

recording rig. But as Jim Ebdon found 

on the current world tour with Maroon 5, he 

was able to turn his DiGiCo D5 and Apple 

Mac PowerBook into a mobile workstation 

with RME’s HDSPe MADIface 128-Channel 

192 kHz MADI PCI ExpressCard. 

“With this setup, I’m able to have a fully 

functioning recording studio on the road,” 

Ebdon explains. “The MADIface card takes 

up virtually no space and I can get it in my 

computer bag. With that, along with the 

D5’s fantastic functionality and very small 

footprint — I’ve got one small rack at FOH 

and one on stage with one thin cable linking 

it all — I can get great results.” 

Ebdon continues, “The MADIface is basically 

two cables and I can record and play 

back up to 56 straight, pre-EQ, pre-compressors, 

pre-mute, straight-from-the-mic 

pre -amp right into the computer. I’m using 

Apple Logic, but there are half a dozen 

other programs you can use just as a recording 

platform. And it’s rock solid. Out 

of the box, with the plug-ins it comes with 

for $499, it’s a fantastic program. It was so 

easy to set up for the first time, and the 

recordings sound great. We also have 6-7 

cameras shooting the show every night on 

this tour, so we can easily sync up to the 

video, too.” 

Ebdon’s been able to get most of what 

he needs from the DiGiCo D5’s onboard 

sound palette, and is carrying only a handful 

of additional external effects for this 

tour including a Focusrite Producer Pack, 

a TC6000 for extra and different-sounding 

reverbs and a De-Esser for Adam Levine’s 

lead vocals. 

First OmniLine 

Micro-Line Array 

Installed in Ireland 

BELFAST, Ireland — Magheralin 

Parish Church, located 20 miles south 

of Belfast, is the first installation 

in Ireland with Martin Audio’s new 

OmniLine micro-line array system. 

As with many rural areas in Ireland, 

large churches sprang up in the late 

19th century during the Ulster revival 

period; and although originally built 

in 699 AD, Magheralin was rebuilt in 

1891. 

The Parish Church first approached 

Rea Sound in December 

2007 to discuss the possibility of installing 

a new PA and visual system. 

After numerous meetings, site visits 

and a tender process, Rea Sound was 

awarded the contract. 

The original sound specification 

was for the Martin Audio Blackline 

Series as the preferred speaker system 

— but it soon became clear that 

the new OmniLine was the better way 

forward. Rea Sound were also aware 

that this would be the first OmniLine 

install in a church anywhere in the UK 

or Ireland — and possibly Europe. 

Following a full sound study using 

the OmniLine software, the optimum 

position was calculated. The 

furniture was designed, agreed to 

and built locally, then subsequently 

fitted in early August, allowing Rea 

Sound to begin the installation. Getting 

the proper setup was challenging 

in terms of positioning the OmniLine 

— but due to the flexibility of 

the speakers, they were able to adjust 

the height of install and the angles of 

the arrays to gain secure fixings. 

Powered from a single Martin Audio 

MA1400 power amp and a DX1 

system controller, the OmniLine provides 

sound quality throughout the 

church. The Chancel is provided for 

by way of two AQ5s for infills. Like 

many churches today, Magheralin is 

using more and more live praise instruments, 

necessitating an Allen & 

Heath GL2400 32-channel desk located 

in the rear left hand side of the 

church, situated in the newly created 

technical area, to provide main PA 

mixing. 

Martin Omniline Micro-Line Array in the Magheralin 

Parish Church in Ireland



Bosch Communications 

Systems 

has announced the 

addition of Johnson 

Knowles to its team 

as eld applications 

engineer. Prior to 

this appointment, 

Knowles spent 18 

years with leading Johnson Knowles 

Dallas-based architectural acoustics design 

and consulting rm Russ Berger Design 

Group — a company he helped found — and 

brings experience and expertise to his new 

position, primarily in the eld of architectural 

engineering and the design of broadcast and 

recording facilities. 

Knowles also has experience in designing 

broadcast cabling systems for sports facilities. 

Some of Knowles’ major clients include 

NBC, ABC, NPR, CMT, MTV, NFL Films, World 

Wrestling Entertainment and Sony Music. He 

has undertaken studio design work for a wide 

range of artists, including Whitney Houston, 

Don Henley, Steve Miller, John Fogerty, Mariah 

Carey and Michael Bolton. Knowles will 

be based in Dallas. 

Crown Audio has named Matt Bush to 

the position of vice president of sales starting 

in November. Bush joins Crown Audio from 

sister company, Harman Music Group, where 

he was vice president of operations, and takes 

the position previously held by Scott Robbins, 

14 

On the Move 

who was promoted 

to vice president of 

sales for Harman Professional. 

In his new 

role, Bush will direct 

worldwide sales operations 

from Crown 

Audio’s Elkhart, Ind.headquarters, 

and 

he will report direct- Matt Bush 

ly to Mark Graham, 

president of Crown 

Audio. 

Bush joined The 

Harman Music Group 

in 1987. He has 

served in leadership 

roles in engineering, 

manufacturing and 

operations and has 

more than 24 years of experience in the design, 

manufacture, service and supply chain of electronic 

products. Bush has served as the vice 

president of operations of HMG since 2001, is 

the architect of HMG’s hybrid manufacturing 

and global supply chain strategies and directed 

all supply chain functions, including a U.S. 

manufacturing facility, o -shore manufacturing, 

customer service and distribution centers 

in the U.S., Asia and Europe. 

Crown Audio has also announced the 

promotion of Bradford Benn to director of application 

engineering. In this role, Benn will 

be responsible for leading application engi- 


neering e orts in the U.S. and internationally. 

He will report to Marc Kellom, vice president 

of marketing. Previously, Benn served as business 

development manager where he focused 

on the creation of sales tools and was 

heavily involved in the evolution of System 

Architect and HiQnet. He began at Crown as a 

product integration manager and has served 

in other roles, including director of product 

application support. 

N 

promoted to more senior sales positions 

within the company. During this time, he 

helped grow the sales in all geographic and 

vertical markets and was responsible for organizing 

and managing sales partners across 

the globe. An early initiative that Robbins will 

spearhead will be the start-up of Harman Professional’s 

new sales o ces in Kuala Lumpur, 

Malaysia and San Juan, Puerto Rico. 

Ramzi Shakra 

JBL Professional 

has announced the 

has recently joined 

appointment of Rich- 

Electrosonic Inc. 

ard Ruse as western 

as senior market- 

regional sales direcing 

manager. He will 

tor. Ruse, a pro audio 

be in charge of the 

veteran with exten- 

marketing e ort in 

sive industry experi- 

the U.S. and also supence 

in recording, MI, 

Bradford Benn porting the rest of 

xed install and tour Richard Ruse 

Electrosonic Group Ramzi Shakra 

sound, joins JBL Professional e ective immedi- 

worldwide. Formerly 

ately and reports to Stephen Morris, JBL Pro- 

marketing director 

fessional executive vice president of sales. 

of Doremi Labs, he 

Ruse joins JBL Professional from Com- 

has experience in the 

pass Business Solutions, a sales and mar- 

strategic positioning 

keting consultancy he founded and led. 

and management 

There, as president/owner, he supported 

of technology prod- 

an array of pro audio video and technoloucts.gy 

clients. Prior to Compass, Ruse was di- 

In other news, 

rector of worldwide sales and marketing 

Leonardo Freitas Leonardo Freitas 

for KRK studio monitors, and before that, 

has been appointed to the new position of director of sales, independent accounts 

associate vice president of product distribu- at Line 6. Ruse was also worldwide sales 

tion. He will be based in Burbank and report and marketing at SWR Engineering and 

directly to Electrosonic President Jim Bowie. Eastern/Western’s regional sales manager 

Freitas was formerly regional director for Latin 

America at Tandberg. 

at Alesis Studio Electronics. 

Yamaha Com- 

Harman Promercial 

Audio 

fessional has an- 

Systems, Inc. has 

nounced the promo- 

announced the aption 

of Scott Robbins 

pointment of Jona- 

from senior vice presthan 

Peirson to the 

ident of sales, Crown 

position of district 

Audio, to group- 

manager responwide 

vice president 

sible for the Cali- 

of sales with the 

fornia and Hawaii Jonathan Peirson 

speci c mandate Scott Robbins 

sales territory. In his new position, Peirson 

to work with brand-level sales executives to reports directly to Paul Furtkamp, national 

strengthen existing sales operations and to sales manager. 

grow Harman Professional’s sales presence in Prior to joining the YCAS sales team, 

emerging markets. The announcement was Peirson most recently held the position 

made by Michael MacDonald, Harman Profes- of director of sales, western region for 

sional executive vice president of marketing JBL Professional, where he worked since 

and sales, to whom Robbins reports. 

1995. Prior to JBL, Jon held various po- 

Robbins holds a bachelors degree in Orsitions at Anchor Audio, including vice 

ganizational Management and joined Crown president of marketing where he began 

Audio’s service department in 1987. He was his career in 1984. 

Common Courtesy 

At the end of a gig, it is a nice courtesy if you zero-out the console to leave 

it for the next user. Of course, if it is very likely you will be the next user, you may 

gamble on leaving things half-zeroed so that EQ settings and preamp gains are left 

for the next performance. Of course, a good and e cient console operator should 

be able to dial in EQ and rough gains very quickly from a zero-ed out console. 

And zeroing before the gig helps familiarize yourself with the console if you 

have not been on that brand/model for a long while. And feeling all 

those controls and faders may provide a clue how well maintained 

the console is before mixing. Loose controls and sticky faders may 

provide a scenario of how to defensively drive the console to avoid 

crackles and pops before the show goes on. 

— From Mark Amundson’s “Theory and Practice” column in the 

August issue.


16 

New Gear 

AES San Francisco 2008 

Great city, great weather, OK gear 

By BillEvans 

DiGiCo S8 

Audio-Technica BP4025 Modular Snake System from Planet Waves 

If you didn’t make it to the City by the 

Bay for this year’s AES, you missed out. 

Fun show. Great chance to see and 

meet old friends. Lots of new and shiny 

gear. How much of it is applicable to what 

we as live audio providers do every day? 

Well, that’s a different story. 

In fact, it is telling to look at the list 

of companies whose focus is on live event 

and installed audio that were not exhibiting 

at the show. Midas, KT, TC, EV, Martin 

Audio, L-ACOUSTICS, DAS, DiGiCo (sort of, 

they had an SD8 in the Adamson booth), 

InnovaSON. Yamaha was there, but had 

no booth on the show floor, opting instead 

to do training classes in an adjacent 

meeting room. Watch that last one. As 

costs for doing these kinds of shows rise, I 

expect to see more companies looking for 

hands-on demo and training opportunities 

than traditional “walk-up-and-downthe-aisles” 

trade shows. 

But it was not a total draught for live 

audio, although most of the coolest stuff 

was very niched, not really ready for live 

gigs or closer to the musician and band 

side of the business. 

Leading the niche pack was Meyer 

with the new SB-3F Sound Field Synthesis 

Loudspeaker. This big (at least 

four-feet-across) hexagon is designed 

for projecting mid- and high-frequency 

energy over distances up to 1 km. The 

high-powered device employs Meyer’s 

sound field synthesis technology, which 

uses multiple small-point sources (a total 

of 448 high-powered, one-inch neodymium 

transducers purpose-built to 

create a highly directional wavefront) to 

create a focused, coherent long-range 

sound field. According to Meyer, it will 

project mid- and high-frequency energy 

over distances up to 1 km. Very cool, but 

it will likely not show up on a lot of riders 

or make it to your next corporate gig. 

Another cool thing that will not be 

on a gig was the “subwoofer fan” by Eminent 

Technology. Yes, I said a fan. While 

the output is only enough for home theatre 

use, the company claims it moves 

enough air to push a door open at frequencies 

all the way down to 1 Hz. 

Hi-Tech Can’t Have It AES 

Our next category is technically brilliant 

stuff that will likely — eventually 

— make it into our little world. Audio- 

Technica (in addition to introducing the 

AT8022 and BP4025 stereo mics) won a 

TEC award for its ultra-wideband wireless 

technology that negates the issues 

we will all be facing with wireless come 

February. 

Also on the wireless tip, Sony introduced 

fully digital wireless for the broadcast 

market. That’s initially, and they expect 

the technology to make it down to 

the live audio market — again — eventually. 

Hopefully, at a price that is quite a 

bit less than the $7K-range-per-channel 

price tag that the broadcast units will 

carry. But with the ability to transmit up 

to 12 channels in the bandwidth of a single 

UHF station it could go a long way in 

clearing the digital landscape. 

One piece of gear that is almost at 

the “you-can-actually-buy-it” stage is the 

Mongoose from Music Sciences. Mongoose 

as in it eats snakes. This 64-x-32 

digital snake is wireless and transmits all 


that information in the microwave range 

and uses proven true-diversity technology 

to avoid dropouts. The cost saving 

in fuel alone for trucking a 500’ copper 

snake capable of carrying that kind of 

traffic is going to make it very attractive 

to touring acts, and the lack or wires 

makes it a natural for sensitive installs 

including houses of worship. 

There was some stuff that was ready to 

ship that we could use right way. Renkus- 

Heinz introduced an addition to their Versys 

line of line arrays, which we profiled in 

the last issue of FOH. Yamaha previewed 

the SB168-ES — an Ethernet equipped 16x-8 

stage box that is scalable. Four units 

can be chained together to get up to 64 

x 32. The unit is being billed as a “perfect 

companion” to the popular M7CL and LS9 

digital mixers. 

DiGiCo had a working version of the 

SD8 in the Adamson booth. Besides the 

cool gold tone, it has many of the features 

beloved by DiGiCo users and — for 

the first time — at a price point under 

$50 grand. 

Useful, but Less than High End AES 

First up in this batch of stuff that may 

seem more apropos to bands and musicians 

than to soundcos (but don’t be too 

quick to judge. I am guessing I will see 

most of this stuff on small and mid-sized 

gigs in the next year) is the new iteration 

of the ubiquitous EON powered speakers 

from JBL. Next up is a pair of mixers that 

are too small in channel count for anything 

but small gigs, but are way cool 

nonetheless. 

First, from PreSonus is a digital board 

Audio-Technica AT8022 

JBL Eon Portable Loudspeakers 

called the StudioLive with their comps and 

gates on every channel, full re-callability, 

a couple of effects processors and FireWire 

out for recording. With a price tag of just 

$1,999, this may be the perfect way for 

the anklebiters among us to dip our toes 

in the digital mixing world. 

Allen & Heath took a very different 

route to get to the same “use-it-inthe-studio-and-then-take-it-out-ona-gig” 

place with the ZED-R16. This is a 

16-channel ANALOG with FireWire out 

for recording. “Big deal,” you say, noting 

that this is hardly the first of that variety 

of mixer. But check this: Some of the 

knobs and every fader on the R16 send 

MIDI continuous controller info, which 

means it can double as a control surface 

for any digital recording program except 

Pro Tools. In addition to the analog ins 

and outs, it sports LightPipe. Even being 

a Pro Tools guy, I would be interested in 

it just as a mixer for live recordings made 

with my trusty old Alesis HD 24. 

Finally, under the “how-come-I-neverthought-of-that” 

heading is a new series 

of sub-snakes from Planet Waves (part of 

the string-making company D’Addario 

and best known for well-made but still 

affordable cables sold in places like Guitar 

Center). This modular system can 

only do eight channels, but it uses three 

different lengths of “snake” and three 

different “breakouts” — XLR male, XLR 

female and 1/4” TRS. All of them terminate 

in DB-25 connectors, which means 

that the core snake can have any ends 

on it that you need. The core and two 

breakouts are already priced well-below 

similar snakes on the market, and when

Midas Pro6 

David Rahn, Renkus-Heinz national sales manager with the 

VerSys VLX3 

you add a couple of extra breakouts and 

one snake can take on several different 

forms, the savings really add up. 

Let’s Go To Vegas 

I always said LDI was a squint show, 

and with the apparent demise of the ET 

Live “shoot-out” event, there was way less 

audio there than in the past few years. 

But there were a few noteworthy exceptions, 

including the U.S. introduction of 

the Midas Pro6 (which we told you about 

a couple of issues ago). 

On the show floor itself, Production 

Intercom was doing the “little-guy-leapfrogs-the-corporate-competition” 

thing 

with a very cool “comm.-over-IP” device 

called the IP 901. It connects via and XLR 

and Cat 5 and lets any Internet-connecteddevice 

signal, call or listen to the comm. 

system from anywhere in the world. It also 

includes automatic echo cancellation and 

DSP, which means you don’t have to deal 

with the calibration time suck. At just $5K, 

I expect to see these in a bunch of places. 

A few miles away at a local production 

company, JBL unveiled the new VerTec DP 

Series powered full-size 4889 line array. 

With the same wood construction that 

4889 fans are used to now coupled with 

three channels of what is basically Crown 

iTech and the dbx version 4 settings from 

the DriveRack 4800, they sounded, to me, 

more musical than any other set of 4889s 

I have heard (well, except for the ones that 

were already running those 4800 version 

4 settings). 

PreSonus StudioLive 

JBL VerTec DP Series Powered Full-Size 4889 line array 


Meyer SB-3F Sound Field Synthesis Loudspeaker 

2008 NOVEMBER 

17

Soundco 

Pacific Coast 

Entertainment 


ST 

Venue 

Jones Beach Theater 

Wantagh, NY 

18 

Showtime 

CREW 

FOH Engineer: Alex Jones 

Monitor Engineer: Harvey Stauser 

Systems Engineer: Jimmy Ibanez 

Production Manager: Danny Viera 

FOH Systems Techs: Peter Walker 

Soundco 

Rat Sound Systems 

Venue 

San Diego Convention Center 

San Diego, CA 

CREW 

FOH Engineer: Gabriel “Tinee” Sanchez 

Monitor Engineer: Dan Housel 

Systems Engineer: Gabriel “Tinee” 

Sanchez 

Production Manager: Ryan Steidinger 

FOH Systems Techs: Jason Chaney, 

Jonathan Silva 

Rock The Bells 2008 

GEAR 

FOH 

Console: Yamaha PM5D, Digidesign 

VENUE D-show w/sidecart and Yamaha 

M7CL 

Speakers: JBL VerTec 4889 (28 tops) 

4880 (28 subs) 

Amps: Crown I-TECH 8000 

Processing: Dolby Lake Procesors 

Mics: Shure UHF-R 

Power Distro: Motion Labs 

Rigging: CM motors 

Breakout Assemblies: Whirlwind 

Snake Assemblies: Ramtech 


Power to Change 2008 

MON 

Consoles: Yamaha PM5D, Midas H3000 

Speakers: L-ACOUSTICS 115FM, 

115XTHIQ 

Amps: Lab.gruppen 

Processing: XTA DP226 

Mics: Shure UHF 


GEAR 


Console: Yamaha PM5D 

Speakers: 36 QSC Wideline 10, 2 EAW 

KF-650 Fills, 12 EAW SB1000 

Amps: QSC PL Series 

Processing: XTA 

Mics: Shure, AKG, Sennheiser 

Power Distro: Nutek 

Rigging: CM Lodestar 

Snake Assemblies: Ramtech 

Jack FM Radio Show featuring 

Devo, Billy Idol, REO Speedwagon and Blondie 

Venue 

Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre 

Atlanta, GA 

CREW 

FOH Engineer: Andy Turner and Dave 

Williams 

Monitor Engineer: Dustin Deluna and 

Tim Engwall 

Systems Designer: Jon Monson 

Production Manager: Ford, Live Nation 

FOH Systems Techs: Sara Holt, Neal 

Shelton, Kyle Rogan, Manny Perez 

GEAR 


Console: Yamaha PM5D 

Speakers: L-ACOUSTICS V-DOSC 

dV-DOSC, Rat subs 

Amps: Lab.gruppens and Crest 

Processing: DBX 160XT, Summit 

DCL200, Empirical Labs Distressor, 

Yamaha SPX990, TC D2, XTA DP448 

Mics: Various 

Rigging: CM and Skjonberg 

Exploring Sound Reinforcement 

A practical guide to understanding PA systems, 

applications and operation, from Yamaha 

Corporation of America. Exploring Sound 

Reinforcement is a major work produced by 

Keyfax NewMedia in conjunction with Yamaha 

Corporation of America that looks at all 

aspects of buying, assembling, and operating 

sound reinforcement systems. 

 

ST 

MON 

Console: Yamaha M7CL-48 

Speakers: 10 EAW SM500 Mon, 4 QSC 

HPR122i Fills 

Amps: QSC PL Series 


Mics: Shure, AKG, Sennheiser 

Power Distro: Nutek 

Rigging: CM Lodestar 

Soundco 

Abe V Systems 

ST 

MON 

Speakers: L-ACOUSTICS HiQ Wedges 

Amps: LA 48s 

Processing: XTA DP448, 226 

Mics: Various mic package and Shure 

U4D wireless mics 

Video Sound 

Now fully updated to reect the latest 

advances, the second edition of Basics of 

Video Sound is a primer for anyone 

wishing to learn about recording sound. It 

describes the principles and processes 

involved in obtaining professional results 

in educational, training and corporate 

environments. 

www.fohbookshelf.com 


ST 

Venue 

Schaumberg, IL 

CREW 

FOH Engineer: Bill Philput 

Systems Engineer: Bob Murr 

Production Manager: Michael Ziffra 

FOH Systems Techs: Aaron Patkin 

Soundco 

Beachsound Inc. 

Soundco 

Brantley 

Sound Associates 

September Fest — Lover Boy, Richard Marx 

GEAR 


Console: Yamaha PM-4000 

Speakers: NEXO GEO-T/CD-18 subs 

Amps: Yamaha 

Processing: NEXO NX-242 digital 

Mics: Shure wired and wireless, EV, 

Sennheiser, AKG 


Snake Assemblies: Rapco 56 with 

mass connectors 

Venue 

American Airlines Arena 

Miami, FL 

CREW 

Systems Engineer: Neil Rosenstock 

FOH Systems Techs: Matt Holden, 

Thomas Laveuf 

MON 

Consoles: Yamaha M7CL 

Speakers: NEXO PS15s 

Amps: Camco V6 

Processing: Yamaha, TC, Drawmer, dbx, 

Summit, Klark-Teknik EQs 



Marco Antonio Solis 

Spears Foundation Fundraiser featuring Willie Nelson 

Venue 

Leipers Fork, TN 

CREW 

Systems Engineer: Joe Calabrese 

FOH System Techs: Chris Demonbreun 

GEAR 


Console: Yamaha PM5D-RH 

Speakers: d&b 12 J8s over 4 J12s, 14 

QIs outfill, 4 Q10 Frontfill 

Amps: d&b D-12s 

Processing: Dolby Lake, Avalon 737 

Mics: Shure 


Breakout Assemblies: Whirlwind 

Snake Assemblies: Whirlwind and 

Custom Designs 

GEAR 


Speakers: 24 Adamson Y-10s, 4 

Adamson T-21s, 2 Adamson MH 

121.5s, 4 EAW JF80s 

Amps: 24 Camco Vortex 6s 

Processing: Dolby Lake 

Power Distro: Motion Lab, BSA 

Custom 

Rigging: CM Loadstar 

Breakout Assemblies: BSA 

Custom 

Snake Assemblies: BSA Custom 

MON 

Console: Yamaha PM5D-RH 

Speakers: L-ACOUSTICS DV-Subs, Arcs 

and HQ115 

Amps: Lab.gruppen 


We 

Want You! 

2008 NOVEMBER 

Soundco 

Gand Concert 

Sound 

ST 

ST 

FOH wants your gig 

shots, horror stories and 

resume highlights! Go to 

www.fohonline.com/submissions 

to send us your Showtime pics, 

Nightmare stories and In The 

Trenches stats. Or e-mail 

b g @ f o h o n l i n e . c o m 

for more info. We cover the 

industry 

— and that means 

you! 

19 


20 


Bringing Discipline to a Mötley Mix 

Andy Meyer on juggling five bands, huge stage volume and a guitar rig that goes down to 30 Hz. 

PR BRown 

Motley Crüe press shot for the Crüefest tour 

By BillEvans 

With bands like Mötley Crüe — whose 

members appear morally opposed 

to personal monitors and seem 

determined to prove their continuing viability 

by being louder than ever — paired with 

loud upstarts including Buck Cherry and 

Nikki Sixx’s solo side project on the same bill, 

one might assume that the biggest challenge 

of the recent Crüefest tour would have been 

dealing with sheer volume. Au contraire says 

Crüe FOH mixer Andy Meyer. While dealing 

with huge SPL can be an issue with five bands 

onstage every night, the biggest challenge is 

often just having enough time to get everything 

up and going. 

When the tour hit Vegas with a slimmeddown, 

three-band schedule (gotta keep the 

show tight and get those people back out into 

the casino where they belong…), Meyer actually 

had time for dinner after sound check. We 

sat down with him backstage and had a chat 

over a plate of tour catering ribs… 

FOH: OK, let’s start out talking system… 

Andy Meyer: Well, first of all we are using 

the Clair I-5 PA. What you are seeing is a custom 

bumper, so the onstage column is the 

I-5, the offstage two columns are called I-5Bs. 

The I-5Bs are discreet from 85 Hz down. So, 

there are 48 subs — 24 per side — in the air. 

Plus, under the deck there are nine double-18 

(BT) subs a side. 

That’s a ton of subs. 

Well, it kind of evolved because we wanted 

to fly the subs, get some low end up in the 

air. Basically, it's almost like an undisciplined 

mix — everything overlaps. This is not a case 

of neatly placing bandwidth like your guitar 

has this range and vocal has this range and 

things like that. For instance, Mick’s guitar, he 

wants it all the way down to 30 Hz. He wants 

sub coming out of it. He actually has a crossover 

in his rig that gives me a discreet output 

NOVEMBER 2008 

from 80 Hz on down off his guitar. I am moving 

a lot of air just with the guitar. I have so 

much overlap and energy, but it gives it this 

power that it needs to have. So, there are 

challenges in doing that. That takes a lot of 

PA. And it’s not so much about volume as it 

is about the bandwidth and being able to reproduce 

all of it. So, this PA and this band has 

been a wonderful marriage. It has been great. 

It’s got huge guts to it. When (Mick) gets going 

and I start driving the guitars it will move 

the hairs on your arm. It is very impressive. 

Have you worked with the band before? 

No. I haven’t worked for Mötley Crüe before; 

however, I have known Tommy for quite 

a few years now. His drum tech and programmer, 

Viggy Vignola, and I have toured together 

for five or six years straight. We were on 

Timberlake together and Sevendust… 

Okay. You did Timberlake? 

Yeah, I did. I mixed that whole tour — 

almost two years of work that was. 

I missed that tour, but heard it was a pretty 

good show. 

It was fantastic; Tommy would come out 

and see the shows. He liked what I did, and 

then when it came time he asked me to do 

this tour. It was very kind of him. I was actually 

working for Janet Jackson, but wasn’t quite 

sure whether she was going to tour or not. 

Andy Meyer 


How long are you out with Crüe? 

Well, right now this leg is till September 

and then tentatively October we have Asia 

dates and South America dates. 

It looks like it is all Venue up there. 

It is all DiGi, yeah. There is a D-Show and a 

Profile at front-of-house and a D-show and a 

profile in monitor world. The D-Show is there 

to do the band and then the Profile’s for Vince. 

Vince has his own guy, which really is good 

because it is just too much trying to cover ev- 

This PA and this band have been a wonderful 

marriage. When (Mick) gets going and 

I start driving the guitars it will move the 

hairs on your arm. It is very impressive. 

— Andy Meyer 

erybody and keep them all happy. It works 

well; a lot of artists are doing that. It's really 

hard to keep track of everything that’s going 

on, especially if your singer is flying around 

doing things and you are trying to watch all 

that and then one of the other guys needs 

something, you never see it. So, it is just a 

better way to do it. It really is. 

Bill Evans 

Okay, so let’s get down to it. How loud is 

it? 

The show is between a 104 and 106 at 

FOH, which is pretty loud for 110 feet back. 

That’s pretty damn loud. 

It’s up there, but it just about takes that to 

get over the stage. 

Yeah, it's funny because I am seeing a 

lot of bands going out with… I mean it 

looks like a wall of amps, but they are 

almost all dummies and they’ve got a 

Palmer DI or something like that driving 

the system. 

Yeah, exactly, but I am not just using 

palmers out here. We are using microphones. 

I am using Audio-Technica 4050s 

on the left, right and mono; Mick’s got a 

left, right and a mono. Well, basically, it is a 

left and right wet and then a dry. We'll call it 

that. That’s a better way to put it, and then 

I also have an AKG 414 left and an AKG 414 

right, and so I have a 4050 and a 414 left, 

4050 and a 414 right and two 4050s on the 

dry. I am using a palmer on the sub output 

instead of a mic; there’s also a mic up there 

that we use for monitors. For the sub output 

I needed a direct source because I am 

moving those low, low frequencies. I didn’t 

want to get it loose in the PA.


22 


What about drums? 

Well, we do individual cymbal miking, so 

there are six total inputs for that. There is a 

ride and five overheads. Now because they 

are so spread out we wanted to do close 

miking with Tommy because of the extreme 

volume of the drum monitor. Snare top is 

an AT5400, snare bottom is an AT4050 and 

there’s an AT 2500 in the kick drum. There is 

a gong drum that has an AT2500 underneath 

and then the toms are double mics. I have 

ATM25s on top and on bottom of each tom 

and that gives them a great deal of depth. 

So, what do you have as far as total inputs? 

I haven’t counted really. Let's see… 

we've got, well, the 2500s or 2 inputs of 

It’s almost like an undisciplined mix — 

everything overlaps. This is not a case of 

neatly placing bandwidth like your guitar 

has this range and vocal has this range. 

— Andy Meyer 

kick, that’s four, snare top five, snare bottom 

six, hat seven, then there are 9 tom input’s, 

overheads, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, cowbell 23, 

perc trigger-24, 808-25. All right, so there 

are 25 inputs there. 

Have you ever tried the 2500 on guitar? 

Oh, yeah. That’s what I used on Justin’s 

tour on the guitars. I did a 2500 on each 


guy, no EQ, just turned it up, which worked 

out fabulously. 

Yeah, turn it on and go. How do you have 

to deal with this kind of low end? 

Well, if the downbeat with the pyro concussion 

is exact, which doesn’t happen often, 

it can cause damage. We were blowing 

up 18s earlier in the tour and not being able 

to figure out why and… I knew the concussion 

was moving the mix a bit. You know, 

I was watching some of the inputs hitting 

pretty hard, but I was listening back to a 

show a few days ago when one of those hits 

happened, and man I will tell you what, it 

moved the drivers in my headphones, it hit 

perfectly on the downbeat — everything 

aligned, which is hard to do man. 

So, what are we missing? 

We are using new Powersoft digital amplifiers 

on the sub-bass. 

This is the first tour I have heard them 

on. 

They are a single-space amplifier that 

produces 7,700 watts at 2 ohms per channel 

with built-in DSP. It’s a very powerful 

amplifier. 

Oh, so does that cut down four or five 

racks? 

Oh, it cut down a couple of amp racks, 

yeah. Because we’ve got three in one rack 

and four in another — that’s four spaces 

and three spaces, that would have been 

two full amp racks. 

We were talking about stage volume. 

What the hell are the side fills that were 

flying? 

Oh, those are prism blue boxes. They 

are all prism boxes. So, there are four a side 

in the air and a sub on the ground and we 

don’t always do that. In sheds, it is just one 

sub and two tops on the ground. The reason 

is the sight-line issue because of the 

arena show, so we flew them up in the air 

and you need more when they go up in the 

air really. 

I have seen so many more people over 

the years going in-ear that I am not seeing 

the kind of stage volumes I used to. 

Well, you know what? That would be 

great. You know these guys have just done 

it so long and it is natural. It is so natural to 

them, I guess, to have that kind of wall surrounding 

them and it works. 

Have you been on the Venue system for 

a while? 

Well, I tried the Yamaha for a while, 

the PM5D. My trick other than the Big Ben 

Word Clock on it was the Waves slot card for 

the console. So, I put a Waves card in and 

I came ADAT Optical out into an Apogee 

mini-DAC, which is a D/A converter and so 

it basically bypasses the whole deal. It goes 

optical right out into the Apogee and the 

Apogee did my conversion, my D/A, plus 

the Wave slot card also has an L1+ ultramaximizer, 

I put right on the main mix. It 

was pretty rocking actually. That console 

sounded pretty damn good like that. The 

Venue, however, is a much better sounding 

console right out of the gate, and the 

snapshot automation is amazing. It is my 

console of choice. 

With the stage so loud, what is the best 

way you work with the monitor mixer? 

It’s imperative that you have a good relationship 

and you are on the same page with 

everything. We are getting through it and making 

it happen. Every little thing that changes 

on the deck sonically alters what I get. 

It’s all about making it work no matter 

what. 

Exactly, results only. That’s the game, 

man. Get a great result.


Feature 

Parnelli Awards Pay Tribute to 

the Stars of Live Audio 

By BreanneGeorge 

Alice Cooper served as master of 

ceremonies. 

The 8th Annual Parnelli Awards brought 

together the legends and up-andcoming 

talent of the live event industry 

to honor the companies and people 

nominated for their outstanding work this 

year. Held at the Rio Resort and Casino in 

Las Vegas, the show featured state-of-theart 

audio, lighting and video, master of ceremonies 

Alice Cooper, and in keeping with 

the Vegas theme, showgirls decked out in 

flashy costumes to greet the attendees. 

The attendees paid tribute to audio innovators 

Roy and Gene Clair, founders of the 

Clair Bros. (now known as CLAIR) of Lititz, 

Pa., one of the largest and most successful 

sound companies in the world; and Dennis 

Sheehan, longtime tour manager for U2. 

Luminaries of the Night FOH 

Roy and Gene Clair won the Parnelli 

Audio Innovator Award for their contribution 

to the industry — from pioneering 

many gear innovations to building an audio 

empire. As their reputation for quality 

service and products grew, so did their list 

of clients — Elton John, the Rolling Stones, 

Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, James 

Brown and the Beach Boys to name a few. 

24 

Photos by LindaEvans and DanHernandez 

Roy and Gene Clair accept the Parnelli Audio Innovator Award for their many gear innovations and building a live event empire. 

And despite the company’s success, the 

brothers have kept the business in Lititz, 

Pa., the same small town where they grew 

up. 

“We grew slowly and weren’t in a hurry,” 

Roy Clair said while accepting the award. 

“We always thought it would be better to 

be the best, not the biggest. If you want to 

be successful, take a hobby and turn it into 

a business — that’s what I did.” 

U2 gave their kudos via video to their 

longtime tour manager Dennis Sheehan 

who won the Parnelli Lifetime Achievement 

Award. Sheehan began his career working 

with Jimmy James and the Vagabonds during 

their European tour and later assisted 

on some of Led Zeppelin’s biggest tours. He 

has worked with the likes of Lou Reed, Patti 

Smith, The Damned, Siouxsie and the Banshees 

and Soft Cell. Sheehan is currently 

working with U2 in the studio as they record 

a new album and will go on tour with 

the band once again next spring. 

“I am deeply honored to receive this 

award,” Sheehan said. “I never thought it 

would be my lifelong career. I am honored 

to receive this award along with the Clair 

Bros. and Michael Tait who have been a part 


of the success of U2 throughout the years. 

I also want to thank Bono, The Edge and all 

those I’ve worked with who have helped 

me grow in this business.” 

Hometown Hero Sound Company FOH 

The winner for the Parnelli Award for 

Hometown Hero Sound Company of the 

Year was Tour Tech East of Dartmouth, Nova 

Scotia. “We’ve been nominated before in 

the category, and we were the only Canadian 

company,” said Tour Tech East President 

Peter Hendrickson. “It’s a pretty big deal for 

a Canadian company to win on an American 

court.” Ten staff members from the 

company attended the award show, and 

Hendrickson dedicated the award to them. 

“It’s all about people and service,” he said. 

“At the end of the day anyone can buy gear. 

There is an old saying in the music business 

that says, ‘if you want to end up with a small 

fortune in the music business, start with a 

large one.’” 

Sound Image won the Parnelli Award for 

Sound Company of the Year for the Rascal 

Flatts tour. “I would like to thank FOH and 

all its readers for nominating and voting us 

Sound Company of the Year,” said Sound 

Image President Dave Shadoan. “We dedicate 

this award to our longtime friend and 

Sound Image family member Jim Douglas.” 

Russell Fischer won the Parnelli Award 

for System Tech of the Year for the Toby 

Keith tour. “I’m very grateful for being recognized 

for just being me and wanting 

the audience to have the best experience 

possible,” he said. “Being a system tech can 

sometimes be a thankless task, filled with 

long, frustrating hours. Thank you for noticing.” 

Ironically, Fischer was not at the show 

because he is now FOH mixer for Taylor 

Swift. 

Kevin “Tater” McCarthy won for Monitor 

Mixer of the Year for Linkin Park. “I was very 

surprised I won,” McCarthy said. “This is going 

on my 23rd year and to be recognized 

like this from your peers is great. I want to 

thank my wife and children for their endless 

support and my assistant Paul White 

for all his great help.” 

Ken “Pooch” Van Druten — nicknamed 

the Susan “Poochi” (in reference to soap opera 

star Susan Lucci) of the industry for his 

years of being nominated yet never winning 

a Parnelli — finally ended his losing streak, 

winning FOH Mixer Continued on page 26

Dave Shadoan, president of Sound Image, accepts his 

Parnelli Award for Sound Company of the Year, dedicating it 

to Jim Douglas. 

Dirk Durham, FOH mixer for Toby Keith, accepting for Russell 

Fischer who won for System Tech of the Year. 

Kevin “Tater” McCarthy thanked his wife and children for 

their support after winning Monitor Mixer of the Year. 

Ken “Pooch“ Van Druten finally ended his losing streak — 

winning for FOH Mixer of the Year. 


Ed Wannebo accepting his Parnelli Award for Production 

Manager of the Year for the Kenny Chesney Tour. 

Tour Tech East President Peter Hendrickson is proud that his 

Canadian company won the Parnelli Award for Hometown 

Hero Sound Company of the Year. 

And the Parnelli Goes to… 

Parnelli Audio Innovator Award 

Roy & Gene Clair 

Parnelli Lifetime Achievement Award 

Dennis Sheehan 

Hometown Hero Sound Company of the Year 

Tour Tech East — Canada — Dartmouth, Nova Scotia 

Sound Company of the Year 

Sound Image — Rascal Flatts 

System Tech of the Year 

Russell Fischer — Toby Keith 

Monitor Mixer of the Year 

Kevin “Tater” McCarthy — Linkin Park 

FOH Mixer of the Year 

Ken “Pooch” Van Druten — Linkin Park 

Coach Company of the Year 

Diamond Coach 

Trucking Company of the Year 

Upstaging, Inc. 

Freight Forwarding Company of the Year 

Rock-It Cargo 

Tour Manager of the Year 

Mike Amato — Linkin Park 

Production Manager of the Year 

Ed Wannebo — Kenny Chesney 

2008 NOVEMBER 

25 


Feature 

Continued from page 24 

of the Year for Linkin Park. “I love what I do and I appreciated all your votes,” he said. 

The night also honored the transportation companies that have a direct effect on 

the live audio industry. The Parnelli Award for Coach Company of the Year went to Diamond 

Coach, Upstaging Inc. was named Trucking Company of the Year, and the Parnelli 

Award for Freight Forwarding Company of the Year went to Rock-It Cargo. 

The Parnelli for Tour Manager of the Year went to Mike Amato for the Linkin Park 

tour. Ed Wannebo won the Parnelli for Production Manager of the Year for the Kenny 

Chesney tour. “Despite the craziness of this biz, I want to give a shout out to all those 

who kick ass and get it done, keeping the fun meter always in the red,” he said. 

FOH/PLSN Publisher Terry Lowe gives Alice Cooper the proceeds from the PLSN/FOH Celebrity Classic golf tournament for the 

Solid Rock Foundation. 

David Middleton, with Atlanta Rigging, the 2008 Parnelli Award-winning Rigging Company of the Year 

Dennis Sheehan, this year’s winner of the Parnelli Lifetime Achievement Award, with Patrick Stansfield, former Parnelli 

Livetime Achievement Award recipient and executive director of the Parnelli Award Board of Advisors. 

26 

Hey Dennis. Who’s the babe? 


Roy and Gene Clair, winners of the Parnelli Audio Innovator Award with Bruce Jackson, FOH engineer and audio innovator 

(L to R): FOH/PLSN Publisher Terry Lowe, FOH Editor Bill Evans, Ken “Pooch“ Van Druten and comedian 

Mike “Blackjack“ Wilson 

Dirk Durham (L) and Ken “Pooch“ Van Druten, Parnelli Award winner for FOH Mixer of the Year (Dirk won two years ago).

PLSN/FOH Parnelli Celebrity Classic 

Sponsored By 

The live event industry spent 

a day on the links for the 

PLSN/FOH Parnelli Celebrity 

Classic Golf Tournament at 

Siena Golf Club in Las Vegas, an 

event that also served as a benefit 

for Alice Cooper’s Solid Rock 

Foundation. Proceeds from the 

event went directly to the foundation, 

which helps to serve disadvantaged 

youth in Phoenix by 

providing them with a social outlet 

— a community center known 

as The Rock — centered around 

music. Alice Cooper, who was 

honorary chairman and celebrity 

host at the event, also played in a 

tournament, handed out awards 

and personally signed several 

prizes that had been raffled off 

About 120 people from the live 

event industry attended. Audio 

manufacturers Meyer Sound and 

L-ACOUSTICS sponsored holes in 

the tournament. FOH/PLSN Publisher 

Terry Lowe presented a 

check from the proceeds of the 

Celebrity Golf Classic to the Solid 

Rock Foundation the next evening, 

during the Parnelli Awards 

ceremony. 

The 2008 Parnellis were 

made possible by Timeless 

Communications and its sponsors. 

Gold sponsors: All Access 

Staging & Productions, Bandit 

Lites, Brown United, Dedicated 

Staging LLC, Harman Pro Group, 

Lab.gruppen, Nocturne JDTV, Precise 

Corporate Staging, Pyrotek 

Special Effects Inc., Rent What?, 

Rock-It-Cargo, Show Distribution 

Rigging and Staging, Sound Image, 

Strictly FX, Syncrolite. Silver 

sponsors: Apollo Design Technology 

Inc., Littlite, Martin Professional, 

Stage Rigging/ A Freeman 

Company, Techni-Lux, ASI. 

Sponsors of the 2008 PLSN/ 

FOH Parnelli Celebrity Classic 

Golf Tournament: 4Wall Entertainment 

Lighting, Tech Sox, Solid 

Rock Foundation, Columbus 

McKinnon, Daktronics, CPR Rentals, 

Precise Corporate Staging, 

CPR Rentals, Dedicated Staging, 

Brockcom, Martin Professional, 

PRG, IntelEvent. 

The live event industry ready for a day on the links...

28 

Production Profile 

Radiohead’s Green Rainbow 

It’s not only the squints who are going green. Audio is getting onboard as well. 

How does sound go green? The 

best it can do is by being efficient. 

It’s still a fundamental 

truth that you have to move air 

to make sound, and moving air takes 

power. A lot of it. Recently, Radiohead 

took a new approach to touring that 

they hope will inspire others in the industry. 

Throughout their 2008 In Rainbows 

tour, Radiohead has been keeping 

an account of the carbon footprint 

they are creating and comparing it to 

past tours. This means that even in 

the realm of sound gear every choice 

is weighed against the ecological impact 

that each piece would have. The 

equipment chosen not only had to 

sound good — but it also had to be 

“green.” 

Photos and Text by ArdenAsh 

Going Green FOH 

Beyond minimizing the amount of 

gear, “green” was achieved with new hardware, 

including the new K1 System from 

L-ACOUSTICS. As part of an advanced 

beta-test, the K1 enclosure and its related 

system components, the K1-SB, SB28 and 


the LA-RAK, were used during the last leg 

of the North American In Rainbows tour. 

(System engineer Sherif el Barbari had a 

hand in the development of the system.) 

Even in the realm of sound gear, every 

choice is weighed against the ecological 

impact that each piece would have. The 

equipment chosen not only had to sound 

good — but it also had to be “green.” 

FOH Engineer Jim Warren at the FOH console. 

CREW 

GEAR 

The K1 earned its place in the green 

zone due to its durability, venue adaptability 

and predictability. Unlike a rig- 

FOH Engineer: Jim Warren 

Audio Designer: Sherif el Barbari 

Audio Techs: Jamie Pollock, Tim Fraleigh, Charlie Campbell 

Monitor Engineer: Graham Lees 

Monitor Technician: Ross Anderson 

ging system of V-DOSC, the K1 rigging 

system allows for a high degree of angular 

adjustment from 0 to 5 degrees 

between boxes and offering half-degree 

increments between the 0- and 3-degree 

positions. The system is designed 

to suspend 24 enclosures on one bumper. 

The tour was carrying 32 K1 enclosures, 

16 KUDO, 16 K1-SB and 24 SB28 

and 12 of the LA-RAK turnkey poweramp/signal 

distribution systems. In use 

at Chula Vista were 28 K1 (14 per side), 

six K1-SB per side and 18 SB28s in three 

cardioid clusters (left, center, right). 

According to el Barbari, the size of 

the rig and the configuration varied according 

to the venue size; outdoor venues 

like the festival in Montreal’s Parc 

Jean Drapeau featured the entire rig, 

FOH Equipment Provider: Firehouse Productions 

96-channel (2 stage racks) Digidesign Venue console with 2 sidecars, Venue 

pack Pro 2 plug-in software, 2 Hdx cards fully loaded with DSP 

Plugins: Waves Live Bundle 

McDSP FilterBank & CompressorBank 

Focusrite Octopre 8 way mic pre 

Digidesign ProTools HD recording system 

Dolby Lake speaker controllers 

Main PA system L-ACOUSTICS K1 line array system 

SB28 subs 

Kudo side-hangs 

dV-DOSC down-fills and lip-fills 

LA8 amplification 

L-Net amplifier remote control network

L-ACOUSTICS line array 

while indoor gigs used a slightly truncated 

version like the Santa Barbara 

Bowl show (4,500 seats), which used effectively 

half the equipment. In wider 

venues, 16 KUDO enclosures, (eight per 

side) were used to provide a “narrow 

sliver” of fill to the left and right regions 

on either extreme, according to el Barbari. 

The KUDO enclosures were set to 

the 50-degree horizontal configuration 

for this tight-fill application. 

The Driving Force FOH 

Driving the system was industry veteran 

mixer Jim Warren, who kept the 

footprint small with a Digidesign Profile 

system at front-of-house. System control 

was provided by Dolby processors, 

which fed the LA-RAKs on stage. Addi- 

Sherif el Barbari adjusts the LA8 

Close-up shot of the LA-PANEL 

FOH position 

tional control and monitoring of the system 

was provided via the L-ACOUSTICS 

Network Manager software. ( LA-RAK is 

L-ACOUSTICS latest version of turnkey 

processing, power-amplification, signal 

and network distribution. The LA-RAK 

is a 9U, shock-mounted rack containing 

three LA8 “amplified controllers” 

— remember when we used to just call 

them amps? — an LA-PANEL signal and 

network distribution panel, AC power 

Audio Systems Technician Sherif el 

Barbari measures the placement of 

the line array. 


distro and additional room for network 

switches.) These racks were stacked in 

“twos” so that a grouping of six racks 

per side only occupied about a threefoot-by-seven-foot 

parcel of the stage 

wing. 

Beyond minimizing the amount of 

gear, “green” was achieved with new 

hardware. 

The Character of Sound FOH 

Ultimately, it’s the character of sound 

that can make or break a show, and this 

is a system to which the engineers are 

giving high marks. Warren said, “I know 

all the techs were very impressed by the 

rigging and also by the whole LA8 setup 

with the L-Net. In short, it’s V-DOSC updated 

for the 21st century, but without 

losing the character of sound that was 

my main reason for choosing them in 

the first place.” 

And that whole “green” thing? 

Smaller (and fewer) amp racks and the 

onboard processing of the Venue system 

ultimately meant less audio gear 

on stage and less in the truck. Less in 

the truck means fewer trucks. The lower 

power consumption of the LA8 compared 

to fully analog amps with the 

same output horsepower also played 

a part. The result? Great show, great 

sound and a lower carbon footprint all 

around. 

2008 NOVEMBER 

Sound check 

29

Installations 

Rockin’ on the River 

The Horseshoe Casino is more than just a riverboat with a $70-million 

theater install, bringing top echelon acts to The Venue. 

By David JohnFarinella 

Bill Evans 

Opening night star Bette Midler performing at The Venue. 

KEvin BEstwicK 

Sixty percent of the stage is covered with acoustic liner and/or panels to help with the high frequencies. 

30 NOVEMBER 2008 


The Horseshoe Casino has been rocking 

for years, since it’s been one of the 

most popular resort and casino destinations 

in the Chicago area. Yet, it’s only 

since The Venue opened earlier this year 

that the Horseshoe has been rocking, rolling, 

shaking and shimmying. 

The Venue is a 3,300-seat hall that can 

host music concerts, sporting events, corporate 

happenings and special events. 

Montreal-based Scéno Plus managed the 

$70-million project. Other partners included 

Las Vegas-based architecture firm Friedmutter 

Group, acoustic firm Legault et Davidson 

from St. Lambert, Canada, and Montrealbased 

Lightemotion who handled architectural 

lighting. 

It was once known as “riverboat gambling” 

— as long as it was floating, gambling 

was legal. But the behemoth properties of 

today bear little resemblance to any boat 

you have ever seen. The Horseshoe Casino, a 

floating vessel that is the size of six football 

fields and is docked on the shores of Lake 

Michigan, was recently refurbished and expanded 

(including The Venue, which is on 

the third tier of the vessel) to the tune of 

$500 million. 

Casino owner, Harrah’s Entertainment, 

let it be known early on that The Venue was 

going to be Horseshoe’s anchor attraction. 

“They wanted to attract high-end artists 

to play here, which would bring people 

down to the casino and the resort,” explains 

Normand-Pierre Bilodeau, Scéno Plus’ director 

of technology and specialized equip- 

ment. “So, we didn’t get an unlimited bud- 

get, but the mandate was clear to make sure 

the venue could do a lot of things.” 

“This Venue Does Everything. FOH 

A quick look at the events booked into 

The Venue proves that point. On the musical 

side of things, acts include opening night 

star Bette Midler, Smashing Pumpkins, Aretha 

Franklin and Tesla. Comedians Howie 

The Venue can be used for everything from corporate and sporting events to concerts. 

Mandel, Bill Cosby and Jeff Foxworthy are 

also appearing, and special events like 

ShoXC Elite Challenger Series, World Series 

of Poker and Arabian Nights are also booked 

in. 

The first challenge that the team encountered 

was the venue’s location. Being 

on the water, Bilodeau says, was not that 

much of an issue. “It feels like you’re in a normal 

house, it’s just that when you look outside 

you see water,” he explains. 

The third floor location, though, created 

some angst. “Ninety percent of the theaters 

we build are sitting on a concrete base,” 

Bilodeau says. “In this case, it’s on the third 

floor and there’s a casino underneath.” That 

meant that sound and vibrations had to be 

contained within the venue and could not 

leak below. 

That challenge was answered with a 

combination of construction and rigging 

innovations, including the use of light concrete 

technology, stronger structural steel 

that can hold double or triple the capacity of 

previously available steel and a rig that was 

supported by the venue’s roof. 

Volume Control FOH 


Containing the volume within The Venue 

itself was accomplished with a special Scéno 

Plus acoustic treatment recipe. “In most of 

the theaters we do, we will have one end 

that is live and another that is dead,” Bilodeau 

explains. “We work a lot on the noises 

of the balcony, to be sure there is no slap 

back coming back to the stage.” 

The open ceiling at The Venue — done 

because the roof needed to support the 

weight of the grid — made Bilodeau change 

up the recipe a bit. “We couldn’t close the 

ceiling, so all the steel is visible and it reflects,” 

he explains. “So, we covered everything 

with acoustic liner to help with the 

high frequencies.” 

To dampen the mid-frequency energy 

that was coming off the stage and the hung


Normand-Pierre Bilodeau 

32 

Installations 

subs, Bilodeau called for boxes of foam (six 

to eight every 10 feet) to be hung from the 

ceiling. “That dissipates the energy from the 

ceiling and now the sound is really tight and 

it travels in a longitudinal manner instead of 

reflecting from the ceiling.” 

In addition, Bilodeau felt it was important 

to aggressively control the stage with the use 

of close microphones as well as more acoustic 

liner. “It dramatically enhances our capacity 

to bring down the stage sound effect to a 

level where even your source at the beginning 

sounds so much better and it’s more intelligible 

in the house,” he reports. “I would say 

around 60 percent of the stage is covered with 

acoustic liner and/or panels.” 


Of course, this kind of acoustic attention 

does not come cheap. “We spent around 

$3 million in acoustical panels and surfaces 

all over the theater,” he states. “At first, they 

asked why we put all of that in and if we really 

needed it. Well, after the first show they 

all came up and said, ‘Okay, we see what you 

mean.’” 

Anchors Array FOH 

After the acoustic treatments were 

squared away, Bilodeau turned his attention 

to the audio gear. Choices were made based 

on two criteria — can it be flexible enough 

to be used in a variety of applications and is 

it familiar enough to tour managers and FOH 

Bill Evans 



A rendering of a concert at The Venue 

Opening night star Bette Midler performing at The Venue. 

The 3,300-seat concert hall was a challenging install, not because it’s on a riverboat but its location above the casino. 

engineers that it would raise any questions. 

Bilodeau’s first design featured an L-ACOUS- 

TICS array, but he ultimately opted for a Meyer 

Sound MICA array with 700-HP UltraHigh- 

Power subwoofers and MSL-4s to cover the 

wings. The array includes six MICA boxes per 

left, center and right hang with two hangs 

of six 700-HPs between the left-center and 

right-center. 

Bilodeau called for a dozen CLAIR 12 AM 

monitors and a pair of Yamaha PM5D consoles 

(for FOH and monitor) because of their 

road popularity. “Most of the touring bands 

are using PM5Ds or bigger analog boards 

that they would bring in anyway,” he explains. 

“So, we went with the 5D because 75 percent 

of the shows can use it. If they are going to 

bring their huge board in anyway then we 

have a big space with everything they need 

to plug it in.” 

Months after Midler’s opening night performance, 

Bilodeau is back in Montreal with 

a bit of perspective. He points out that while 

this was not the biggest project he has ever 

worked on, it was one of the most versatile 

because Harrah’s wanted to be able to book 

anything into the room. “I don’t think we’re 

going to be doing another one on a boat,” he 

admits with a laugh. “I think it would be better 

to change the laws in the States to have 

casinos on the land. It would be cheaper, 

that’s for sure.” 

Gear 

List 

FOH Console: Yamaha 5DRH-V2 

Monitor Console: Yamaha 5DRH-V2, 

12 Mixes 

Speakers: 

House Mains (R & L) Flown (each side): 

9 Meyer Mica, 4 Meyer HP-700, 1 Meyer 

MSL 4 

Center Cluster: 3 Meyer MS14, 

3 Meyer DF-4 

Subwoofers: 4 Meyer HP-700 

Front Fills: 4 Meyer UPA-1P 

Front Lip: 6 Meyer UPM-1P 

Equalizer & Effects – FOH Position: 

1 Meyer Galileo 

Monitor Amplifiers: 12 Mixes I-TECH 

4000 

Monitor Speakers: 12 Clair 12am, 4 R3, 

4 ML 18 

Mics: 2 Shure Beta 52, 4 Shure KSM 44, 

2 Beyer M88, 6 Shure UHF 58 Wireless 

Handhelds, 10 Shure Beta 58, 10 Shure 

Beta 57, 10 Shure SM-47-CM, 6 Shure 

SM-58-CN, 6 Shure SM-81-LC, 12 Shuew 

SM-98A, 2 Shure SM-91, 12 KT DI Box, 

10 Sennheiser H220 Hearing Impaired 

Headsets. 

KEvin BEstwicK


34 

Road Test 

EV DC-One Processor By MarkAmundson 

The EV DC-One speaker processor 

is a long-awaited product that is 

huge in the value quotient (features 

and performance divided by cost 

to own). I took delivery of the DC-One 

and the first thing I noticed was the size 

of the unit. While it is the expected onerackspace 

high, the 14 inches of depth 

is way beyond the usual amount for 

these processors. When I inquired about 

this, the designers uniformly said that 

customers complained about having to 

make patches to shallow depth processors 

when in a rack of full-size power 

amplifers. Given the go-ahead on depth 

the designers made good use of the 

space and concentrated on DSP features 

and budgets. 

The Gear RT 

The next observation of the EV DC- 

One processor was the fresh metallic 

and black front panel with plenty of LED 

metering and LCD readout, but absence 

of encoder wheels. This set of cosmetics 

reminds me of modern auto dashboards 

where high visibility under dim lighting 

conditions is an engineering consideration. 

From left to right, the DC-One 

starts with a cute illuminated EV logo 

with a USB-B jack below for loading in 

patch information. Next, two 8-LED bargraphs 

track input signal levels from 

-30 to over +6 dBu levels plus a clip LED 

around +15 dBu. The maximum input is 

+21 dBu; this early warning is intended 

to give notification to the user before 

the input actually clips. 

The blue backlit 192 by 32 dot LCD 

provides three lines of information 

EV DC-One 

with a variable contrast feature for differing 

environments. After the display, 

16 white push-buttons allow entry, editing, 

and sub-menu selection of common 

input and output section features. 

For the pre-crossover side, the submenus 

are HPF, PEQ, GEQ and Delay. For 

the post-crossover side, the sub-menus 

are X-over, PEQ, Delay and Level. Com- 

While it is the expected one-rackspace 

high, the 14 inches of depth is way beyond 

the usual amount for these processors. 

pleting the front panel are the typical 

six groups of mute pushbuttons and 

LED bargraphs for each output channel. 

But unlike other speaker processors, the 

EV DC-One uses dual LED bargraphs for 

each channel. The first bargraph is your 

typical -15 dB to clip array of eight LEDs 

with the scaling to the limiter threshold 

instead of hard dBu values. The second 

bargraph contains another eight LEDs 

with the top four set to -3, -6, -9 and -12 

dB gain reduction indications of signal 

compression. The last four LEDs are just 

plain good information for indicating 

sub, low, mid or high frequency channel 

assignment. 

The back panel of the EV DC-One is 

no frills with the metallic finish surrounding 

the usual groupings of XLR jacks and 

the power on/off IEC input panel. The 

analog inputs are nicely grouped with in 

and thru jacking for ease of daisy-chain 

connections. Also, a pushbutton -6 dB 

input pad switch is included for those 

especially hot input signal levels (-21 

dBu before clip with switch engaged). 

This pad is inserted pre-A/D converter 

to ensure that the converter is not 

clipped by a hot signal. The max input is 

+21 dBu without the pad engaged and 

+27 dBu with the pad engaged. For digi- 


tal audio, a single XLR-F is provided for 

AES/EBU input interfacing. The six output 

channels are grouped together with 

XLR-M connectors with no other special 

features. Rounding out the back panel 

is a 9-pin D-sub connector for external 

line/relay controls. 

The Gig RT 

I found the DC-One intuitively easy 

to operate, even without the extensive 

owner’s manual available. Being a Minidrive 

user, I found the output channels 

a bit naked without a select button, 

but soon got used to the way the output 

menus wrapped around to all the 

settings with needing a channel select 

control. So, if you just tweaked in a subwoofer 

low-pass filter you can push up 

or down the entire parameter list to get 

to the high frequency parametric filters 

without channel selecting. Pressing a 

parameter button repeatedly scrolls 

through the same parameter for the 

other outputs). 

EV made a conscious design decision 

on the DC-One processor for 20 

user-configurable memory locations 

and provided 50 factory presets as templates 

to edit from. While you may not 

have Telex/EV speakers to steal presets 

from, if you have the brand speakers, 

setup will be a recall and store breeze. 

Since I had the tri-amped QRx212 over 

QRx218 subs, factory preset F28 was 

easy to get to and close to my evertweaked 

settings that I used before the 

DC-One came out. The factory settings 

were not shabby either as my SMAART 

frequency and phase traces confirmed. 

Out at the gigs, the EV DC-One did 

as expected, performing flawlessly 

without any hitches or audible artifacts. 

I intentionally cranked down on the limiters 

and found they did their job and 

did not crush the sonics too badly in 

the process. I found no niggles in my review, 

but I did hear of beta users having 

issues with the human interface early 

on. But now the bugs are gone resulting 

in a very fine piece of gear. 

EV DC-One Processor 

What It Is: Speaker processor. 

Pros: Low cost, professional feature 

set, clean processing. 

Cons: None. 

How Much: EV DC-One Processor: 

$980 SRP. 

Web site: www.electrovoice.com

36 

Road Test 

Yamaha IM8 Mixing Console 

Yamaha IM8 

I 

first had a look at the IM8 at the 

2008 winter NAMM show. John 

Schauer from Yamaha led me 

to the secret room where the not 

-yet-released board was waiting. Yamaha 

is not the only manufacturer 

that likes to keep their new products 

undercover until the moment of release. 

Just about every mixing console 

manufacturer conceals their new 

hardware until they are ready. What- 

ever the reasoning behind Yamaha's 

motives, John was definitely in secretagent 

mode at NAMM. He told me that 

this console was designed with houses 

of worship in mind. It has enough bells 

and whistles to satisfy a variety of mixing 

demands and is still very simple to 

operate. However, as I looked over the 

board, I thought it would work well in 

an array of operations outside of worship. 

I think this may be a good time 

to mention that this mixing console 

is built in the same factory as the PM 

boards. Just knowing this bit of information 

leads me to believe that 

this console is a well thought-out, designed 

and built console. 

The Gear RT 

All mono channels have both balanced 

XLR and TRS input jacks (Stereo 

channels have unbalanced stereo 

phone jacks and RCA jacks). You will 

also find one insert I/O and one direct 

out jack per mono channel. A +48-volt 

switch turns phantom power on and 

off at each mono channel followed by 

a 26-dB pad switch. The channel gain 

knob ranges from 60 dB to16 dB un- 

less the pad switch is engaged. In this 

case, the gain knob ranges from -34 dB 

to +10 dB. Stereo channel gain operates 

in the -34 dB to +10 dB range. The 

phase switch can come in handy and, 

of course, there is an 80-Hz high pass 

filter switch. Every mono channel also 

sports a one-knob compressor. Compression 

can incorporate a lot of complex 

parameters, but the Yamaha techs 

have squeezed them into one knob. 

The pre-amps are noticeably transparent 

and the EQ is smooth and accurate. 

These two characteristics 

of a console are enough to make or 

break it, and Yamaha knocked it out 

of the park for the price range. 

The four-band equalizer is next. 

Both mono and stereo channel high EQ 

and low EQ are fixed at 10 kHz and 100 

Hz. Mono channels have sweepable himid 

and low-mid, and stereo channels 

have their hi-mid fixed at 3 kHz and 

low-mid fixed at 800 Hz. 

All stereo and mono channels have 

eight individual aux sends. They are 

grouped in pairs for pre-fader and 

post-fader operations. The channel 

pan knob (mono) will get you into any 

of the eight groups or just send you 

left or right. The balance knob (stereo) 

adjusts the signal volume balance. The 

left input jack can be sent to the odd 

channel of the group or the left stereo 

bus and the right input jack can 

be sent to the even channels or right 

stereo bus. 

Input meters (mono and stereo) are 

made up of three LEDs and enable you 

to see if you are cruising along or slamming 

the channel input. Bus assign 

switches direct the signal to groups 

1/2 to 7/8 or the stereo or mono bus. 

You can mute your individual channel 

or assign it to the 1-4 master mutes to 

create up to four different mute configurations. 

This is a cool little feature. 


Of course, smooth, long faders are on 

board for each channel. Besides where 

would we be without a pre-fader listening 

switch (PFL)? 

The master section is well thoughtout 

beginning with the four stereo aux 

returns. These returns can be sent to 

the eight group, stereo or mono bus via 

the bus assign switches. Each aux return 

has a level knob and a PFL switch. 

The aux sends are routed through 

eight faders with LEDs and AFL switches. 

Just right of the aux returns are 

2-track stereo/mono in/USB section. 

Here you can choose from RCA, USB 

and mini-plug inputs plus RCA, USB 

record outputs. The master group faders 

have on/off switches, LEDs, mono 

and stereo routing switches and AFL 

switches. 

The matrix section gives you four 

matrix outs fed from the groups, stereo 

and mono bus — very handy for 

those extra outputs. They also have 

rotary level control knobs and AFL 

switches. Next to the matrix section 

are the four mute master switches. The 

talkback section lets you route your 

talkback signal just about everywhere: 

auxes, groups, stereo/mono or through 

the matrix outs. Of course, you have a 

level knob and on/off switch. The master 

stereo out incorporates two faders 

PFL and AFL switches, an on/off switch 

and a stereo LED meter. There is also a 

separate mono master fader out. Not 

to be forgotten is the monitor section 

with its LED meters, PFL/AFL, monitor 

and phone level rotary knobs. One last 

note on the stereo and mono master 

outs: They both sport insert I/Os for 

throwing of a graphic EQ of whatever. 

The Gig RT 

My biggest gig with the IM8 was 

at a Billy Vera show. I was testing the 

32-channel chassis using 28 of those 

channels. The first thing that comes to 

mind is that the mixer is designed very 

logically. When I am using a new console, 

I don't want to think too much 

about the hardware — I want knobs, 

switches and faders to be where I expect 

them and important ones in obvious 

color displays. Yamaha did a good 

By JamieRio 

job with this mixer’s overall design. 

The pre-amps are noticeably transparent 

and the EQ is smooth and accurate. 

These two characteristics of a console 

are enough to make or break it, and 

Yamaha knocked it out of the park for 

the price range. 

I was uncertain about the oneknob 

compression, but it worked well 

and came in handy for things like bass 

and drums. Having the compression 

knob right there without having to 

patch anything in is sweet. I was mixing 

monitors from FOH at this gig and 

having a good amount of aux sends 

made things easier. Also, the faders 

on the aux sends made adjustments 

more accurate. I had two drummers 

at this gig, so the sub-groups were 

a must. In addition, both drummers 

did not always play at the same time, 

in which case master mutes came in 

handy. 

Also worth mentioning is that the 

mixer feels solid. That may be a hard 

concept to get across, but it is the difference 

between working with a pro 

piece of equipment and a toy. Billy 

has four horn players (two trumpets 

and two saxes), and once again, the 

onboard compression was invaluable 

with this section (not to mention the 

sub-groups). I think Yamaha will be 

able to fill a whole lot of mixing needs 

and scenarios (over and above worship 

sound) with this console, and at 

this price point, it is available to just 

about anyone who wants it. 

Yamaha IM8 Mixing Console 

What It Is: Analog mixing console. 

Pros: Logically designed, smooth 

and accurate EQ, affordable price. 

Cons: Nada. 

How Much: IM8-24: $4,799, IM8-32: 

$5,799 and IM8-40: $6,499. 

Web site: www.yamahaca.com


38 

Digital Snakes Buyers Guide 

Digital Snakes 

By BillEvans 

It's either ironic or just plain dumb, but as the live event audio industry gets 

more and more digital, the one piece of the signal chain that most lends itself 

to bits and bytes — the transport of signal between stage, console and 

speakers — is the part that is having the hardest time really catching on. 

The biggest reason is the lack of any kind of standard and the fact that 

there are multiple companies making multiple products that are all really 

good, but will never work nicely together. Yep, that big roll of copper with the 

mass pins and XLR breakouts is big and heavy, but you can use it with any console 

or amp and not have to worry about what piece of gear is running what 

digital protocol and so on. 

Company Make Model MSRP Number of I/O Channels 

Aphex Systems, Ltd. 

www.aphex.com 

Aviom 

www.aviom.com 

Fiberplex 

www.lightviper.com 

Link 

www.linkusa-inc.com 

Mackie 

www.mackie.com 

Midas 

www.midasconsoles.com 

Music Sciences 

www.musicsciences.com 

NetworkSound, Inc 

www.networksound.com 

Optocore Inc. 

www.optocore.com 

Pro Co Sound 

www.procomomentum.com 

Riedel Communications Inc. 

www.hear-we-are.com 

Roland Systems Group 

www.rssamerica.com 

Salzbrenner Stagetec 

MediaGroup Inc. 

www.stagetec.com 

Whirlwind 

www.whirlwindusa.com 

Yamaha Commercial Audio 

Systems, Inc. 

www.yamahaca.com 

Aphex 

Anaconda Model 

828 

Aviom Pro64 Series 

LightViper 

DGLink 

System 1832 

Shadow 

System 4832 

DGlink64-64-12AES- 

12Analog 


$1,249.00 each end 64 channels bi-directional simultaneously. 

48 x 16 Pro64 digital snake with analog outputs: 

$41,800.00 

$7,444.00 (32 x 8 system, no splits with 300’ Neutrik 

OpticalCon fiber cable using VIM-MY32 cards for 

Yamaha.) 

$24,000.00 (32 x 32 including 32 remotely 

controllable mic pre’s, MADI console interface, 300’ 

single-mode fiber.) 

$5,324.00 (32 x 8 system, no splits, 300’ Neutrik 

OpticalCon fiber cable, VIM-MY32 cards for Yamaha.) 

Pro64 Series products are modular and provide system configurations from 16 x 0 to 64 x 64 

channels. Adding more I/O or multiple digital splits is as simple as plugging in a Cat-5 cable. 

32 sends, 8 returns per system. Multiple systems can be used in parallel for larger channel counts. 

Up to 256 bi-directional channels at clock speeds up to 192 k. 

32 sends, 8 returns per system. Multiple systems can be used in parallel for higher channel counts. 

$13,043.00-$23,012.00 64 x 64 EtherSound + 24 AES3 and/or analog. 

Mackie DS3232 $5,599.00 32 x 32 channels of analog I/O with balanced XLR connectively. 

Midas 

DL431 with DL451 

or DL351 

$26,589.00 / $1,1078.00 per channel. Configurable. 

Inputs - DL431 24-channel 5-way input splitter. 24 inputs x 24 (120), outputs - up to 192 x 192 (960). 

Three microphone preamps per channel (Pre A - AES50 & analog, Pre B - AES50 & analog, Pre C - TX 

isolated). Front-panel control & monitoring. Dual redundant power supplies, outputs - DL451 (24 

ch.) or DL351 (64 ch.) 

Mongoose MMS-33216A $16,995.00 32 x 16, expandable to 64 x 16. 

Mamba 32MLPPR $2,999.00 

32 sends, 32 returns. Built-in cable redundancy, 96k/24 bit sample, RS232 for remote control and 

distance up to 450 feet cat-5. Aux1 and Aux 2 on same cat5 for COM, video monitor, etc. Split to 

FOH and mon mix options. 

Optocore Various models $3,444.00-$27,895.00 512 ch. inputs/outputs plus video, RS485, DMX, MIDI, computer data. 

Momentum 

mi8, mo8, mo8me, 

mrc, md16ae 

$499.00-$3399.00 

Momentum is a multicast network capable of utilizing up to 256 mic or line level inputs. These 

inputs can be received by multiple outputs on the network. 

Riedel RockNet 300 $29,500.00 160 channels (assignable to 764 outputs). 

RSS 

S4k3208SYS $7,495.00 32 inputs, 8 outputs. 

S-1608SYS $3,295.00 16 inputs, 8 outputs. 

Stagetec Nexus $40,000.00+ 

Whirlwind E Snake 

Starting at $4,999.95 for a 16 x 0 A/D front end and 

up depending on channel count and 

I/O configuration. 

Yamaha SB168-ES Stage Box $4,399.00 

In the install world this is less of an issue, which is why digital distribution 

of audio is actually becoming somewhat common. But on the road, not so 

much. 

We usually just put a category out there and allow gear makers to "self-qualify." 

In other words, we are not going to define a large-format line array. If it is the largest 

box you make, it is your large-format array. But here we actually had to lay down 

some ground rules. We kept it simple. In order to qualify as a snake, the digital device 

had to be capable of at least 32 sends and eight returns, handle all D/A and A/D 

conversion and had to be able to connect to other gear using industry-standard 

connectors. Here is what we got back. Remember, your mileage may vary... 

Fully digital distributed routing system. Completely modular system based on TDM technology. Each 

base device can process 256 different signals and are interconnected via fiber optic cables. A small 

system might consist of a single-base device connected to a control computer (when required). A larger 

system may contain several distributed base devices and often include multiple control computers. 

From 8 to 64 on 100 Base-T Ethernet network, many more with Gigabit Ethernet. 

16 channels in with remote HA, and 8 out, EtherSound format, 24 bit. Up to four digital Stage Box 

units can be connected offering a total of 64 inputs and 32 outputs, depending on the number of 

YGDAI card slots available on the specific Yamaha console.

Midas DL431 

Breakout Description Optical Connectors Digital Transfer Protocol 

8 ADAT inputs and outputs, models 188,1788A remote pre; model 141 D/A; model 

142 A/D; model 144 bi-directional AES/ADAT; 8 clock outputs; RJ-45. 

Pro64 digital snakes combine the analog with the flexibility of digital in a system 

that provides audio fidelity. 

Mixer box - analog & digital; DB25 to various connector types. VIM-MY32 - YGDAI 

cards for direct digital fiber optic input to Yamaha digital consoles. 

DB25 to various connector types. 

Mixer box; analog & digital - DB25 to various connectors. VIM-MY32 cards; Direct 

digital fiber optic input to YGDAI slots in Yamaha digital consoles. 

All inclusive, modular, multi-protocol, hybrid snake that provides a single source of 

connectivity for analog/digital audio & comm. systems. 

I/O is digitally controlled from the TT24 console at 24-bit 96 kHz including 48v 

Phantom power, 23 dB pad, Mic pre-gain range, variable HPF. 

Analog XLR, Analog TRS or AES3 XLR. Front-panel control and 

remote computer control coming soon. 

Stage box - 32 female xlr, 16 male xlr. FOH box- 32 male xlr, 16 female xlr. 

Proprietary microwave link; wired option/redundant/digital split. 

The mic and line inputs on stage are available as XLR/TRS. All other I/O are on DB25 

(Tascam). DB25 to XLR pig tail cables are needed. 

14 models create a network up to 24 node locations up to 70 miles away. Specific 

models for AES, MADI (electrical), MADI (optical) and Ethernet. 

Momentum outputs are available in balanced XLR, phoenix connector 

or DB-25 analog audio. 

Various 19“/1RU breakouts incl. 8x mic / line in ADC, 8x line out DAC, 8x digital in 

AES/EBU, 8x digital out AES/EBU and 16x Yamaha MY Interface I/O. 

Stage: XLR in, XLR out. FOH: 5 DB25 breakout cables to 8-channel XLR. Optional: 

Stage unit populated with analog or AES/EBU XLR cards. 

XLR in, XLR out 

Mackie DS3232 

Stage boxes/base devices (3, 6, 9 or 12U) provide all the necessary I/O resources in 

the appropriate formats via standard ports. 

All analog I/O is configurable in 8-channel groups of mic, line or AES/EBU digital 

audio. 

Remote-control of analog mic/line inputs each with head amp. 48 kHz. Use with 

M7CL, LS9 consoles, also used/controlled by PM5D, DM2000, DM1000, DME. 

Yamaha SB168-ES 

A group shot of Optocore digital snakes Aviom digital snakes 

SC or ST Multimode 

(single-mode option). 

MH10f Hubs have fiber ports 

with SFP transceivers. 

Yes. TAC4, Neutrik OpticalCon, 

LC, ST. 

Yes. SFP 

(small form factor pluggable). 

Yes. TAC4, Neutrik OpticalCon, 

LC, ST. 

No. XLR 3 balanced, EtherCon, 

RJ-45. 


Proprietary. Non-packetized data transfer less than 50 microsec plus the speed of light latency between ends. 10 

MB bandwidth for control and metering. 

A-Net is designed specifically for the demands of streaming audio, with features such as reduced latency, longer 

cable runs and improved clock performance. 

TDM (time division multiplexing). 

AES3, EtherSound currently supported, AES50, DANTE, MAD, Yamaha Remote HA Control in development. 

No Proprietary 

AES50 RJ45/Ethercon with 

CAT5e cable 100 meter, optical 

with XL8 & PRO6. 

AES50 open architectural specification fixed latency of 70µsec. Forward error detection, correction & logging. 

24-channel bi-directional audio, sampling rate of 96 kHz, 24-bit word length, includes clock data for hardware 

sync & spare bandwidth for 3rd party standard Ethernet control data. This is equivalent to a 48-pair snake. 

No Proprietary 

Works over standard external 

media converters. 

Two optical links per unit, SC 

connectors. 

Yes, optional, ST or OpticalCon. 

Yes, universal transceivers for 

SM or MM fibers. 

No 

Yes. TOSLINK patched to inputs 

1+2. 

Yes. Single mode with 

redundant paths. 

MediaNet - Synchronus and low latency protocol to deliver uncompressed audio, video and control on same Cat- 

5. Digital I2S-I2S latency in less than 200 microsec. 

Proprietary sychronous network with 3 level fault tolerant backup. Optocore can directly interface with Yamaha, 

DiGiCo, Soundcraft or Studer digital consoles as well as any analog console. 

AES3 via the md16ae unit. This unit simultaneously transmits and receives 16 channels of AES to and from 

Momentum’s network. 

RockNet’s proprietary core technologies feature Lateral ultra-low latency asynchronous transmission of 160 audio 

channels on CAT5 cable with Ethercon RJ45 network connectors. 

REAC. Supports up to 40 channels at 24-bit 96 Khz. Can be switched with 

standard gigabit Ethernet switching hubs. 

Proprietary. All types of signals can be transported: mics, analog, AES/EBU, SDI, HDSDI, MADI, GPI/O, 

RS422, MIDI, etc. Audio conversion at 24 bits and 44.1, 48, 88.2 or 96 kHz sample rates. 

Yes, with media converters. CobraNet or EtherSound 

XLR 3 balanced, EtherCon, RJ-45 

Whirlwind E Snake 

Pro Co Sound Momentum 

I/Os can be assigned to any of 64 ch. on AuviTran ES-100 for EtherSound connectivity. Noise resistant, ensures 

audio quality is maximized by keeping length of mic cables as short as possible. 

2008 NOVEMBER 

39

Regional Slants 

John Rogers, marketing specialist for Midwest 

Sound and Lighting, knows that one 

of the reasons Midwest Sound and Lighting 

has been around since 1979 is because of 

the company’s dedication to simply getting 

the job done. 

“We always talk about having cuttingedge 

technology with a Midwestern work 

ethic,” he says. “Of course, we’ve got all sorts 

of new gear, but the real important stuff still 

hasn’t changed. It’s still about relationships; 

there is still a voice on the phone or in front 

of you that cares or knows what to do and is 

motivated to make it right. That’s what keeps 

our doors open and our phones ringing.” 

The phones at the Omaha, Neb.-based 

company started to ring in 1979 when the 

company’s founder, John Kanuth, would 

load up his van with a Biamp 2442 console, 

a handful of Dukane speakers and Altec 9440 

amps. John started the company with an eye 

toward servicing the town’s bands as well as 

some regional acts. 

“John had a band in high school, so he 

had a passion for making sound better,” Rogers 

says. “He started with humble beginnings 

and then would acquire a few more amps, a 

little more bottom end as Midwest was just a 

fledging company doing local work.” 

Political Payday FOH 

That fledgling company spent the early 

‘80s building a reputation for service and 

dependability before being tapped to start 

handling event production for Nebraska’s 

governor at the time, Charles Thone. It was 

an interesting move. “You go where you see a 

void,” Rogers states, “where there’s work to be 

done. The gig with Governor Thone opened 

doors into the political arena and the work 

that could be had in the political and corporate 

world.” 

Midwest has remained active in the political 

world ever since, including the 1988 

vice presidential debate with Dan Quayle and 

Lloyd Bentsen. (It was during that debate that 

Senator Bentsen retorted, “I served with Jack 

Kennedy, I knew Jack Kennedy, Jack Kennedy 

was a friend of mine. Senator, you’re no Jack 

Kennedy!”) More recently, the company provided 

sound services for Sens. Barack Obama 

and Hillary Clinton during the 2008 presidential 

primary season. 

Midwest also continued to build its music 

clientele list from local bands to country 

legend Tammy Wynette to some of today’s 

hottest acts when they come through town. 

The company’s production department has 

grown to service local theater companies and 

acts that come through the state and county 

fairs. 

In addition, Midwest pros are working at 

corporate events for companies like ConAgra 

Foods, Mutual of Omaha, Berkshire Hathaway 

and Omaha Steaks. “There are people that 

we’ve worked for time and time again,” Rog- 


FIlling 

the Void 

Midwest Sound Production Manager Cody Seebohm (left) with El Tri’s monitor engineer. Setting up for Mexican blues/hard rock band El Tri’s concert. Crowd shot at the Big Ticket Fest in Gaylord, Mich. 

Midwest Sound and Lighting started with regional acts before opening its doors to the political arena. 

By David JohnFarinella 

ers reports. “So, if they have a convention in 

Miami Beach or San Diego, we put our stuff 

in trucks and go. Obviously, there are sound 

companies in those areas, but we think we 

spoil them enough with our service and 

hands-on detail that they hire us.” 

Midwest’s gear collection has grown from 

a Biamp console, Dukane speakers and Altec 

amps that Kanuth used in the early years. 

These days they rely on Yamaha PM5D and 

M7CL consoles, EAW KF750 and 755 speakers, 

Crown Macrotech amps and more to pull off 

shows. “It’s not anything that’s overly sexy or 

unusual,” Rogers says. 

Multiple Streams FOH 

Beyond production services, the company’s 

two offices (an office in Omaha opened in 

1983) offer equipment repair and rental, design 

and installation and sales. The multiple 

revenue streams, Rogers states, help ensure 

that the company will continually be in the 

black. 

In addition to its secular design and installation 

work — including the largest community 

theater in the nation, Omaha Community 

Playhouse, where they have supplied audio, 

wireless and lighting installations — Midwest 

became known for their work in houses 

of worship. “We were careful to respect the 

sacred nature of the churches and to not 

change them into looking like sound stores,” 

Rogers explains. 

Based on that success, the company held 

a pair of technology and worship conferences 

that brought together churches of all sizes 

and equipment designers and manufacturers. 

“We had seminars on acoustics and mixing to 

try to educate the house-of-worship market 

as to why just a garden variety sound system 

might not be their best choice,” Rogers says. 

The future of Midwest includes the 

growth of all five channels, reports Rogers, 

with special attention to remaining profitable. 

“In this ever-more price driven climate, 

especially with the high cost of diesel when 

we talk about road shows and taking our 

production rig on the road, it’s ever tougher 

to stay profitable,” he says. “There are people 

out there that will go for that low-dough bid 

where you might not get what you hoped for, 

but the number looks better, and sometimes 

that is the driving factor. Pleasing the customer 

has to stay job one, but job two is staying 

profitable.” 

The company’s Nebraska location, it turns 

out, has helped Midwest Sound and Lighting 

in this area. “We enjoy a couple luxuries 

that may be the higher concentrations on the 

coasts don’t,” Rogers explains. “While we probably 

didn’t enjoy the height of the bubble and 

boom that happened some years ago to buoy 

everybody up, I don’t think we’ve hit the bottom 

of the trough that those areas have had, 

too. It’s kind of like having a compressor on 

our business.” 

Midwest Sound provided crew and gear for Big Ticket Fest 2008 in Gaylord, Mich. Midwest Sound is known for their work at houses of worship such as Savior Lutheran Church in Omaha, Neb. 

40


42 

The Bleeding Edge 

Networking for a 

Successful Career 

The editors of FOH recently received an 

interesting e-mail from a gentleman 

who informed us that he was a university 

student studying computer programming and 

networking, and that he also did live sound on 

a part-time basis. He wanted to know if we had 

any ideas about how he might be able to apply 

his knowledge in the computer field to audio, 

enabling him to combine his two interests as 

a career. If this question was raised barely 10 

or 12 years ago, the answer to that question 

would be an emphatic “no.” However, we’ve 

seen a long-term trend that goes something 

like this: Computer hardware and software 

developers create technology for moving data 

from place to place, and then the audio industry 

adapts that technology for use in moving 

audio from place to place. 

The prime example of this trend is Ethernet. 

The computer industry developed 

Ethernet as an efficient means of data sharing, 

whereby users can visit a common area 

(server) for uploading and downloading files, 

or simply dropping a file onto a coworker’s 

desktop. The grunt work of Ethernet — the 

development of cabling, connectors, routers, 

etc. — had already been done, and the computer 

industry absorbed the expense. In fact, 

Ethernet really doesn’t discriminate against 

any type of data, though as you’d expect, 

moving large files (video for example) via Ethernet 

can be a time-consuming process. 

A Plethora of Pipelines EDGE 

Needless to say, Ethernet has been a 

smash hit. The audio industry realized that we 

could use Ethernet infrastructure (i.e. the connection 

devices and cabling) to route audio. 

One of the first audio companies to employ 

this concept was QSC with their RAVE (Route 

Audio Via Ethernet) products, and CobraNet 

from Peak Audio. The CobraNet protocol is 

open to any manufacturer who wishes to license 

the technology for use in their gear and 

can carry 64 channels of 48 kHz/20-bit audio 

plus control data over a single CAT-5 cable. 

Though most audio networking protocols are 

mutually exclusive, similar connectivity technology 

is used for a variety of audio networks 

from various manufacturers including Aviom 

A-Net, BSS Soundweb, EtherSound, Harman’s 

HiQnet, Crown’s IQ Network, Hear Technology’s 

HearNet, Peavey MediaMatrix, REAC 

(Roland Ethernet Audio Communication) and 

Yamaha mLAN. Each of these networks is a 

world unto its own, but (with the exception 

of mLAN, which is based on IEEE 1394) they 

share Ethernet infrastructure: cables, connectors, 

hubs, routers, etc. In spite of the fact that 

they are transporting audio, connection and 

setup of these networks is much more akin to 

creating a computer network, and more than 

ever computer-savvy operators, or rather 

network-savvy operators, are needed to configure 

them. 

The networks mentioned above are used 

to send and receive digital audio, but other audio-related 

networks are designed to provide 

network control and monitoring over a variety 

of audio devices such as power amplifiers, PA 

system processors or even reverb units. As an 

example, Crown's original IQ network is a digitally 

controlled network for remote control 

and monitoring of power amplifiers. HiQnet 

from Harman is a communications protocol 

shared by Harman Pro brands including AKG, 

BSS Crown, dbx, JBL, Lexicon, Soundcraft and 


Studer. Entire HiQnet audio systems may be 

configured and controlled using Harman Pro’s 

System Architect software. 

There are probably as many power amplifier 

network protocols as there are power 

amplifier manufacturers including Lab.gruppen’s 

NomadLink, CAMCO Adaptive Intelligence 

(CAI), Crest NexSys, Crown TCP/IQ, 

Powersoft PowerControl, QSC’s QSControl. 

net, Peavey’s MediaMatrix and Yamaha’s 

NetworkAmp Manager. Most of these networks 

are designed to control and monitor 

the amps remotely. A computer that is connected 

to the network can “look” at each amp, 

running an application that shows a variety of 

information about each amp on the network 

including such parameters as input attenuation, 

mute, channel polarity, output voltage, 

clipping, temperature and power status. It 

won’t be long before just about every piece 

of audio gear will have a network port, much 

like we saw with the evolution of MIDI. 

New Age, New Skills EDGE 

So what does this mean for a person who 

has skills in computer networking and pro audio? 

It opens the door to a multitude of possibilities. 

While it’s doubtful that a corporate 

“PA-on-a-stick” gig will employ networking, a 

large-scale tour with high-powered PA using 

multi-amplification and digital system processing 

will require a network-literate engineer 

for configuration and implementation. 

Installed systems are another area where 

network control and monitoring is becoming 

the norm and not the exception. PA systems 

By SteveLaCerra 

that are used in amusement parks and sports 

arenas routinely employ audio networking, 

especially since it’s easy to have “extra” CAT- 

5 cable pulled through walls and ceilings 

along with the requisite cable that’s going 

Computer developers create technology for moving data, and 

then the audio industry adapts that technology to move audio. 

into place for the facility’s computer network 

anyway. Keep in mind that existing facilities 

are more open to the concept of a new audio 

system installed via network as opposed 

to conventional copper multipair, which is 

expensive, bulky and hard to pull through 

walls and ceilings. Audio by network may also 

be preferred in casino showrooms where the 

house does not want visitors getting into the 

system parameters. It’s easy to lock snoopers 

out of a system when the rack gear doesn’t 

have any front-panel controls and requires a 

computer to access parameters. 

The future of the audio industry is going 

to require a network protocol standard 

so that devices from different manufacturers 

can talk to each other, much in the manner 

that MIDI became a communication protocol 

for synths. There is a huge variety of network 

formats from competing manufacturers, none 

of which can talk to each other, and none of 

them are free and open as are most successful 

standards in the audio industry. A networking 

standard would benefit our entire industry 

and needs to be developed by someone who 

is literate in both the audio and computer 

worlds. How ‘bout that? 

Steve”Woody” La Cerra is still out on tour mixing 

front-of-house for Blue Öyster Cult. He can be 

reached via email at Woody@fohonline.com. 

Business Owners 

and Managers: 

Make sure your staff is upto-date 

on the industry by 

having them read Front Of 

House every month. Send 

your company an e-mail 

with our URL 

www.fohonline. 

com/subscribe/ 

and encourage them to get 

their own subscription. 

If they your business, 

they should be seriously 

reading... 

www.fohonline.com


44 

Welcome To My Nightmare 

Walking Into , er, Philly… 

I 

have never considered anything that has 

gone wrong, or changed, to be a nightmare. 

It has always been a learning experience, 

and then I keep it in the back of my 

head for the future. However, I just got back 

from a nightmare. 

We did a private event with a big 

name act one night. I brought the PA, 

tweaked it to my liking and then let 

the band’s engineer take over with his 

board. All I did was take a feed from him 

and then let him do his thing. At the 

last minute, we got another show in the 

same room with the same gear the following 

day. The only thing that I could 

get out of anyone is that two big names 

are to show up. Great, the truck left and 

now I have this to think about. On top 

of that, I will not have a monitor engineer 

and I only have two wedges that I 

can give them. I knew I was walking into 

hell. 

The day of the show comes and we get 

in five hours before show time. I start working 

with what I can. Three hours before show 

In The Trenches 

Stewart Godfrey 

FOH Engineer 

Village Sound Company 

Owings Mills, MD 

www.villagesoundcompany.com 

410.356.2121 

sgodfrey@villagesoundco.com 

Services Provided: Live sound reinforcement, 

design and installation of AV systems. 

Clients: Recent festivals include the Federal 

Hill Festival in Baltimore and the Projekt 

Music Festival in Winchester, Va.; Biodiesel, 

Dr. Fameus, Kelly Bell Band, The Bridge, 

Basshound, The Cheaters and many other 

local Baltimore acts. 

Quote: “Whatever you do, take care of your 

shoes.” 

Personal Info: I graduated from Salisbury 

University in 2005, and then from the Sheffield 

Recording Institute in 2006. I have 

been working at Village Sound Company for 

a little over two years now and continue to 

rock with great Baltimore bands! 

Hobbies: Drums, guitar, recording, running, 

wiffle ball and traveling. 

Equipment: Yamaha M7CL & LS9, Midas 

Venice 320, Meyer Sound MSL4s, UPA-1s 

and 650-Ps. 

Don’t Leave Home Without: Coffee and a 

Sharpie. 

Hell 

Stewart Godfrey 


Technical Coordinator 

for Performing Arts 

Longwood Gardens, Inc. 

Kennett Square, PA 

longwoodgardens.org 

610.388.1000 

khomer@longwoodgardens.org 

Services Provided: Complete audio, 

lighting and video production. 

Ken Homer 

Clients: Sophie Milman, Turtle Island 

Quartet, Kenny Garrett, Derek Trucks Band, 

Susan Tadeschi, Trout Fishing in America, 

Eric Bibb. 

Quote: “Life is a bitter pill.” 

www.tonygleeson.com 

Personal Info: 35 years in the biz running 

clubs and venues or touring doing audio. 

Hobbies: Reading and pingpong. 

Equipment: Soundcraft, Yamaha, Crown, 

QSC JBL, EV, Community, EAW, Shure, AKG, 

Neumann, ETC. 

time and I get stage plots. I need eight mixes 

and nine wedges plus amps. Now I need 

an engineer and one that can run a digital 

board. We find an engineer — he was great 

— and we found some wedges somewhere 

with Crown amps. 

We are still setting up during that first 

band’s sound check. The second band 

comes on stage and moves everything! 

Mics get cross-patched and are everywhere 

now. It took the both of us forever to figure 

out where every mic was. Each band played 

about 25 minutes and we had a few minutes 

for changeover. It was relentless — no one 

telling me anything and everything getting 

cross-patched. 

I look back at it now and can laugh 

because I could have done a few things to 

make things easier, and I still can’t believe 

how fast I was moving that day. What I didn’t 

mention was that I was in Philly, and anyone 

that works out there knows that it is nothing 

but hell! 

Brian Crowley 

Ken Homer 

Don’t leave home without: Sharpie, Gaff, 

Leatherman, flashlight and good help. 

If you’d like to see yourself featured in “In the Trenches,” visit www.fohonline.com/trenches 

to submit your information to FOH, or e-mail trenches@fohonline.com for more info.


46 

Theory and Practice 

Generators: 

Size Counts By 

When forced with the option 

to use portable generators 

for live production, there are 

aspects that most sound engineers 

do not understand. While install power 

connections are reasonably lightly 

loaded for the audio watts provided, 

the nature of the current demands 

will vary with the music intensity of 

the performance and needs to be 

considered with portable power. 

Yes, there are stories of success 

using small generators designed for 

the RV and household emergency 

power markets; these scenarios are 

very conscious of the limitations and 

the gear is minimal to do the gig. A 

typical rock ‘n’ roll show, even with 

local talent production standards 

and modest audience, can draw tens 

of thousands of “peak” watts during 

the course of the event. No gennycart 

I know of would survive that kind 

of show; and if the constant breaker 

tripping doesn’t get you, the possibility 

of equipment damage due to 

under voltage and under frequency 

is likely. 

Understanding the Load T P 

So, how do you size a generator? 

Well, a fair and conservative assessment 

of the power “loading” needs 

to be done. Audio equipment like 

mixing consoles, signal processing 

and wireless equipment are the easy 

items because they mostly draw consistent 

current at 120 volts AC. But 

audio power amplifiers are where 

things get difficult. The good news 

is that the higher frequency audio 

signals are filtered by the power supplies 

within the amplifiers and just 

the amplitudes of the signals are 

brought back as power supply demand. 

So, the amplifiers will draw 

based on the loudness demands 

throughout the show. 

For instance, subwoofer power 

amplifiers will draw power in impulses 

as each kick drum hit occurs and 

bass guitar note attack sounds. The 

power distribution will see an ampere 

or two continuously with 10 ampere 

or more impulse draws to replenish 

in the internal amplifier power supply 

as the source material demands. 

The midrange and high frequency 

power amplifiers also have the same 

crescendo demands, but typically the 

impulses are wider and less intense. 

Given all the amplification with each 

amp’s internal power supply needing 

replenishment with the source audio, 

the power distribution and portable 

generator peak/average demands 

vary a lot. 

Genny Design T P 

Generator designers are not dumb 

engineers, and they do understand 

that some load tasks will require a 

lot of peak current demand with lower 

average demand. To accomplish 

the provision for peaks, the electric 

AC generator transfers the electrical 

demand back as resistance to shaft 

rotation of the generator’s armature. 

To counter this variable mechanical 

problem, a beefy “flywheel” is 


employed. The flywheel stores rotational 

energy and keeps the generator 

shaft moving at constant speed 

(nearly) as the generator varies its 

torque demands. There are two ways 

to deal with kind of loading. One is 

to design AC generator systems for 

“show power,” in which variable loading 

is a given and the sufficiently 

oversized flywheel is provided to ensure 

the voltage and frequency are 

stable for the event. The other way is 

to just choose a larger-than-required 

AC generator to oversize the flywheel 

and everything else. 

A portable generator also uses a 

diesel or gas engine as the energy 

source. But just like driving a vehicle 

using the accelerator pedal, engine 

response can be hundreds of milliseconds, 

which is slow compared to 

the load demands. That is why the 

flywheel effect is essential to power 

regulation while waiting for the engine 

to sense shaft speed slowing 

and to add fuel to speed up back to 

normal. 

To be honest, the best practice on 

genny selection is to do both items 

when specifying a generator for a 

gig. Ask for both a “showpower” generator, 

and more power capacity than 

is required to produce the show. Besides, 

you may get stage lighting and 

concession loading if the promoter is 

not aware. 

Practice T P 

In practice, a good rule of thumb 

is to compute your audio loading at 

MarkAmundson 

maximum capability and then double 

that value. For example, my rig offers 

about 10 kW at FOH and a similar value 

to the stage monitors, but I will 

specify a 45 kW to 50 kW showpower 

generator or more for outdoor gigs. 

Not only do most showpower generators 

have extra engine muffling for 

quiet backstage operation, but the 

design is conservative for live audio 

work. 

Stage lighting can work with you 

or against you if tacked on to the 

same generator. Today’s actively lit 

shows routinely go from very dim to 

very intense lighting (e.g. audience 

blinders) to accent the performance. 

If you are on the edge on either generator 

capacity or using a generator 

with not much ability to keep voltage 

or frequency stable, then adding 

some constant stage wash lighting 

will help lower the peak loading with 

respect to average loading. My advice 

is to always error on the side of 

plenty of genny power. 

STAGING • LIGHTING • SOUND 

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www.fohbookshelf.com

By DanDaley 

Scientific protocol calls for lots of 

testing before a product is finally 

assembled. However, in the highly 

subjective and opinionated realm of 

loudspeakers, testing has become not 

so much an afterthought as an afterthe-fact 

proposition in some instances. 

The transducer and cabinet assembly of 

each component in a line array are subjected 

to plenty of testing as each element 

is developed and connected, but 

the dynamic and incrementally minute 

nature of the line array itself tends to 

get its final checks in situ, flying above 

the crowd. 

Routine Systems Testing BIZ 

JBL has historically been a major 

proponent of systems testing — during 

the development of the VerTec line array 

system at the turn-of-the-century 

rigs were routinely set up in the parking 

lot and on the roof to check ground 

planes and other splays, and in one instance, 

an entire system was set up in 

an airplane hangar at Van Nuys airport 

near the Harman Industries’ headquarters. 

“This enabled JBL engineers to 

validate correlations of predictive software 

tools with actual measurements 

of large-scale arrays, which is especially 

important with line-array type system 

formats,” recalls David Scheirman, JBL’s 

vice president of tour sound. 

“The issue with very large sound 

systems is that the bigger they get, the 

farther away you have to measure them 

from and it can reach the point where it 

becomes less and less practical to test 

physically,” comments Paul Bauman, 

JBL’s director of tour sound engineering. 

Tips ‘n’ Tricks 

Combating Feedback 

Even though monitor placement is 

simple, it is very important. Where you 

place your monitors can affect the perceived 

tone and be an important tool 

in combating feedback. If you ask your 

worship band players or singer where 

they want their monitors placed you 

may find that they have some very specific 

ideas about placement. I like to 

have my wedge set at about 10 o'clock 

to my left. I play 12-string acoustic guitar 

at my church and if I place the monitor 

directly in front of me, there is a 

good chance my guitar will feed back. 

At 10 o'clock, I can hear the wedge and 

I am off axis for resonance-induced 

feedback from my guitar. 

— Jamie Rio from his “Sound 

Sanctuary” column in the October 

2008 issue. 

It’s a pragmatic and logistical problem, 

but one rooted in ideology as much as 

science. “Back in the early days of EASE 

there was a debate over angular resolution,” 

says Bauman. “The analogy to that 

today is whether you can accurately extrapolate 

far-field data from near field 

measurements.” 

A Small and Interesting Niche BIZ 

This situation, along with the proliferation 

of line arrays being used in applications 

ranging from massive arenas 

to small clubs, has created a small and interesting 

niche, one that more and more 

systems designers and component manufacturers 

are coming to rely on. In the 

1960s and ‘70s, Ron Sauro used to work at 

NASA, measuring trajectories that would 

help put Voyager, Pioneer and Apollo 

spacecraft into space. One of the human 

manifestations of the peace dividend, 

Sauro now parses data about speakers in 

his lab in Santa Clarita, Calif., where his 

company NWAA Labs tries to bring some 

order to a combination of tricky measurements 

and marketing-speak. “It used to 

be that you could measure key aspects, 

like magnitude and phase, of a speaker in 

a system fairly easily when most AP systems 

took the form of clusters,” he says. 

“Once the line array became popular, it 

was slowly realized that it couldn’t be 

measured accurately the same way. With 

a cluster, you could take all of the far-field 

information and trace it back to a single 

point in space. But with line arrays, where 

the point sources are multiple and highly 

variable, you have to measure more and 

from farther away to create a meaningful 

set of data.” 


NWAA accomplishes this with its 

MACH (Multi-Angle Computerized High- 

Speed) testing system, which uses a proprietary 

array comprised of 19 matched 

Earthworks M-30 microphones and a 

Linear X precision turntable capable of 

0.1-degree accuracy. It simultaneously 

samples impulse responses within an 

anechoic chamber and uses these to 

create loudspeaker radiation “balloons” 

(a graph of a sound radiation pattern) 

in a fraction of the time used by other 

testing methods. This data is gathered 

by a multi-channel version of EASERA 

and is then converted to EASE V4, EASE 

V3, CLF 1 and 2 formats for transmission 

to the client or user. If you were to apply 

the older methodology of taking 2,500 

[impulse response] measurements to a 

line array, it would take you a week,” he 

says. Using MACH, he says they can do it 

in less than an hour, yet still measuring 

for every possible configuration of LF, 

MF and HF boxes at any and all possible 

angles, by rotating the box around the 

axis of the driver. 

Cutting Through the Clutter BIZ 

While some of his clients are systems 

designers seeking to cut through the 

clutter of marketing materials masquerading 

as spec sheets, the majority are 

actually the speaker makers themselves, 

including JBL, Meyer and EAW, seeking 

to provide their customers a more valid 

way to compare performance characteristics 

before a system is hung. What 

becomes an enormous amount of measurement 

data is codified into a program 

called Generic Listening Library 

(GLL), that seeks to document and ar- 

The Biz 

Testing, Testing… 

chive performance records of all types 

of speakers. 

The message, though, should be less 

about the data than how it is used, says 

Pat Brown, president of Synergetic Audio 

Concepts (Syn-Aud-Con) in Greenville, 

Ind., and its testing division, Electro- 

Acoustic Testing Co., one of a handful 

of independent testing facilities in the 

sector. “There is good agreement on the 

required data set for simple loudspeakers 

with modeling as the stated objective, 

[but]… it is more important that 

the data be appropriate for the device 

being tested,” Brown cautions. “Understanding 

loudspeaker data is not trivial, 

and comparing different loudspeakers 

with a few ‘one number’ metrics such 

as sensitivity or power handling can be 

completely meaningless. Unfortunately, 

this is often how the buying decision is 

made, and this fact can affect how loudspeaker 

specifications are determined 

and published. Collecting the data is a 

much easier task than conveying to the 

end user what it means and how to use 

it in a meaningful way.” 

Testing at this level is likely to remain 

a niche, albeit an intense one. 

“There’s something to be said for having 

an independent, impartial laboratory 

do these kinds of measurements,” 

says Bauman. “It’s reassuring to clients 

like sound designers who deal with issues 

like allocating the resources and 

time needed to do it right, which is often 

not practical even for large manufacturers 

anymore.” 

Dan Daley can be reached at ddaley@ 

fohonline.com 

2008 NOVEMBER 

47 


48 

Sound Sanctuary 

Putting on the 

By JamieRio 

Righteous Squeeze 

I 

have spent the last few months going 

over the basics of HOW sound systems. 

All of you have varied levels of proficiency 

with regard to your sound technician skills; 

however, going over basic principles is a 

good thing. Do you ever ask why your priest, 

pastor, rabbi, etc., has gone over some of the 

basic tenants of your particular religion more 

than once? Their purpose is to build a strong 

foundation for your faith. Well, it’s the same 

in worship sound. Obviously, not as lofty, but 

we can agree that a solid foundation to our 

work (volunteer or not) is a good thing. 

That said, on with this month’s installment. 

I want to take a closer look at your average 

compressor. More than likely you have 

one of these in your outboard rack. If you 

don’t, talk with your worship leaders about 

purchasing one. A compressor is also known 

as a dynamic processor. It is designed to automatically 

control the volume or dynamics 

of the sound traveling through it. Compressors 

can improve the intelligibility of vocals 

and control where instruments are placed in 

the overall mix. 

Understanding the Parameters SS 

To understand how to properly use 

a compressor we will need to understand 

the parameters of this piece of 

outboard gear. I have no idea what 

make or model you have in your house, 

but I will touch on the five main elements 

of compression: threshold, ratio, 

attack, release and gain or gain 

make-up. 

“Threshold” is defined as the point 

where compression begins. Turning 

your threshold knob to the right will 

Slower attack times have a multitude 

of uses. Once again, this is a good 

time to use your ears. 

raise the dB level as to where the compressor 

kicks in. Turning this knob to 

the left has the opposite effect. In a 

high-threshold setting you will only 

be compressing the up decibel levels 

of your audio signal. As you lower 

the threshold, more of the audio signal 

will be compressed. Setting your 

threshold knob to the center position 

is a good place to begin. Then 

use your ear as you raise or lower the 

threshold. 


“Ratio” will be our next concern. It is 

the difference in decibel reduction from 

the input signal to the output signal. Your 

compressor’s ratio knob typically ranges 

from 1 to 10. For example, setting the ratio 

at 2 creates a 2 to 1 ratio (2:1). This means 

that if 2 dB of signal enters the compressor 

above the threshold setting, 1 dB exits 

the compressor. A 4:1 ratio lets 4 dB in 

and 1 dB out. With these two parameters 

we can now adjust when we capture the 

signal and how much we compress it. 

Our next adjustment would be “attack.” 

This controls how fast the signal is 

captured and operates in milliseconds 

(ms) — 10-25 ms would be a very fast 

attack. This is good for removing the 

sibilance or sizzle from a vocal, making 

it more intelligible. Slower attack times 

have a multitude of uses. Once again, 

this is a good time to use your ears. Once 

you have captured the audio signal you 

have to decide when to release it. The “release” 

knob does just that. Also calibrated 

in milliseconds, a faster release time will 

cause the compressor to follow the signal 

closely so that rapid input changes (ratio) 

will not be lost during compression. Slower 

release times smooth out the overall 

compression effect. The dynamic process 

of compression will reduce signal level. As 

a result, many manufacturers add a gain 

control to their compressors in order to 

add back level. 

Making It Work SS 

Now that we have a pretty good idea 

about what a compressor does and how 

to operate it, I would like to share some 

of my settings with you. If I am compressing 

an exuberant preacher, I will set my 

attack time to fast, my release at medium 

and ratio from 4:1 to 5:1. For my singers, I 

set my attack time to medium, release to 

medium and ratio from 2:1 to 4:1. Should I 

have an acoustic guitar, I will set my attack 

to medium, release to medium and ratio 

from 3:1 to 4:1. If I’ve got a bass guitar, I will 

attack the signal fast and release it fast at 

a ratio of 4:1 to 6:1. Kick and snare drums 

will be attacked and released fast at a 4:1 

ratio. Should I have a lively brass section, 

attack and release times are set to fast at a 

ratio of 5:1 to 7:1. 

This should give you some actual settings 

that you can use when compressing 

your preachers, singers or instruments in 

your house of worship. Lastly, be sure to 

connect your compressor through your 

channel inserts if you are working on one 

particular audio signal. Or take your main 

mixer left and right outputs and connect 

them directly into the inputs of your compressor 

to compress the entire mix. Next 

month, we will look into some other outboard 

gear. Until then, have fun… 

You can e-mail Jamie at jrio@fohonline. 

com.

Know When to Hold ‘Em, 

Know When to Fold ‘Em 

By KenRengering 

So, I bid on this gig — the sound, the 

lighting and the generator. It was a 

relatively large area with a wide stage 

backed by a waterfall. The client wanted to 

make the waterfall change in colors; he also 

wanted a followspot for a performer who 

goes into the audience. I took the initial 

meeting with a buddy who does amazing 

set design work and brings very cool ideas 

to the table, fitting every size budget including 

zero. I sent this client the old package 

price bid and he proceeded to cherry 

pick what he wanted and the prices. That 

usually only irritates me a little, but then I 

sent over a contract with the description 

“client didn’t take package, but took package 

pricing” written in bold font. Childish, 

but it made me feel better. 

Wasting Time FOH 

Needless to say, we were soon in cheapout 

mode, and so I made another trip to the 

venue with my lighting guy where we put 

together each look requested and the list of 

gear to achieve it. I sent this to the client, who 

responded in a conniption fit! All together, I 

was under the initial number we discussed, 

so I was very confused and told the client my 

logic of fitting everything in his budget. He 

acted like we never discussed a budget! But 

I double-checked with my set design buddy. 

It was definitely a little selective memory on 

my client’s side. 

So, I made the umpteenth call with a little 

trepidation — remember, I had two trips 

to the venue invested myself, not to mention 

two other production pros. We started 

from scratch with me asking the client for 

the real, actual, genuine, authentic, honestto-goodness 

factual number. I may not have 

used those words exactly, but this guy was 

starting to smell like a time waster. 

Ah, then the real story comes out. He has 

another sound engineer who is much cheaper 

than I am. That will be an important part 

of our story. This was a showcase gig set up 

to sell the show to the property where the 

performance was taking place. Failing that, 

the client was doing a four-camera video 

shoot to edit and sell elsewhere. 

So, I wind up dropping sound, and my 

company is now handling lighting and a 

generator, feeder cable and distro box setup. 

We are at 10% of my original budget. Basically 

using none of my stuff, and I have scheduled 

myself as the gear hump who gets to 

run a little, squinty lighting board on a tiny 

lighting system. 

They balk! FOH 

I do a take-away close: “I have minimized 

the gear and techs involved. If my price 

is still outside the range of your budget, I 

don’t believe we can accommodate your 

needs for this event. I appreciate the opportunity, 

please keep my fat, lazy heine in 

mind for the future.” As you can guess, you 

have to be ready to lose the client, and at 

this point, I was ready to lose, disembowel, 

eviscerate and wallop this guy. 

As this was done by e-mail, he soon 

called and tongue-bathed my ego. I told 

him his deposit was late and to put it, and 

the signed contract, in the mail that day. We 

were a week out or so from the event and I 

was in big-man mode now. 

The original guy, the set designer that 

I took to the site-review, is one of those 

guys who enjoys sharing the misery or at 

least putting up with my whining. We were 

enjoying the “fun” of dealing with this guy, 

who obviously has no production experience, 

when he called on the other line. 

I asked my buddy to “hold” with the old 

“speak of the devil.” continued on page 50 


Anklebiter 

2008 NOVEMBER 

49 


continued from page 49 

50 

Anklebiter 

Annoyance Turns to Humor FOH 

There’s a point during every annoying 

gig where it just becomes funny. I don’t 

know if this just happens to me, but I find 

some requests laughable, to the point that I 

can’t hide the glee in my face or my voice! 

“El Grande Nutbar” had called to see 

if Tuesday was good for us for a full dress 

rehearsal with production! Did I mention 

this was a one-off at a pool that gets used 

every day? I just couldn’t help myself — I 

started laughing right in his ear. I thought 

maybe he was joking, and it would have 

been a good joke, but 30 seconds into my 

guffawing I realized that I was the only one 

who got the joke. 

Um, ah, awkward… “No,” I had to tell 

him, “Unless you want to double the budget, 

we won’t be out there on Tuesday.” Then he 

wanted just me to show up. Again, I told him 

that wouldn’t be happening. He did seem a 

little confused at my lack of donateable time 

for his event. And I was done explaining. “See 

you Saturday,” I said with my purest form of 

Company Page Phone Web 

fake enthusiasm. I clicked over to my friend, 

explained the call and enjoyed his reaction 

for a full five minutes as well. 

On to the gig! We arrived about 20 minutes 

early and started to load into an area 

where there were so many safety orange cables 

strewn about I thought the Irish Protestants 

must be doing the gig. We were going 

to be safe, underpowered, but safe! 

As we all do, I had resolved to keep my 

head down and just do my job. But the 

sound engineer had the two wireless mics 

dropping out and getting hit on a pretty 

regular basis. And not getting hit a little, but 

whammed to the point that I jumped a few 

times as my ears began to hurt. The cathedral 

reverb overly awash on these mics really 

only became evident during the three 

hours where the MC made announcements. 

You have to admire a guy who has a mains 

rig set up with seven mismatched speakers 

and no EQ. The sound check of the monitors 

was proceeding with the Elvis tracks 

— and I didn’t know they made retro MP3s. 

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Yamaha Corporation 

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31 714.522.9011 http://foh.hotims.com/18524-159 


The technique is apparently to be very loud 

and muffled, but what really put the icing 

on the cake was the vastly variable levels of 

the tracks with no learning curve from the 

sound guy. 

A Horror Show FOH 

The results are horrifying, but maybe 

we are doing a horror show… Remember, I 

wasn’t here for the full dress rehearsal production 

check. The resort guests, average 

age of 60, looked like they might enjoy an 

obnoxiously loud, smeary performance. 

Oops, there goes the wireless again. Sorry, I 

jumped. I wouldn’t do anything about it, like 

change the channel or try and raise it — it 

should be fine by show time! 

I was witness to this nightmare, which 

honestly made me feel better about my 

past sound screw-ups. There were two highlights 

of my day: the first being the scrawny, 

elderly guest who decided I was in charge 

and yelled at me for five minutes until the 

“producer” raced over. This guest was one 

Company Page Phone Web 

of those strange people who doesn’t enjoy 

painful audio. My lighting guy on the followspot 

tower, with a perfect view and close 

enough to hear the verbal bashing, almost 

wet his pants as I was berated. The surrealness 

of the moment was awesome as my 

grin almost caused this gentleman to come 

to blows, drawing up the maximum of his 

brittle, jumbo-shrimp postured, 140-pound 

body to the point where I was concerned for 

his health. 

The other highlight was the boss hugging 

me after the show, thanking me for 

my efforts. He also said, “well, I guess you 

get what you pay for” and “It was the worst 

sound ever.” Think he made a mistake going 

cheap? Do you think they got a gig or a 

video out of this? Did I badmouth the other 

sound guy? No. Did I earn the client’s respect 

and trust? Yes. Did I earn the client’s future 

business? Who knows… 

Sergeant Schadenfreude says, “Keep 

it civil out there!” (Cue “Hill Street Blues” 

theme.) 

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EMPLOYMENT

To Advertise in Marketplace, Contact: Maria Kritikos • 702.932.5585 • mk@fohonline.com 

Ad info: http://foh.hotims.com/ 




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STAGING • LIGHTING • SOUND 

Order online TODAY at www.plsnbookshelf.com 






2008 NOVEMBER 

51

52 

FOH-at-Large 

Keeping Busy 

in a Taxing Time 

the economy 

stupid,” and despite 

“It’s 

it all we still carry 

on with our business albeit 

on shaky ground. Fortunately, 

the bulk of the 

summer touring season 

ended just before the disastrous 

reports from Wall 

Street became headline 

news — thus leading us to 

wild speculation regarding 

what the future might 

hold in store for the upcoming 

winter and spring 

season. 

By the time this piece 

is published the country 

will have hopefully chosen 

a new president, and quite 

possibly, the effects of the 

“bail-out” will be reporting 

a positive outcome in 

all areas of the economy. 

Despite an optimistic scenario 

where Wall Street 

and the world market 

does rebound quickly, we 

will still have to rely upon 

a trickle-down effect from 

the “bail-out,” and it may 

be a few months or more 

before we see results from 

the government’s intervention. 

Effects on Touring Season FOH 

Nonetheless, last year’s economy has 

been nothing less than taxing on all of 

us (pun intended, damn it) even though 

some tour returns have looked decent 

enough. In the July issue of Rolling Stone 

magazine it was reported that Bonnaroo 

and Coachella, two major summer festivals, 

failed to sell out for the first time 

in years. The Stevie Wonder, Janet Jack- 

COMING NEXT 

MONTH... 


What’s it like working for 

the people’s diva? David 

Morgan knows as FOH 

mixer for Bette Midler’s 

“The Showgirl Must Go 

On” show at Caesars 

Palace in Sin City. 

Production Profile 

Rat Sound provided 

audio for the Los 

Angeles Detour festival, 

a one-day event in 

downtown featuring 30 

bands on four stages. 

Companies and people worried about the state 

of the economy have started to cut back on their 

events and shows. 

son, Maroon 5 and George Michael tours 

struggled through the summer, and even 

Springsteen tickets were moving slower 

than usual. Madonna’s tour posted 

strong sales as did Radiohead, Bon Jovi, 

the Dave Matthews Band and Jimmy Buffett 

to name a few, but the high price of 

gasoline, though not overly detrimental 

to the upper echelon of the touring business, 

did have a far more reaching effect 

on the smaller touring bands. 

Not to downplay the consequence of 

inflation in regard to the larger acts, but 

the up-and-coming and mid-level touring 

bands that were unable to charge 

$100 or more for a ticket to their shows 

certainly felt the pinch of the high gas 

prices in a more direct manner. Regional 

audio companies all fell prey to the budget 

crunch, and the busier ones I spoke 

with grumbled about less work, while 

the smaller companies complained that 

there was none at all. 

Marketing Tours FOH 

In the past — though having a shallow 

concept in regard to the bands — 

marketing tours have always had seemingly 

deep pockets, but this year they 

too felt the walls of the economy closing 

in on them. These marketing tours, with 

the backing of record labels and major 

corporate sponsorship, introduce their 

wares while at the same time presenting 

young and rising stars to perform in malls 


from coast to coast. The past few years 

has seen a boom in this kind of marketing, 

and the company I work for is often 

hired to provide audio for the marketing 

firm in charge of presenting artists such 

as Ashlee Simpson and The Plain White 

T’s to their adoring public. 

This year, the negotiations broke 

down between the marketing firm and 

myself while we were engaged in the 

process of trying to plan a 12-week summer 

mall tour with Coca Cola and Kate 

Voegele. Although my prices had only 

been modestly adjusted to account for 

higher gas and travel costs, the marketing 

company balked at the final price. 

After a bit of haggling, we finally settled 

upon a flat fee for the equipment rental 

with the marketing firm agreeing to 

provide travel, accommodations and 

salary for my technicians, as well as the 

cartage of the equipment from mall to 

shining mall. I’m positive that the marketing 

company will never again agree 

to that type of arrangement, but for 

three months this past summer two of 

my techs were working and my audio 

department had an income from the 

tour without having to manage all the 

extraneous cost. 

Trickle-Down Effect FOH 

Other than that solo three-month 

tour, this past summer turned out to be a 

bit slower than usual, although business 

By BakerLee 

Artwork by Andy Au 

did pick up a bit in September 

just before Lehman 

Brothers, AIG and the rest 

of Wall Street went belly 

up. Although many people 

may feel that the Wall Street 

investors have finally received 

their come-uppance, 

the negative trickle-down 

effect has already started 

to take place as companies 

and people worried about 

the state of the economy 

cut back on their events 

and shows. 

I don’t mean to imply 

that the shows have gone 

away altogether, but on my 

end I have begun to see more 

of a negotiation process in 

regard to putting together 

audio and other aspects of 

any given production. Hopefully, 

the government bailout, 

in association with our 

newly elected president, will 

restore confidence and faith 

in the economy. This positive 

influx of cash will only 

trickle down to us on the 

heels of the negative trickle 

down, however, leaving us 

all in a worrisome predicament 

for more time than we 

would like. 

Settling for Less FOH 

Business loans have dried up and the 

banks that are still viable are overly cautious 

in regard to extending credit. This is especially 

worrisome to the smaller and mid-size 

sound companies that are already in debt 

up to their ears and need to make payments 

or even update their equipment. In an atmosphere 

like this, the buyer that manages 

to still produce an event is now shopping for 

a better-than-usual deal to offset their cost 

of doing business. Unfortunately, the audio 

company that wants to do business may 

have to settle for less, and this does not bode 

well for any of us since this type of business 

environment causes a negative ripple effect 

that spreads like rings on a pond. 

I apologize for being so downbeat — 

maybe all of this will be straightened out by 

the time this article is read, but I am furious 

about the flagrant abuses of finance and 

policy that has taken place over the past few 

years and brought us to this point of chaos. 

Of course, it would be irresponsible for me 

to place all the blame on the lenders since 

it is the borrowers that keep the lenders in 

business. Regulating the financial industry is 

an obvious panacea, but more importantly a 

real change of perception is required much 

akin to the dieter who benefits more from a 

change in lifestyle than just a change of diet. 

Anyway, that said, I must confess that I will 

miss providing audio for the Lehman Brothers 

Christmas party… it was always quite 

the blow out.

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