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Transcription

ATK Audiotek Provides
Sound Platform for
Barack Obama
PEOPLE. PRODUCTION. GEAR. GIGS.
SEPTEMBER 2008 Vol. 6 No. 12
Olympic Gold Medal for Sound
BEIJING — Few live events have the power to draw an audience of billions, but the opening
ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics easily surpassed that landmark. The largest international
sporting event of the 21st century was also the most technically complex
continued on page 8
Industry Supports Parnelli Awards, Voting Now Open
LAS VEGAS — Voting for the 2008 Parnelli
Awards has begun. Subscribers can vote online
for the best of the live sound industry at www.
parnelliawards.com/vote. A full ballot listing can
be found on page 39. The Parnelli Awards take
place on Friday, Oct. 24 at the Rio All Suite Hotel
& Casino in Las Vegas. Tickets can be purchased
at www.parnelliawards.com.
FOH would like to recognize the live audio
companies who have supported the Parnellis
this year, including Gold sponsors the Harman
Pro group, Sound Image and Lab.gruppen. Stacey Moran of Lab.gruppen commented on why
the company decided to become a sponsor.
“Lab.gruppen attended the event last year
and we really enjoyed networking with our customers. It was also great to recognize the efforts
of those who are in the trenches of live performance on a daily basis.”
Since 2001, the Parnelli Awards have
recognized pioneering and influential individuals and their contributions to the live
event industry, honoring both the individuals and companies. This year’s winners in
such categories as FOH Mixer, Monitor Mixer and Sound Company will be determined
by online votes, so go online and let your
voice be heard.
A Symbol of the
Future
DENVER — You’ve done some tough
jobs. But not like this.
Just one month before Barack
Obama accepted his party’s presidential nomination at Mile High Stadium in
Denver, the engineers at ATK Audiotek
in Los Angeles got their first look at the
plan for an event that would be broadcast live to tens of millions of viewers.
Obama was scheduled to speak on
Thursday, Aug. 28; the Broncos played
at Mile High on Aug. 22, and a college
football game was scheduled for Aug.
30. The team from ATK first set foot in
Mile High on Saturday morning — after they got through the Secret Service
checkpoint — and the bands only began to show up on the morning of the
speech.
Kirk Powell, the system design engineer who ran the show for ATK, loved
the scale of the event and the stakes
involved. “That’s what makes it interesting,” he said. “It keeps you on your
toes.”
Powell brought a seven-person crew
to Denver, hired more help locally and
began a “very fluid” setup that had to
take Mile High’s strict rules into account.
The stadium field crew imposed tight
restrictions on where cable was run
and how, and the Secret Service kept
clearing out the entire stadium for security sweeps. “Security was unbelievably
continued on page 10
tight,” Powell said.
The symbol of the Mashantucket
Pequot Tribal Nation is a reflection of
the past. A tree perched on a rocky
knoll and framed against a clear sky
represents Mashantucket, the “much
wooded land”where the people hunted
and prospered. A statue of a fox stands
as a vigilant reminder of the turbulent
times when the Pequots adopted the
name that still remains today, the “Fox
People.” Fast-forward to May 2008 with
the opening of an enormous expansion of Foxwoods Resorts and Casino
properties in collaboration with the
MGM Grand. “The Tribe was interested
in partnering with entertainment companies who would augment our enterprises to expand what we offer to our
clientele, such as convention markets,
high level entertainment venues and
headliners,” states Lori Potter, spokeswoman for the Tribe. “This is why MGM
was selected as a partner opportunity.”
Turn to page 40.
Watch Out! Google Wants
To Take Your Wireless
WASHINGTON — Remember how
we said the wireless thing was heating up? You have no idea. Now a “public interest group” has basically called
for the FCC to make wireless mics and
monitors illegal. You read that right.
But just who is this “public interest
group?” FOH put our investigative
reporter on the case and he came up
with an exclusive story about who is
part of this “public interest group.”
See page 10.
32
36
46
Buyers Guide
Lav and Headset Mics take center
stage in this month’s listing.
Parnelli Preview
A look back at the lives and times of
the Clair Bros. of Lititz, Pa.
Welcome To My
Nightmare
Find out how this sound guy deals
when the crew leaves the scene.
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www.fohonline.com
CoNtENts
September
2008, Vol. 6.12
Production Profile
What’s hot
Feature
Features
Columns
20 FOH Interview
48 On the Bleeding Edge
32 Buyers Guide
52 Sound Sanctuary
Brent Carpenter and Brad Madix on tour with
Rush tells us what’s up with the chickens.
Lavalier and Headset Mics take center stage in
this month’s listing.
We hit up some of the world’s largest
music festivals including Rock in Rio and
Milwaukee’s Summerfest.
22
How to maintain the “time spent vs. gig
budget ratio.”
A look back at the lives and times of the Clair
Bros. of Lititz, Pa.
40 Installations
MGM Grand and Foxwoods Resort Casino join
forces to build a new entertainment venue.
42 Road Tests
Crown reinvents the Macro-Tech line with the
i Series Amps, Electro-Voice PL Series mics
bring affordable professional sound and the
Spectr Audio SPX 1534s, Arena Pro 212 subs
and AP28s get road tested at the Rose Bowl.
46 Welcome To My Nightmare
Find out how this sound guy deals when the
crew leaves the scene after load-in…
50
For all of you church volunteers out there, we
explain the mystery known as the front-ofhouse console.
54 The Anklebiter
The Boston Pops Orchestra’s Fourth of July
performance was an explosion of sound.
36 Parnelli Preview
Regional Slants
What’s hot
34 Production Profile
As an ode to AES, we take a look back at gear
we were pumped about back in the day.
56 The Biz
Surround sound is making its move from
movies to live audio.
60 FOH-at-Large
It’s part of our job description to be
anal-retentive a$$holes.
Departments
4 Editor’s Note
5 News
14 International News
15 On the Move
16 New Gear
18 Showtime
46 In the Trenches
With an excess of 1,200 gigs a year, Sound on
Stage has taken the Bay Area by storm.
FEEDBACK
I have been mixing live audio for about 35 years now. I
take seriously my responsibility, as an audio engineer, to learn
as much as I can about sound. I always look forward each
month to reading your articles in FOH, and it is obvious to me
that you are observant and thoughtful when it comes to technical issues of audio as it is applied in the real world. So, thanks
for all you have given us out here in the trenches of audio.
In the July 2008 “Theory & Practice” column about optimization of high-frequency drivers, you wrote that after setting up a 1,200 Hz crossover point you would add a 12 kHz,
Butterworth, 2-pole high-pass filter to the DSP settings. Did
you mean to say low-pass filter in order to not waste energy
above 12 K deeming it unnecessary up there? Or are you trying to counter the increased mass effect at higher frequencies
on the 3” diaphragm by attenuating everything below 12 K at
a slope of 12 dB/octave?
I don’t think this would work well since the driver’s frequency response region between 10 K and 1.2 K doesn’t follow the
Optimization Oops
12 dB/octave rolloff slope “need of correction.” The third possibility is that I have something to learn here, and I want to understand what you are doing with this 12 kHz high-pass filter. Also,
note that the Figure 2 graph seems to indicate a 6 dB/octave
slope instead of a 12 dB/octave slope. Please clarify.
Thank you again for all that you do to educate us. You deserve much respect, and I gladly give it.
Gregg Stegal
1st Stage Audio
Austin, Texas
Yeah, I occasionally space out on filters descriptions, and
this is where you caught me. First, I bound the bandpass by
the 1.2 kHz Linkwitz-Riley on the low side, and place the 12
kHz Butterworth on the high side. I should of said low-pass on
the Butterworth, instead of high-pass. In between is where the
parametrics get used.
Your second point is where I should correctly specify a shelving
filter at the 12 kHz corner point with a gain/boost as required.
Mark Amundson
CORRECTION
AKG Acoustics was inadvertently left out of last month’s Personal Monitor Earpieces Buyers Guide. Here is the listing:
Company: AKG Acoustics
Make/Model: IP 2
Frequency Response: 12 to 23,500 Hz
Input Sensitivity (dB @ 30 Hz/1Mw): 121 dB SPL/V
Cable Length: 1.15 m / 3.8 ft,
Connector Type: 3.5 mm stereo jack
Editor’s Note
By BillEvans
The Amazing Shrinking News Cycle
Publisher
Terry Lowe
[email protected]
Y
ou may notice a small change on the
cover of this issue of FOH. Where it used
to say “The News Magazine for Live
Sound” it now says “People. Production. Gear.
Gigs.” I know it seems like a small thing, but it
speaks volumes about the role of news in print
media and the future of FOH magazine.
I am an old-school news guy and take
great pride when we break an important
story and are able to get info that our
competitors either can’t get or don’t see as
important enough to go after. We get those
pretty regularly, but we have been having
some new faces in FOH (No, like ‘em
or not, the old ones are not going away…)
and an increased emphasis on applications
and “how-to” content and stories that get
deeper into the production of shows, the
technology that supports them and the people and companies who make it all happen.
So, Just What IS News?
FOH
That question becomes ever more important as the news cycle is driven faster and
faster by changing technology. Here’s a peek
behind the curtain…
I am an old-school news guy and take
great pride when we break an important
story and are able to get info that our
competitors either can’t get or don’t see
as important enough to go after.
an internal discussion for more than a year
about the role of straight news coverage in
what we do. I am finally coming around to
the POV that, while the kind of news stories
we do every issue are important, the place
they need to get to first and foremost is
online. And if they have already been online
for three weeks, there are better uses for the
space in the paper and ink magazine than
just repeating something that has already
appeared online.
Once upon a time, when newspapers
were still king, the news cycle was days —
the time between issues of the newspaper.
Network TV news made it a day — the time
between broadcasts. Cable news networks
broadcasting 24 hours a day brought the cycle down to hours and with the proliferation
of news-based sites online, the news cycle is
literally seconds. So, it is time to use the right
media for the right content.
In the coming months, you will see
News content in the live audio trade
publishing biz is — much to the chagrin
of many of us — largely driven by gear
manufacturers. They either have inside
staff or an outside publicist whose job is to
produce “news stories” called press releases
about the shows and companies using their
products. As you might expect, these press
releases are generally not "all inclusive.” That
is, they focus not on an entire production but
on the role played by that mfg’s gear. That
in itself would be okay, but PR people being
PR people, these "news stories” usually
contain a fair bit of hyperbole, unsupported
statements presented as facts and even
some plain old garden variety bullshit.
We get anywhere from 3 to 30 of these
releases every day. And we try — not always
successfully — to edit out the crap and leave
the good stuff. Like I said, we do not always
succeed. Just a month ago, a reader sent
me a letter and took me to task for a press
release that got through the system virtually
unedited. It happens. But our intent is always
to serve as a kind of BS filter so you get the
good stuff without having to break out the
old hip boots.
But lately we have been told by some of
the PR folks that a certain competitor — one
we don’t generally mix it up with because we
cover different parts of the audio world —
has been getting “news” online very quickly.
So, we checked it out and found that they
were right. This Web site was getting the
press releases that we took a day to edit and
post online in a matter of minutes. So, we just
had to find out how they were doing it. Child
laborers in India? Some kind of new technology? Maybe it was just magic…
It turns out to be pretty simple. The Web
site has a blog set up and has given the keys
to posting on that blog to the PR agents in
the industry. The PR people log on, post their
press releases and pictures, and it goes online. The site says that all posts are held for
approval by a moderator, but they go up
pretty fast and there does not appear to be
a lot of editing going on. In fact, the releases
we saw online and the ones we got from the
PR firms were verbatim the same.
Which begs a few questions. Is that
news? Do you want to read unedited PR that
is being called “news” or do you expect publishing people to exercise some judgment
and filter out the BS so you don’t have to deal
with it? Do you want pabulum passed off as
news online? Or do you even care?
It comes down to us in the trade media
having a decent read on the needs of the
readers and being committed to filling those
needs as fairly as we can. Anyone can set up a
blog, and if that’s what you want let us know.
In the meantime, I have an inbox full
of hyperbole-laden press releases to edit
BEFORE they go online.
C-ya at AES…
Editor
Bill Evans
[email protected]
Managing Editor
Breanne George
[email protected]
Technical Editor
Mark Amundson
[email protected]
Senior Writer
Kevin M. Mitchell
Contributing Writers
Jerry Cobb, Dan Daley,
Jamie Rio, Steve LaCerra,
David John Farinella, Ted Leamy,
Baker Lee, Bryan Reesman,
Tony Mah, Ken Rengering
Photographer
Steve Jennings
Art Director
Garret Petrov
[email protected]
Production Manager
Linda Evans
[email protected]
Graphic Designers
Crystal Franklin
[email protected]
David Alan
[email protected]
Web Master
Josh Harris
[email protected]
National Sales Manager
Dan Hernandez
[email protected]
National Advertising Director
Gregory Gallardo
[email protected]
General Manager
William Hamilton Vanyo
[email protected]
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 6 Number
12 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
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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
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4
SEPTEMBER 2008
www.fohonline.com
News
Logitech to Acquire
Ultimate Ears
IRVINE, Calif. — Peripheral and accessories maker Logitech International
has announced that the company will
acquire privately held Ultimate Ears, of
Irvine, Calif., for $34 million in cash. The
acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close
in August.
“Logitech was a smart choice for
Ultimate Ears because for us to really
grow the business, we needed a more
established distribution on a global
basis,” said Mindy Harvey, an original
founder of Ultimate Ears. “Logitech
certainly brought that to the table for us.
They were also a good fit for our culture
— the way they approach the customer is
very much aligned with our philosophy.
We have tremendous confidence that
Ultimate Ears products will become a
global brand very quickly.”
Harvey continues, “(Logitech) has a
tremendous distribution channel across
the globe, and anybody that’s tempted
to bring products into retail knows how
difficult of a job and how expensive and
risky of a proposition that is, and they
have done just an amazing job of accomplishing that.”
“Ultimate Ears is a perfect fit for Logitech and our audio business,” said Gerald P. Quindlen, Logitech president and
CEO. “Since its inception, Ultimate Ears
has been driven by innovation, close
ties to its customers and the desire to
enable an immersive audio experience.
We look forward to using our worldwide
distribution network and operational efficiencies to help more people discover
this superior listening experience.”
Loud Technologies Chairman and CEO
Steps Down; Successor Named
WOODENVILLE, Wash. — The
board of directors of Loud Technologies has announced that Jamie Engen is stepping down from his position as chairman and CEO effective
immediately. The board has named
Rodney Olson as the company’s
chairman and CEO.
“Over the past 10 years, Jamie has
played a critical role in growing Loud
Technologies into the industry leader
that it is today. We appreciate his contributions and wish him the best,” said
Tom Taylor, the board member who led
the search for Engen’s successor. “We
are fortunate to have a strong successor
to take over the reins and continue our
growth efforts.”
Olson joins Loud Technologies after
a decade with Cardinal Brands, a Kansasbased $170-million office products
company, where he has served as CFO,
president and most recently, CEO,
for the past two years. Under Olson’s
leadership, the company’s revenues
grew 30 percent despite competitive
market conditions. Prior to his time at
Cardinal Brands, Olson served as CFO at
Sabreliner Corporation, a $250-million
aviation company, where he led the
company’s M&A activity and was integral
in driving revenue and market share
growth in the six years he was there.
Yamaha Completes
Acquisition of Founders
Shareholding in NEXO
BUENA PARK, Calif. — Yamaha recently completed its first step of the
acquisition of NEXO by purchasing all
shares of the two founders. On June
19, Yamaha Corporation announced its
intention to acquire NEXO SA, French
manufacturer and seller of professional
acoustic speaker systems.
Yamaha is scheduled to launch a
tender offer for the remaining shares of
NEXO on the open market in September,
with the objective of acquiring 100% of
the company’s shares.
The decision to purchase NEXO follows the strategic alliance between the
two companies, which transpired in
2005. Immediately after the decision
to purchase NEXO, Yamaha Corporation
made an offer to purchase the shares of
the two founders who are also the principal shareholders.
Following the completion of the
acquisition of the founders’ shares at
a meeting of the NEXO board of directors, the board unanimously elected as
its new chairman and CEO, Keisuke Kobayashi of Yamaha Corporation Japan
(former head of Commercial Audio, deputy general manager at Yamaha’s PA/
DMI Division, and director of NEXO).
www.fohonline.com
2008 SEPTEMBER
5
News
Sound Image’s Jim
Douglas Fighting Cancer
Longtime Sound Image employee Jim Douglas has been diagnosed with
cancer. Following is a letter from President Dave Shadoan released Sept. 2.
Earth Wind & Fire
Perform Classic
R&B Hits with SD7
GILFORD, N.H. — These days,
Earth Wind & Fire performs consistently throughout the year — be it
a club, concert venue or corporate
setting. For the band’s long-time FOH
Engineer Terry “TJ” Jackson, the migration from the DiGiCo D5 to SD7 was a
natural one, offering a streamlined roadworthy rig, and giving him the tools to
flex the overall sound to the venue at
hand. The EWF tour — with production
partner Eighth Day Sound — was one of
the first tours to head out stateside with
the new SD7 console.
“I like the challenge of figuring out
new gear, and as a long time DiGiCo
fan, I was excited to get my hands on
the SD7,” says Jackson. I actually like to
mix and try new things during the show
— and this board allows me to do it.”
Earth Wind & Fire FOH Engineer Terry “TJ” Jackson
Great White Offers $1 Million
for Nightclub Fire Settlement
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Great White, the 80s
rock band whose concert pyrotechnics started a deadly nightclub fire back in 2003 that
killed 100 people including the band’s guitarist Ty Longley, has reached a settlement offer
of $1 million to victims’ family and survivors.
The band’s settlement, which denies any
wrongdoing, will not go into effect until the
more than 300 individuals suing the band
have approved it. The fire, which is known as
the fourth deadliest U.S. nightclub fire, took
place at The Station nightclub in West Warwick, R.I. More than 200 people were injured
in the blaze. The nightclub owners, Jeffrey
and Michael Derderian and the band’s tour
manager, Dan Biechele were charged with
200 counts of involuntary manslaughter —
two per death for gross negligence and committing a misdemeanor that led to a death.
6
SEPTEMBER 2008
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News
Playboy Jazz Fest Hits the Hollywood Bowl
LOS ANGELES — McCune Audio recently purchased 26 new McCauley FM850
low-profile, lightweight, 2-way monitor
systems. One of the first opportunities to
work the FM850s in the field came when
McCune provided sound reinforcement
for the 30th year at the 2008 Playboy Jazz
Festival held at the Hollywood Bowl in
Los Angeles.
Bill Knight and Matt Chavez from McCune ran the monitor boards for each of the
stages at the Hollywood Bowl. When asked
about the performance of the monitoring
systems, Chavez explained, “We received
no complaints. And if there are no complaints, then everything is good. Although
Playboy Jazz Festival at the Hollywood Bowl
nothing specific was mentioned, we did
receive a few complements that everything
sounded great. That’s about the best to be
expected from a large festival.”
Knight highlighted the few complications with the show that were relative to
space dimensions rather than the equipment itself. “The FM850 is a fantastic monitor, and in comparison to what we’re used
to using, it has different throw dimensions.
It was a bit challenging because the stage
for the Hollywood Bowl isn’t as big because it’s cut in half essentially. Since most
of the jazz musicians get really close to the
wedges, we set the monitor’s to their high
angle… and then it was smooth sailing.”
An Olympic Gold Medal for Live Event Audio
continued from cover
Olympics ceremony ever, broadcast for the
first time in High Definition and surround
sound. The opening ceremony in Beijing,
marking the beginning of the 29th Olympic Summer Games, was held on Aug. 8
at the newly constructed Beijing National
8
SEPTEMBER 2008
Stadium (known informally as “The Bird’s
Nest”). Sound Media Fusion facilitated
the event audio system design, programming and deployment, which featured JBL
VerTec line arrays, Crown I-Tech amplifiers
and Soundcraft Vi6 digital mixing con-
soles. Meyer Sound’s Matrix3 audio show
control system managed technical aspects
of the performance, including audio, motion control, pyrotechnics and lighting.
Gary Hardesty (chief designer, Audio- Beijing Olympic Ceremonies Department; technical consultant, Panasonic for
all Olympic Ceremonies and competition/
non-competition venues) had the complex but rewarding task of specifying and
implementing the massive, multi-zone distributed sound reinforcement system approach to integrate portable and installed
speaker locations.
“All FOP [field-of-play] speakers needed to be self-powered arrays due to highly
restrictive physical space limitations,” explained Hardesty. “In the case of the JBL
products, I needed small size and a lot of
SPL, not to mention predictable coverage.
The JBL VerTec DP systems were part of a
very large, distributed multi-zone system,
and they performed flawlessly, exceeding
my requirements and expectations.”
Harman HiQnet-compatible VT4888DPAN powered midsize line array elements
and VT4882DP-AN companion subwoofers with JBL DrivePack technology were
selected to cover various portions of the
stadium, including array locations dedicated for use in critical end-zone locations.
These were configured as ground-based
stacks, each containing two or three enclosures. Arrays were masked with neutral
gray weather-protective covers, and many
speaker units were installed behind facades and integrated into Hardesty’s overall system design underneath temporary
staging platforms, including the five Rings
Plaza and the National Flags Platform. Additionally, a total of 26 JBL MS-26 ultracompact fill speakers were dedicated for
second tribune and VIP stand fill.
Passive speaker systems were powered
by Crown I-T6000 and I-T4000 power amplifiers, compatible with hundreds of other
Crown amplifiers installed for the venue’s
audio system infrastructure. Additionally,
Soundcraft Vi6 digital consoles were part
of the event sound system.
Hardesty called for a distributed system comprising multiple stacks of three
Meyer Sound MILO line array loudspeakers
on the field of play to cover the two lower
levels, and to augment the new Panasonic
LA3 line array speakers covering the upper
level seating.
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Providing powerful low end were 700HP subwoofers, arranged in cardioid pairs
and topped with an additional MILO cabinet focused on the lower level audience.
Hardesty reports the system’s relatively diminutive size belied its power. “The results
were amazing. By far the best sound I’ve
heard in a large venue. From our vantage
position, if you closed your eyes it didn’t
sound like the speakers were as far away as
they actually were.”
Bob Dixon, director, Sound Design &
Communications, NBC Olympics, chose
several DiGiCo DS-00 digital consoles for
the NBC network’s coverage of the basketball, boxing and indoor volleyball games.
According to Dixon, the three DS-00 consoles will each be outfitted with expanders
to handle a total of 40 mic/line inputs, 32
analog line outputs and 64 AES inputs and
64 AES outputs.
“We’ve had to change quite a bit this
year technically,” explains Dixon. “Whereas
in previous years, NBC was using a hybrid
of both SD and HD, often with stereo or upmixed audio. But with the 2008 Games, it‘s
the first time we’re broadcasting all network
shows in high-definition with six discreet
channels of audio. We’re covering about
seven venues on our own, taking some of
the feeds from the host broadcaster, but
then adding our own cameras and mics to
give it our own perspective.”
Peavey MediaMatrix NION Series processing nodes were tasked with distributing
the event announcements and background
music for Beijing Olympic Basketball Gymnasium, where the men’s USA Team will be
led by NBA stars Kobe Bryant and LeBron
James and the Beijing Olympic Green Tennis Court, which will host competitors such
as Venus and Serena Williams.
At the National Aquatic Centre, also
known as the “Water Cube,” JBL Precision
Directivity (PD) Series and Application Engineered (AE) Series loudspeakers were
used. The system featured 52 PD5212/64
12-inch 2-way full-range loudspeakers,
eight PD5122 dual 12-inch low-frequency
loudspeakers, 12 AC2212/95 and 12 each
2380A 90- x 40-degree horns matched
with 2446J 2-inch exit (4-inch voice coil)
compression drivers. The Water Cube also
incorporated Crown CTs600, CTs1200,
CTs2000 and CTs3000 amps, Soundcraft
consoles and BSS DSP using HiQnet London Architect platform for control.
News
White Space Fight Escalates
By Breanne George
WASHINGTON — A longtime issue
facing the live production industry, the
white spaces debate has hit full force in
a string of events that appear strangely
coincidental amid recent FCC field-testing at live events — all of which have
failed conclusively. The consortium of
tech companies (Yahoo!, HP, Motorola,
Google), fervent about opening up the
spectrum for wireless Internet use, continue to escalate its fight. At the forefront
of efforts, Google has fired back with a
new campaign and Web site, freetheairwaves.com, to garner public support for
open use of the tiny spectrum.
“We are worried the FCC will buckle
and allow white space to be used by personal portable devices seeking wireless
services,” says Karl Winkler, director of
business development for Lectrosonics.
Shortly following the launch of the
Web site, a “consumer interest group”
(see related story) filed a complaint with
the FCC against certain kinds of wireless
microphones claiming that they violate
licensing requirements. The FCC is now
considering a potential ban on a number
of wireless mics, an action that would
affect a variety of live events including
Broadway shows, concerts, church services and political rallies among others.
“Remember that fuzzy static between channels on the old TVs? Today,
more than three-quarters of those radio
airwaves, or “white space” spectrum, are
completely unused,” says the Web site.
For the live production industry, the
free use of that fuzzy static could cause
hidden dangers, not just from a business standpoint, but also for the safety
of those involved in the productions.
Personal devices searching for Internet connectivity could interfere with
high-end audio equipment already
occupying the spectrum, resulting in
dropouts and interference. Problems
would exist beyond a wireless mic failing during a Justin Timberlake concert.
Rigging equipment and scenery pieces
used on many productions are often
controlled and dependent on wireless
devices. If interference were to occur
during some shows, the results could be
catastrophic.
The potential for interference and
loss of signal could also cause a significant reduction in wireless microphones
used in productions.
“The number of wireless microphones
used will be reduced significantly, and it
costs big productions millions of dollars
to redesign what they do,” says Winkler.
Despite the fact that all devices
tested by the FCC have failed, it appears
that the new strategy among those with
monetary interests in white spaces is
prohibition of wireless mics unless the
operator has a license.
If you want to educate yourself on
this issue, go to www.fohonline.com/
whitespace for a list of related links to
news articles.
Exactly Who Is Behind Google’s Grab for “White Space”?
By Chris Bray
WASHINGTON — Do you own or use
wireless mics? You’re a terrible person and
you should be ashamed of yourself.
As a bunch of news stories have recently
explained, two sides are fighting over control
of “white spaces” in the broadcast spectrum
that are currently used for wireless microphones. On one side, the greedy scofflaws of
the audio industry and their clients in businesses like live music and theater. On the
other side, the apple-cheeked American consumer, pulling his child around the block in
a bright red American Flyer wagon. (They’re
on their way to buy a slice of apple pie. From
a military veteran. At the local volunteer firehouse.)
Now, sure: A giant corporation, Google,
has taken an interest in the same issue, and
companies invested in the Internet would
like to sell new services over those broadcast frequencies. In fact, Google started a
Web site, freetheairwaves.com, to promote
the commercial use of the “unused” radio
airwaves that wireless microphones use. But
we’re not talking about Google, here — they
just happen to be on the same side as the
ordinary American. “Consumer groups,” reports the Associated Press, have alleged in
an FCC complaint that users of wireless microphones are violating federal regulations
by using those unused airwaves.
Consumer groups? The AP goes on:
“The Public Interest Spectrum Coalition
accused manufacturers of deceptive advertising in how they market and sell the microphones, which largely operate in the same radio spectrum as broadcast television stations.”
The Public Interest Spectrum Coalition.
Here we go. In an April 5, 2007 regulatory
filing before the FCC, that group identified
itself as an “ad hoc” association — that is, a
cluster of disparate organizations, informally
banded together to address a single common concern.
Among the organizations making up
this ad hoc consumer coalition is the New
America Foundation, a Washington, D.C.
non-profit. It’s a pretty connected organization — it even turns out that the chairman of
the board is Eric Schmidt, the CEO of Google.
In fairness, Schmidt probably does buy stuff
at the store, so it’s not a stretch for him to
stand in for America’s consumers — he has
experience in the field.
Another member of the PISC is the Media Access Project, also a D.C. non-profit. The
names of the project’s board of directors are
available online. Director Kathleen Wallman is
an erstwhile lobbyist for clients like AT&T and
the U.S. Telecom Association, according to
lobbyist filings obtained by OpenSecrets.org.
Board member Albert Kramer, a partner at the
law firm of Dickstein Shapiro, LLC, is the former general counsel to the North American
Telecommunications Association. According
to his law firm’s Web site, Kramer’s clients now
include internet service providers and VoIP
companies — just the kind of ordinary American consumers who unselfishly yearn to “free
the white space.”
Democracy at work: In our nation’s capital, Vegans for Fairness to Animals would be
an organization of slaughterhouse operators.
And the news reports would take everything
they said at face value.
You can check out all of this information
for yourself, by the way — it’s easy to find.
Just Google it.
Digital Consoles
Transform Central
Baptist Church
Allen & Heath iLive system at Central Baptist Church .
ST. LOUIS — Central Baptist Church, located
in St. Louis, has installed two iLive-80 digital consoles to handle FOH/monitors and Broadcast positions. A 750-seat facility, Central Baptist Church
(CBC) is a dynamic musical church led by the
charismatic and compelling Dr. Robert C. Scott.
“The church is undergoing a transformation
to meet the needs of a media savvy generation,”
explains Michael Drainer of Drainer Albright &
Associates, “The iLive system by Allen & Heath
has exceeded CBC’s expectations and has been
the perfect solution because of its superior userfriendliness, flexibility and functionality.”
CBC’s Pastor D. Robert C. Scott was blown
away by the quality of the new system. “I have
never heard my voice with such clarity in more
than 20 years of giving sermons,” exclaims Scott.
“The congregation has been so pleased with the
new system; it adds a new dimension to our services and events. The iDR-10 located on the stage
and CAT-5 connection to the console keeps the
audio cable lengths short and direct. This greatly
improves the quality of the audio and keeps the
noise floor very low.
The main iLive-80 64-input/16-output system is configured with the control surface installed at FOH position in the church, and its
iDR-10 stage box is installed behind the stage.
Forty-eight inputs and eight outputs are located
in the stage box along with a multi-digital output
card for Aviom integration.
Inputs are available for choir, lead vocals,
backing vocals, drums, percussion, keyboards,
piano, guitars, other instruments and spare inputs for various events hosted by the church.
Outputs are configured as main speakers, Aviom integrated outs, three monitor wedges and
matrix feed for the hallways, bathrooms, nurseries, pastor’s study, etc. The iLive control surface
at FOH is configured with 16 inputs for various
wireless mics, CD and video input and eight outputs are available for recording of services and
patching any other outboard gear brought in by
guest engineers.
ATK Audiotek Provides Sound Platform for Barack Obama
The outcome? With all those challenges, ATK turned in a flawless performance.
In a rehearsal, Obama’s campaign staff
walked around the stadium listening to
the senator’s speech, commenting on the
quality of the sound.
After the show, Powell said the accomplishment was the product of experience.
“All of us do these types of shows all the
time,” he said. “We all know what’s got to
be done.”
As routine as their long experience
made the setup, the final product was
anything but ordinary. “It was an honor to
be on the show,” Powell said. “It was a big
deal.”
Obama’s acceptance speech was the
conclusion of the Democratic convention
that began on Aug. 25. The event featured
live performances by Steve Wonder, Jennifer Hudson, Will.i.am accompanied by
10
SEPTEMBER 2008
John Legend, and the Agape Choir, Sheryl
Crow and Michael McDonald. The stadium
swelled to an 85,000-person capacity with
much of the infield used for temporary
seating.
Event Sound Designer and Chief Engineer Pat Baltzell of Baltzell Audio Design
specified 76 JBL VerTec VT4889 full-size
line array elements and 12 JBL VT4880A
arrayable subwoofers in sports-venue perimeter configuration along with 32 JBL
VT4888 midsize line array elements for delay-tower applications powered by three
racks of Crown I-Tech IT8000 amplifiers. All
monitors for the performances were powered by 20 channels of Crown Micro-Tech
1200 and Macro-Tech 3600.
An additional battery of Crown I-Tech
IT4000 amplifiers powered JBL Professional VRX928 compact line array elements for
fill applications throughout the stadium.
www.fohonline.com
Barack Obama’s acceptance speech at Mile High Stadium in Denver
News
S. Miller
Neil Diamond Is “Home Before Dark”
Neil Diamond Home Before Dark tour sound team.
ORLANDO, Fla. — On the road in support
of Home Before Dark, his 29th studio album,
Neil Diamond has embarked on a major U.S.
tour. Diamond has retained many of the
veteran technicians who have traveled with
him throughout his career. Among those are
monitor mix/live recording engineer Bernie
Becker and sound designer/FOH mixer Stan
Miller, who hasn’t missed a tour or show in 41
years.
“I first encountered Professional Wireless Systems’ GX-8 and GX-4Amplifier/Combiner about five years ago on a TV project in
NY,” says Becker, a mastering engineer when
he’s off the road. “I noticed one in the rack
and asked the engineer what it was. He said
‘watch this,’ flipped the switch, and the sound
improved by about 30%.”
Miller also saw the potential for PWS gear to
enhance the sound quality for Diamond’s show,
marking the first time Diamond went wireless.
“The RF signal improvement was impressive,” he
says. The GX-8 combines up to eight transmitters into a single antenna, and provides flawless
coverage in large and small venues. Everyone
noticed the difference immediately.”
“The essential inputs and outputs for our
show are Neil’s wireless mics, wireless GTR
and the wireless feed for his IEM,” Becker adds.
“Our policy has always been to listen to what
each manufacturer has to offer at the beginning of each tour to see what works best. Prior
to this current 2008/2009 tour, Diamond used
a Shure Beta 87 with an “A” style head and a
Sennheiser Evolution belt pack. This time
around we tried the new AKG systems and
the new D5 Dynamic head and IEM System.
We are committed to providing the fans with
the best wireless sound. To help deliver the
goods we hired PWS GM Carl Cordes to train
our sound team on getting the most benefit
from the system.”
New Jersey Icons Choose Yamaha PM5D
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Two New Jersey
legends have chosen Yamaha PM5Ds, The Atlanta City Hilton theatre and Jersey City-born
Kool & The Gang.
The Atlantic City Hilton recently installed
a new Yamaha PM5D digital audio console for
front of house use in their entertainment venue. A state-of-the-art venue built to showcase
the talents of celebrity entertainers, the theater boasts a seating capacity of over 1,400.
The theater’s audio staff consisting of Kevin Kelly, lead audio technician, and Joe White,
monitor engineer, had until recently been renting a PM5D from ACIR Pro, and made the decision to purchase a PM5D due to the amount
rider requests for the console. The new console
joins a PM5D already positioned at monitors.
“We chose PM5Ds for a variety of reasons: The
flexibility, reliability and sound make the console a pleasure to work on and the company’s
tech support system is excellent,” states Kelly.
“This console is usually on every rider so most
of the incoming engineers have their show on
a card. If they don’t, it doesn’t take that long
to set it up.”
Kool & The Gang’s story starts in the Jersey City, N.J. projects. Their confidence and
creativity produced a string of loose-but-tight
records, culminating in the Pop Chart smash
“Jungle Boogie.” Kool & The Gang found a special sound at the unique intersection of jazz,
r&b, funk and pop. The group’s current monitor sound, and for the past seven years, can be
attributed to Alfred “AL-Tee” Williams, who for
the past four years has been using a Yamaha
PM5D digital audio console.
“One of the best things I like about the Yamaha PM5D console is its Recall capabilities,
“states ‘Al-Tee’. Self-taught on the console, ‘AlTee’ takes his 5D card from gig to gig and pops
it into a console with his saved settings to any
production-supplied PM5D console. “Routing
my outputs and inputs is wonderful, plus the
updated software version allows me to use 24
GEQ on my mixes.” Williams says he looks forward to checking out the new PM5D-EX with
DSP5D Expander capabilities.
NEXO monitors are used for most Kool &
the Gang shows. The band uses Sennheiser
EW-300 personal monitors and AMT mics are
used for the horns.
12
SEPTEMBER 2008
www.fohonline.com
Kool & The Gang’s monitor mixer Alfred “AL-Tee” Williams
International News
Meyer Sound Names McMahon as Executive Director
John McMahon
VERNON, British Columbia — Meyer
Sound has announced the appointment of
John McMahon to the newly created position of executive director of Digital Products. In his new role, McMahon will oversee the strategic direction of marketing,
sales, research and development of Meyer
Sound’s digital signal processing technologies, including Galileo loudspeaker
management system, Matrix3 audio show
control, Constellation electroacoustic architecture, as well as all related hardware
and software development.
“John has been an integral part of
defining and developing the strategic
direction of Meyer Sound’s new generation of digital technologies, as well as
maintaining a consistency in integrating
those new technologies with our existing products,” said John Meyer, Meyer
Sound CEO and co-founder. “His new position will enable him to work even more
closely with the company’s team leaders
to firmly establish Meyer Sound’s position as a leader in digital audio technologies worldwide.”
“Meyer Sound’s acquisition of LCS
Audio in 2005 was the first step in what
has created a new era, with both companies’ strengths creating a synergy that
is nearly limitless in its potential going
forward,” added McMahon. “I’m truly
excited to be taking on this new role
within Meyer Sound, and look forward
to unveiling the results of our dedicated
research and development teams in the
coming months.”
McMahon will split his time between
Meyer Sound’s Berkeley headquarters
and the company’s offices in Vernon,
British Columbia. He will continue to be
a strong presence at trade shows and
presentations worldwide, and will keep
in close contact with Meyer Sound’s customer base.
In related news, Teri McLennan has
been promoted to Business Operations
Manager at Meyer Sound Canada. McLennan will be taking on many of the day-today operations responsibilities that McMahon has been handling up until now.
Omniline Array Arrives in London’s Kingly Club
LONDON — The first UK installation of
the new OmniLine Micro Line Array from
Martin Audio has been installed in the new
Kingly Club in London’s Covent Garden. The
scalable system was specified by Bernard
Mani, head of London integration company, Systems Etc.
Providing even sound coverage provided a challenge for Mani, although he had experience at the space since he had provided
the sound system in the building’s earlier
incarnation (as Denim). “This time, not only
did we have to provide even distribution
through three floors, but the system needed
to be tiny and discreet — in fact, Dezzi wanted the components to be near-invisible.”
It was important that the sound reinforcement blended in with the high-glamour design concept.
The main system comprises seven hangs
of four OmniLine boxes — some flown from
the ceiling and some wall-mounted. Full
range infills are provided by Martin Audio’s
architecturally designed white C115s with
11 mounted to the wall, along with a combination of 17 distributed C4.8Ts and two
C6.8T Ceiling Series speakers.
The floor-mounted sub-woofers needed
to be invisible and both the eight CS265s
on the ground floor and three AQ series
AQ210 in the mezzanine have been concealed within the furniture.
Frankston Arts Centre Takes
Sound System to the Next Level
Frankston Arts Centre
MELBOURNE, Australia — The Frankston
Arts Centre is a landmark in one of Melbourne’s fastest growing areas. Designed
by Australian architect, Daryl Jackson, the
Frankston is one of the largest metropolitan and regional arts venues in Australia. It
was decided that the venue needed a new
loudspeaker system to take its offerings
into the next level. Venue sound technician
Ben Thompson contacted Simon Moran of
Optim Audio to install a d&b audiotechnik
sound system.
Three clusters arranged in a left, center
and right configuration make up the main
system. Each of these clusters consists of
one Ci60 and one Ci90 loudspeaker arrayed in a vertical setup. d&b audiotechnik
loudspeakers are also installed in delay positions with E3s in the upper balcony, E0s
covering under the balcony delays and further E0s employed as front fills. Rounding
out the low end are d&b Ci7 Subs.
14
200.0809.14.indd 14
SEPTEMBER 2008
The whole system is driven by d&b EPAC amplifiers, while system control and
monitoring are accomplished via the d&b
Remote network. A bespoke application
for the R1 Remote control software was
created jointly by Stefan Goetz from d&b’s
education and applications support team
in Germany and Shane Bailey from National Audio Systems, the d&b distributor for
Australia and New Zealand.
“I believe the Frankston Arts Centre
now has one of the best sound systems
available and is the first proscenium arch
theatre to install a d&b system in Australia,”
said Thomson. “ Since installation, we have
received outstanding feedback by providing this world-class, quality sound system.
Not only does the d&b system improve the
sound of performances coming into the
Centre, but it also provides unique opportunities for community groups to access a
state-of-the-art sound system.”
Special dispensation was made
for the Martin Audio Blackline F10,
which forms the DJ’s reference
monitoring in the highly specified
booth — as this does have a strong
muscular presence.
In order to balance the levels
of the source inputs — with different DJ and background music
feeds — Systems Etc has once
again used Martin Audio’s new
Engineer 418 DSP, as they did
recently at Pacha Victoria, working in conjunction with a separate zoner, which distributes the
sound to 14 different zones.
London’s Kingly Club is the first UK installation of the OmniLine Micro line
Array.
Monsters of Rock Festival Kicks Into High Gear
CALGARY, Alberta — Canadian rental
and production company Sound Art deployed an Electro-Voice sound system for
Canada’s largest annual events, kicking into
high gear every summer for the outdoor
festival season. This year saw the supply
of a suitably muscular EV X-Line system for
the Monsters of Rock festival at McMahon
Stadium in Calgary, featuring heavy metal
legends Ozzy Osbourne and Judas Priest.
The system’s X-Line component featured left and right arrays of 12 Xvls and
two Xvlt, each flanked by 12 flown Xsubs.
In addition, 12 XLC-DVX127 per side were
deployed as out-fill arrays, with additional
low-end support via 12 ground-stacked
Xsubs. Four Xf, four Xn and eight Xb (per
side) from EV’s X-Array line served as front
fills. 56 P3000RL amps powered the X-Line
and Xsubs, with 12 TG-7 for the XLC. IRISNet control and supervision software was
used for the X-Line and XLC systems.
Sound Art Calgary Operations Manager Ronan McGurk was systems tech for the
show, and described why X-Line is hard to
beat when it comes to delivering massive
sonic horsepower for heavy rock:
This was the first large concert at
McMahon Stadium in years, and it was
an amazing sounding one. We had
more than enough PA to cover the
whole stadium. It was typical EV: simple
to fly, simple to use, sounding great. All
the engineers at the show were very
pleased with the sound quality. The
X-Line and Xsubs always impress; the
newer equipment, particularly the TG
amps and XLC-DVX, are great too. The
DVX speakers provide so much body
and definition, though it’s not just the
woofers that have impressed me with
the DVX upgrade from the XLC-127+,
it’s the whole box. It was a big, loud
rock show, and this PA was perfect.”
Monsters of Rock Festival
www.fohonline.com
9/3/08 11:16:50 PM
On the Move
Bosch Communications Systems
has announced the
appointment of Kees
Geerts as product
marketing manager,
Conferencing
Systems AMEC.
Geerts is based at
Bosch Communica- Kees Geerts
tions Systems HQ in Burnsville, Minn., and
began his new position in August.
“I’m delighted to join the team at Burnsville,” says Kees, “and look forward to the continued growth of our Conferencing Systems
Business Line in the Americas.”
Professional’s cinema
business and prior to
that held senior sales
and marketing roles
at sister company,
Crown Audio.
As executive vice
president of Sales,
Morris will be based
at JBL Professional’s Stephen Morris
headquarters in Northridge, Calif., and will
direct worldwide sales operations, reporting
directly to John Carpanini. In his new capacity,
he will also lead U.S. sales operations for other
Harman Professional brands including AKG,
Soundcraft and Studer.
EAW has announced two new
personnel changes
to the EAW Europe
Sales and Application
Support Group (ASG).
The appointments
were announced by
Sean Martin, director of EAW European Kevin McNally
Operations.
Kevin McNally
will be joining EAW
Europe as the UK sales
manager, effective
Aug. 18. He will be responsible for all sales
activities in the UK
territory for both live
and installed applica- Moray McMillin
tions. McNally comes
to EAW from an active career in installed sound
design, including a stint at Metropolis AV and
FX in Surrey. He will be based out of the company’s offices in Wickford, England.
Previous UK Sales Manager, Moray
McMillin will be taking over European ASG duties effective Aug. 1. McMillin has been looking
after UK Sales for the past two years and now
moves his talents to the support of the entire
EMEA region from the technical application
standpoint.
Martin Audio has announced that Patrick
Lau has joined the company with responsibility for setting up a dedicated Asian office based
in Hong Kong. Lau
previously worked
for DCH, the Martin
Audio distributor for
Hong Kong and China, and has been instrumental in spearheading the growth
in sales and generally
expanding the com- Patrick Lau
pany’s profile in the territory.
Sennheiser has announced the addition of Daniel Shawgo and Eric Reese to its
south-central U.S. sales team. As regional
sales representatives, Shawgo is responsible
for all accounts in the northern Florida area
while Reese covers the northern Illinois and
eastern Wisconsin territories. Both report to
Regional Sales Manager Rick Renner.
In his new role,
Reese draws on a
10-year
career
focusing heavily on
ins ta lled s ou nd
and music industry
products. He came
to Sennheiser from
an engineering position at SPL Inte- Daniel Shawgo
grated Solutions
and owns and operates a PA company
called Loud and
Clear Productions.
His career also includes engineering
roles at Ford AudioVideo and Peavey
Electronics.
Eric Reese
The Harman
Music Group has announced the promotion of Reed Grothe
as executive vice
president of Sales
& Marketing and
the appointment of
Harman Professional
veteran Buzz Good- Reed Grothe
win to the position
of vice president of
Domestic MI Sales.
Grothe joined
Harman Music Group
in January 2007 as
executive vice president of Sales and
was formerly chief
global business de- Buzz Goodwin
velopment officer for
the Gibson Guitar Corporation.
Buzz Goodwin is a 20-year veteran of
Harman Professional and has proven himself to be a versatile and accomplished
sales leader in a number of markets including tour sound, recording and broadcast,
systems integration and MI.
JBL Professional has announced the
promotion of Harman Professional veteran,
Stephen Morris, to the position of executive
vice president of Sales, JBL Professional. Morris
takes up the position having successfully led
group-wide sales and marketing for Harman
2008 SEPTEMBER
15
New Gear
Pre-AES/PLASA New Gear Preview
By BillEvans
A
hhhhh. Smell that? It’s the exciting but somehow slightly putrid smell of trade
show season bearing down upon us. And the dance begins. Everyone wants A)
their stuff covered as widely as possible and B) to have it still be a surprise when
officially unveiled at PLASA in September or AES in October. You know, everyone wants
to go to heaven, but no one wants to die. Can’t have it both ways.
Bottom line is that some companies let us know wazzup in advance and others…
don’t. So what follows is a smattering, a hors d’oeuvre if you will, for the feast to come.
Not a lot of detail here, but lots of cool pictures. This will give you something to chew
on while waiting for the trade show of your choice to come around.
We’ll start with speakers. Meyer Sound has announced the release of the new selfpowered UPQ-2P narrow coverage loudspeaker. High-power output and low distortion
combined with a tightly focused beamwidth make it a natural for small- to mid-sized
auditoriums, houses of worship, theatres and nightclubs, either as a standalone loudMidas Pro6
be quick. First, Allen & Heath has new offline editing software for the iLive. Second,
DiGiCo is continuing the “stealth” marketing campaign that they took up with the SD7
and all we know about the SD8 is that it is being intro’d at PLASA (and then AES a few
weeks later) and the picture makes it appear to be made of gold. Nice touch.
Okay, on to the two we know a little something about. Midas has brought forth a
little brother for the XL8 called the Pro6. It has a much smaller footprint than the XL8,
but a lot of the same technology. A whopping 80 inputs and as many as 32 output
mixes mean you can use it at FOH or MON, and it can be expanded up to 264 x 264
all with EQ and dynamics processing. Linux-based makes it at least potentially opensource, which bodes well for future development. FOH’s Jamie Rio flew over to London
,while his editor was stuck in the Midwest, to stay in a 15th-century abbey-turned
hotel, drink Scotch and see the new beast. You can read about his adventure online at
Turbosound Flex Array Series
Alcons LR14/90
speaker or as a part of an array. The UPQ-2P features a low-frequency 15-inch neodymium magnet cone driver and 4-inch diaphragm compression driver, both designed
and manufactured at Meyer Sound’s Berkeley, Calif. laboratories. Its proprietary twochannel class AB/H power amplifier yields a combined power output of 1275 watts and
uses Meyer Sound’s proprietary QuietCool fan technology. The amplifier is equipped
with Meyer Sound’s Intelligent AC power supply that adapts to any power voltage
worldwide.
From “across the pond,” Alcons is now shipping its LR14/90 pro-ribbon line-array.
The LR14/90 is a passive 2-way ultra-compact line-array module to be used in vertical
stacked or flown arrays with a maximum SPL of 130 dB+ per unit. The LR14/90 uses Alcons’ proprietary pro-ribbon technology for MHF reproduction. The frequencies below
1 kHz are taken care of by two 6.5-inch Neodymium mid-bass drivers, making the system real full-range in most applications with its lowest usable frequency being 51 Hz.
Soundcraft Si3
Still looking at the Euro crowd and PLASA we find Turbosound’s new Flex Array
series, which combines elements of line array theory with virtual point source technology in one loudspeaker product. It is aimed at providing rental companies with a onebox solution for a variety of venues and audiences. Now there’s an idea…
Available in switchable bi-amp/tri-amp and self-powered versions, Flex Array cabinets feature two independent load-certified integrated flying systems, which enable
quick and easy rigging with the minimum of external parts. The flybar’s screw thread
adjustment allows the movable lift point to be traversed using a handheld speed brace
or electric drill even while under load. The flybar supports a column of loudspeakers up
to 700 kg from a single fly point.
On to the other end of the snake and some real news in consoles. Hmmm, where
to begin? Well, they are all Brits so I guess it doesn’t matter. Let’s go in alphabetical
order, which means we are going to start with the two we know the least about. This’ll
Sennheiser e 965
Meyer UPQ-2P
16
SEPTEMBER 2008
DiGiCo SD8
Sensaphonics dB Check
www.fohonline.com/pro6.
Staying on the smaller and more affordable tip, Soundcraft is doing a mid-market
alternative to the Vi series called the Si3. This one is made to be a drop-and-go replacement for an analogue board with everything in one chassis — console surface, all input
and output connections, power supply. Nice. This compact footprint desk can directly
handle 64 mono inputs, four stereo inputs and has full connectivity for all 35 output
busses (24 Aux/Group, 8 Matrix and Left/Right/Centre mix buses) Add to this four Lexicon effects processors, 12 VCA groups, eight Mute groups and bar graph metering for
all 35 bus outputs and the same kind of easy-to-grasp software as the Vi6 and Studer
vista consoles and it looks very interesting indeed.
To make preparation of the console
setup easier, Soundcraft is also planning
to release an offline editor for the Si3.
This self-contained suite runs on a PC or
laptop and allows configuration of the
console, which can then be downloaded
to the desk.
That leaves us with a couple of things
that are neither consoles nor speakers.
First, apropos for a company founded by
an audiologist, Sensaphonics has introduced a dB meter for use with personal
monitors. Yes, this is a handheld unit that
measures A-weighted APL along with the
safe exposure time at that level in real
Ramp Runners
time. Guess the days of cranking the iPod
at the gym are over…
Mics. There has to be new performance mics. Oh, there’s one. Sennheiser is touting
a new flagship product within the successful evolution range; the e 965 is also their
first large-diaphragm true condenser microphone in the evolution line. The e 965 features a dual-diaphragm transducer, which allows users to switch between cardioid and
super-cardioid pick-up patterns — a real boon for use on loud stages.
Finally, the thing that makes or breaks a gig is often not the high-tech stuff, it
is the “make-it-work” logistics stuff. So we end with something totally low-tech — a
transport/storage cart for cable protectors. The Ramp Runners are two-wheel and fourwheel carts that allow one person to easily transport or store up to 10 Guard Dog 5
Channel Cable Protectors or 10 Linebacker GP 5 Channel Cable Protectors at one time.
An optional Retractable Rail System can be added to the four-wheel cart to transport
up to eight pairs of Cross-Guard ADA Compliant Ramps. A removable Storage Box is
also available for the 4-wheel cart.
Now go out there and git ‘er done…
www.fohonline.com
Showtime
Apple River Country Splash –
Gretchen Wilson, Trisha Yearwood, Alan Jackson
Venue
Float-Rite Park
Somerset, WI
CREW
FOH Engineer: Al Mir
Monitor Engineer: Andre St. Pierre
System Engineer: John Tellis
Production Manager: John Morrison
/ Gary Brunclik
System Tech: Adam Burghout and
John Bryant
Soundco
Clearwing
Productions
- Phoenix
GEAR
FOH
Console: Yamaha PM5D RH
Speakers: L-ACOUSTICs V-DOSC (42),
dV-DOSC (12), SB 218 (24), Meyer UPJ (4)
Amps: Lab.gruppen fp6400, LA 48,
Crown Macrotech MA5002
Processing: XTA DP 226 and DP 448
Mics: Shure, Shure UHF-R,
Sennheiser, Beyer, Radial Active DI’s
Power Distro: Motion Labs 200A 3
Phase
Rigging: CM 1 Ton, CM 1/2 Ton, CM
1/4 Ton
Breakout Assemblies: Clearwing
Custom and L-ACOUSTICS DOM Series
Snake Assemblies: Radial ISO 3way
48 x 16 (1) and Whirlwind Concert
Series ISO 56 x 16 (2)
MON
Console: Yamaha PM5D RH
Speakers: Martin LE 700, Martin
Blackline sub with 2 JBL VRX (drum
fill), 4 L-ACOUSTICS ARCS flown with
2 dV Subs per side (sidefills)
Amps: Lab.gruppen fp6400, Crown
MA2402, MA3600
Processing: Crown PIP IQ2 Cards and
XTA DP 226
Mics: Shure, Shure UHF-R,
Sennheiser, Beyer, Radial Active DIs
Power Distro: Motion Labs 200A 3
Phase
Rigging: CM 1 Ton, CM 1/2 Ton, CM
1/4 Ton
Heaven Fest 2008
ST
Venue
GEAR
Denver, CO
CREW
FOH Engineer: Dave Hash
Monitor Engineer: Andy Shornack
Systems Engineer: Bill Hart
Production Manager: Jeff Preiss
System Techs: Jereimiah Horner
FOH
Console: PM5D-RH
Speakers: 24 V-DOSC Elements, 4
Arcs
Amps: Lab.gruppen
Processing: XTA
Mics: Shure
Power Distro: Motion Labs
Rigging: Loadstar
Breakout Assemblies: Whirlwind
Snake Assemblies: Whirlwind
MON
Consoles: Yamaha PM5D
Speakers: 12 EAW SM200, 5 Shure
PSM 700, 6 Shure PSM 600, 4 Meyer
MSL 4 flown Side fills, 2 Meyer 700
subs, 1 DV dosc sub and 1 arc for
drum fill
Amps: QSC Powerlite
Mics: All Shure
Rigging: Loadstar
Pemberton Festival
Venue
Main Stage
Pemberton, BC
CREW
Soundco
Audio Image
Canada
FOH Engineer: Toshi Sugitani
Monitor Engineer: Ed Hatfield
System Engineer: Michael Mordente
Production Manager: David Vaughan
Tour Manager: Ron Chamberlin
System Techs: Derek Mahaffey,
Chandy Kilburn
18
ST
SEPTEMBER 2008
www.fohonline.com
GEAR
FOH
Console: Digidesign Profile/MIdas
H-3000
Speakers: 32 L-ACOUSTICS V’DOSC,
40 Rat Subs, 40 Meyer Mica, 20 Meyer
M’elodie, 12 Meyer 700 HP, 6 Meyer UPJ
Amps: L-ACOUSTICS, Crest
Processing: 2 Meyer Galileo 616, 2
XTA
Mics: Shure, Neuman, Sennheiser,
Audio-Technica, various
Soundco
Initial Production
Group with
Production Services
International
ST
Rigging: CM
Breakout Assemblies: Cable Factory
Snake Assemblies: Cable Factory/
Whirlwind
MON
Speakers: 20 Meyer MJF-212. NEXO
Alpha E-line
Amps: Self-powered, Crown
Processing: NEXO
Mics: Various
Rigging: CM
Adamari Caribbean Festival / Shabba Ranks
Venue
Queen Mary Park
Long Beach, CA
CREW
FOH Engineer: Danny Almeyda
Monitor Engineer: John Coleman
System Engineer: Brent Milton,
Danny Almeyda, Jerimiah “Jerms”
Lauria
System Techs: Danny “Mix-Mennace”
Almeyda & Brent Milton, CEO
GEAR
FOH
Console: Yamaha M7CL
Speakers: 24 Adamson Y-10 (12 per
side) and Adamson T-21s (4 per side)
Amps: 2 Lab.gruppen fp3400 and 3
fp6400 per amp rack X 4
Processing: 4 XTA DP-424
Mics: 1 Switched SM-58 for Talk Back
Power Distro: Pro Power RCD series
Distro
Rigging: 1 Danny Almeyda 4 CM
1-ton Motors (2 per side)
Breakout Assemblies: Socco
speaker breakouts for Y-10s and subs
Snake Assemblies: 54 Channel
Ramlach Snake and Split box
MON
Speakers: 10 Radian Micro Wedge
12s and an SB-1000 Kick drum sub, 2
sets of KF 750s and 750SB for Side fills
Amps: Each Rack consists of 2)
Crown MA2402 and 2)Crown
MA3600VZ
Processing: 4 dbx Drive Rack 480
Mics: Shure UR4D X 4 Tx. handhelds
, 8 Shure sm-58s, 6 Shure Sm-57s,
3 Shure sm-81s, 1 Shure Beta-52, 1
Beta-91, 4 Beta 98s, 4 Sennheiser
421s
Power Distro: Pro Power RCD Series
Distro (on stage)
Soundco
Pacific West Sound
Trinumeral 8 Music & Arts Festival
Venue
Deerfields, NC
CREW
FOH Engineer: Stewart Clawson/
Justin Thompson
Monitor Engineer: Roscoe Edney/
Kyle Richford
System Engineer: Stewart Clawson/
Kenny Reiss
Production Manager: Brad Keats
System Techs: Kenny Reiss, Kyle
Richford, Justin Thompson, 25 Full
Sail students
Soundco
Hurricane Mountain
Sound, LLC
GEAR
FOH
Speakers: D.A.S. Audio Compact 2
Amps: QSC Power Light
Processing: dbx Driverack 480
Mics: Shure, AKG, Sennheiser
Power Distro: Proprietary
Snake Assemblies: CBI
Paul Van Dyk
ST
Soundco
Venue
Metropolis Nightclub
Reno, NV
CREW
FOH Engineer: Fabien Minez
System Engineer: Robert Grimard
GEAR
FOH
Console: Innovason SY80 + system
rack
Speakers: 16 Dynacord PWH, 6
Dynacord Cobra4 top, 4 Dynacord
Cobra4 far
Amps: Powersoft K8
Processing: Rane RPM88, Dynacord
DSP244
Snake Assemblies: Radial
Productions Reno
MON
Speakers: 4 Dynacord FX20, 2
Dynacord FX12
Amps: Dynacord Xa2 system rack
Power Distro: Motion labs
ST
MON
Consoles: Yamaha M7CL,
Midas Venice 320
Speakers: TCS 1150Ms
Amps: QSC PLX
Processing: Ashly
Mics: Shure, Sennheiser, AKG
Power Distro: Proprietary
We
Want You!
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
[email protected]
for more info. We cover
the industry
— and that means
you!
ST
FOH Interview
Rush Drummer Neil Peart in the zone
Modern-Day Warriors Choose Free Will
We catch up with Brad Madix,
Brent Carpenter and Rush.
By NortJohnson
FOH engineer Brad Madix
T
o say that Rush is a damn good rock
band would be the understatement
of the last four decades. Geddy Lee,
Neil Peart and Alex Lifeson are three of
the best at what they do in the world.
When they perform live, it’s a mind-boggling experience. Since the release of the
band's self-titled debut album in March
1974, Rush has become known for the instrumental skills of its members, complex
compositions and eclectic lyrical motifs
drawing heavily on science fiction, fantasy and libertarian philosophy, as well
as addressing humanitarian, social, emotional and environmental concerns. They
were in this when live sound reinforcement was just a scared little kid. Now that
our industry has grown up by leaps and
bounds, Rush’s sound has evolved along
with it.
We caught up with them in Milwaukee, Wis., at the Marcus Amphitheater, a
small (23,000-capacity) shed on the shore
of Lake Michigan. This was the middle of
the band’s 2008 Snakes and Arrows North
American tour. The crew had flown the
Clair I4 rig in what almost seemed to be
a land-to-air record. Then a small problem
arose, and the stage right fly had to come
down right before sound check. They had
it back in the air in no time. After sound
check, we sat down with FOH engineer
Brad Madix to talk about some of the perfunctory issues on this swing of the tour.
Sitting behind a Digidesign Venue, he
started out with much enthusiasm.
FOH: So what sold you on the Digidesign
Venue for this particular tour?
Brad Madix: I used this desk with Shakira, so I wanted to bring it over from my
experience with that. I like the smaller
Profile version of it. The plug-ins for this
are studio-quality. During my stretch
with Shakira, I talked with them about
what they used on the record and how
they made the record, and we went and
got the same stuff, and it was exactly the
same stuff.
20
SEPTEMBER 2008
Monitor Engineer Brent Carpenter
Who chose the mics on this tour?
Brent (monitor engineer) and I do in
tandem with the band. Rush pretty much
likes what they hear. These guys told us
“you guys need to use what works for
you!” Geddy’s pretty particular about the
vocals and what works with the vocals, of
course. We took five or six mics and narrowed them down to one and that’s how
it worked out.
Do you use any standard outboard gear
in your mix?
There’s not much outboard. I run Geddy through a Lake IO just for EQ. It’s a very
flexible EQ. It serves as both a shaping as
well as feedback control, and you can keep
it pretty tight... Then I use a Pro Tools record rack. They are very handy for tuning
the PA. Plus, if there is something that is
not quite working in the room for you at
that venue you can touch it up before the
band walks on stage. The rest is plug-in. I
use Eventide Anthology, and a few other
sidekicks are in there as well. Then there’s
the incredible potpourri that comes with
the desk, which is highly functional.
Rush lead vocalist and bassist Geddy Lee
Monitor engineer Brent Carpenter
masts some heavy duties. Just about a half
hour before the show, he found time to
clue us in on the monitor situation.
What kind of personal monitors are you
using with this tour?
Brent Carpenter: All three band members are on Ultimate Ears UE-7 Pros. I find
that the isolation that I get from the UEs,
the way they are manufactured and the
materials they use are really far superior
to the other major personal ear monitor
companies. There may be someone else
out there, but I haven’t found another
company that does a better job.
How’s the service from Ultimate Ears?
They have treated me like I was the
only guy on the planet, and that goes a
long way when you’re in the middle of a
Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson
www.fohonline.com
They were in this when live sound
reinforcement was just a scared little
kid. Now that our industry has grown
up by leaps and bounds, Rush’s sound
has evolved along with it.
Rush concert at Summerfest from FOH position
large tour. They call me all the time and
ask me if things are cool. I have never had
a problem on this tour, but when I have
on previous ones, I send it, they fix it
and sent it right back to me. I have never
missed a show with them.
Why do you like their molds so much?
The UEs are way better molds than
I have been able to find out there. The
band is extremely pleased with them. The
EQ circuitry that they’re using now, even
from last summer, is superior in just that
short amount of time. They actually take
your impression and put it in a 3D laser
scanner. Then they have a laser cutter cut
the ear monitor out of the material.”
What kind of new things are you doing
on this tour in regard to miking?
Most of the mics on stage are Audio-Technica, with a smattering of Shure products as
well. We use three Shure SM 98s to pick up
certain points on the cymbals that are not being picked up well with the overheads. That’s
because Neil plays with a very wide, open kit
and it’s hard to pick up every cymbal like he
wants to hear it with just two overheads.
On the Kick, we’re using the Audio
Technica AE 2500 — it’s a duel element mic
so there’s two elements in one shell, and
they’re perfectly time-aligned with each
other, which is really nice. The snare is a 23
HE on the top. It’s a good all around mic,
kind of like an old Shure SM product. On the
bottom is an AE 5100 and that is their pencil condenser. Then we went with an AE 450
on the hi hat that is a side-address pencil
condenser. Neil’s kit is so tight that it’s really hard to get a mic in there pointed down.
So, we went with this side address. We can’t
stick it in there from the side because it has
a polar pattern that points straight down. I
have to say that a lot of what we do couldn’t
be done without our system engineer Joe
Ravitch and our monitor tech Anson Moore
— it just wouldn’t be possible!
The show went well and Madix drove
the rig at about 101 to 103 dB throughout
most of it. Our handheld SPL meter spiked
a few times and only on some controlled
accents. Above all, the acoustical challenges of the Marcus were only a small
drizzle of rain as they opened the gates,
dampening the sold-out Summerfest performance. These guys get it!
www.fohonline.com
2008 SEPTEMBER
21
Production Profile
W
Mass music events are becoming
the norm around the world.
e have covered festivals as a business trend and have covered many individual events
as production profiles, but this year we are pulling out all the stops and gathering
coverage of more than a half-dozen festivals into a single feature. It’s a big job, but
somebody’s gotta do it… Enjoy.
Summerfest 2008
A Midwestern Family Affair
By NortJohnson
S
ummerfest has been running since
1968 and has grown to be the largest
festival in the world. Period. (Ed note:
There is some question here. Rock in Rio also
claims to be the biggest, so it all depends
on how you look at it. Stages? Performers?
Attendance? Revenue? Like Mark Twain said,
there are three kinds of lies: lies, damn lies
and statistics. To which this editor would add
“gear specs,” but that is for another story…)
ing just after the Fourth of July. It takes place
on 75 acres of lakefront adjacent to downtown Milwaukee.
The festival site, the Henry W. Maier
Festival Park, stretches about a mile and a
quarter, starting on the south end with the
23,000-capacity Marcus Amphitheater and
runs north with 12 other permanent miniamphitheater structures — all with varied
capacities of 6,000-plus each, respectively.
Every year for over the last 40 years, the
city of Milwaukee has played host to what
has been called the largest festival of its
kind in the world — Summerfest.
I worked at Summerfest for many years
and my son D.J. (now 28 and a touring sound
engineer veteran) spent his youth growing
up every summer on the grounds from the
age of six. He was tutored by folks like Harry
Witz, Ronnie Kimbal (Bad Religion) and Mike
Piper (The Allman Brothers). D.J. was a young
teen back then. My slightly younger brother,
Todd (Clair Bros.), has been working with the
festival for longer than I have. My nephew
Dave was seven years old when he used to
hide under the Old Style Stage. Dave is now
25 and touring the world as a backline tech.
Next year it will be my six-year-old grandson’s
turn to be brought into this Summerfest fold.
What and Who?
FOH
Going back to interview old comrades
like Terry Linneman (system tech at the Briggs
and Stratton Stage for over 20 years), Greg
and Gary Brunclick (Clearwing Productions),
and our buddies Steve Vallee and Rick Erickson was a blast and honor. Working productions for Summerfest is like a family reunion
every year. So what and who makes this festival unique? Here’s an FOH exclusive overview
and interview we hope you will enjoy.
Every year for over the last 40 years, the
city of Milwaukee has played host to what
has been called the largest festival of its kind
in the world — Summerfest. It goes for 11
days starting the last week of June and endSEPTEMBER 2008
Handling production for an outdoor shed
the size of the Marcus Amphitheater is a fulltime gig alone — add to the mix 12 more
stages that require backline, hospitality and
the usual rider requirements for international
touring acts and you get the idea.
Production Manager Steve Vallee takes it
all in stride and virtually alone. With the help
of his assistant Amanda Grumbein, Vallee is
unseasonably calm commanding Summerfest. For the last 21 years, he has been producing all the shows at all the stages from a small
production office stage right off the loading
docks at the Marcus. When Vallee started,
they had seven stages. Over the years that
number has grown to 12 to handle different
pockets of demographics. This year, the new
Harley Davidson stage is an incredible design
feat by the motorcycle giant. It looks as awesome as it sounds.
Some of the biggest bands and artists
in the world have played Summerfest during Vallee’s tenure, and a lot of them performed a mile or more from his sightline.
With 5 a.m. to 6 a.m. calls and 12 a.m. to 1
a.m. outs, he laughs and says, “I get home
some days with just enough time to shower
and then come back.”
A Massive Project
FOH
So how does he smoothly attack a massive project like Summerfest each year with
high degrees of consistency? “Well, I wrote a
preparatory computer program that pretty
much keeps all my information organized. I
can take the information in at one place and
then from there I can develop backline reports, stagehand reports, hospitality and information on sound and lighting companies.
It’s an Access program, that’s basically how I
keep track of it all.”
As far as festival staff? There is a large
group of volunteer drivers for Summerfest.
They move the entertainers and their staff
to and from the hotels, airport and shows,
as well as a number of equipment haulers to
transport equipment from the various holding areas to the stages. There are also three
or more runners at the Marcus all the time.
A nine-person production staff review contracts, arrange hotels, coordinate sponsorship
equipment and deal with local band issues.
When priorities and staff collide, Vallee
seems to hold them both in high regard. So,
what’s up with just one assistant? Vallee explained, “ I like to keep things efficient, and
Amanda has done a great job for 11 years
with me here. The more people you have
the more information gets moved around
and people get involved in situations that they shouldn’t. With one
good assistant, I can keep my finger on what’s going on. I don’t like
to micromanage, but I like to know
what’s going on all the time.”
So, almost every aspect of
Summerfest production is managed from Vallee’s office at the
Marcus, which he rarely wanders from. “I don’t have to move
around the grounds a lot. I usually
get out there once or twice a day
to see what’s going on at the different stages. I talk to the stage
managers on the phone all the
time. I check in at the end of the
night and call all the stage managers and ask them how it went
that day. Because I have a show
going on here at the Marcus every
day, I have a lot of issues to deal
with here at the Marcus, but all
the stage managers at Summer-
www.fohonline.com
fest are some of the most professional in the
industry as far as I’m concerned. If there’s a
problem with production or an artist, you can
bet I’ll hear about it right away.”
The longest standing stage manager
is Summerfest veteran Rick Erickson at the
Briggs and Stratton Stage. He has had 31
years of deployment with the festival.
Vallee works with only a couple different vendors for sound, lighting and backline requirements. Clearwing Productions of
Milwaukee supplies lighting for the Marcus
Amphitheater and Clair/Showco of Chicago
supplies sound for those acts not carrying
production for the shed. Clearwing Productions also supplies V-DOSC for sound at all
the major ground stages except two and
augments and supplies lighting on the stages that have house lighting production. Greg
Brunclick, Clearwing’s owner, oversees his
company’s employment from stage to stage
on the grounds. His company started in the
late 1970s, and has gone from doing two
small stages at the festival to 90 percent of
the production. Clair/Showco supplies sound
on one grounds stage, the Briggs and Stratton.
Clearwing also supplies all the backline
for the entire festival for the acts not carrying.
As you can imagine, Chad Sikkink, who runs
Clearwings backline, is a pretty popular fellow during the 11-day festival.
Testing the New Rig
FOH
This year was the first year Clearwing
took delivery of a new NEXO GEO-T rig for
the Zippo Rock stage on the north end of the
grounds. Brunclick wanted to deploy the new
rig through rigorous combat. The GEO T held
the front lines for them well.
“We put the Geo-T at the rock stage purposely so we could pound nails with it so to
speak. To let it prove itself,” said Brunclick.
“The triple 18-inch subs on the ground surprised everyone. The order of the day at that
stage is to fire up the system and play a Rage
Against the Machine song as revaley in the
morning,” Brunclick chimed. “The Zippo stage
is the northern most stage on the grounds.
The guys from the southern-most stage on
the grounds called the North Zippo stage
(about a mile away) not to tell them that they
John Mayer performing at Summerfest
Production Profile
Summerfest 2008
Local Artists Welcome
FOH
Besides major and regional touring artists, a lot of local Wisconsin artists are featured usually during the day slots at the
music stages. Even more diversity comes
as you pass stages like the Potawatomi
Bingo Casino Stage where you can find an
old-fashioned Wisconsin bingo game in the
rock in rio
T
he world’s largest rock festival grew
even larger this year. Rock in Rio
drew masses of music-loving revelers to Lisbon in early June before moving
to a second location in Madrid for a series of shows in late June and early July.
Rock in Rio Lisbon featured performances by Lenny Kravitz, Bob Dylan, Bon Jovi,
Metallica, Rod Stewart and Linkin Park,
while the Madrid dates included the likes
of Neil Young, Shakira, The Police and a
shaky-in-stilettos Amy Winehouse. Events
at each site drew up to 100,000 people
with 300,000 attendees confirmed for
Madrid.
“Headroom for Days”
FOH
Brazil-based Gabisom Audio Equipment, the largest audio company in Latin
America, provided sound system services
for all artists at both locations. The main
(World Stage) system featured a massive JBL VerTec system with four array
locations. A total of 120 VT4889s and 60
VT4880A Ultra Long Excursion subwoofers were deployed in the main suspended arrays.
The main system consisted of four
arrays across the front in the normal L/R,
LL/RR configuration. The unusual part,
however, was that each array consisted of
three separate hangs: dual VerTec VT4889
full-range hangs separated by a VT4880A
subwoofer hang in the middle. The main
left and right arrays had two columns of
18 VT4889 line array elements and one
column of 18 VT4880A arrayable subwoofers each. Outer LL and RR columns
had two columns of 12 VT4889 elements
and one column of 12 VT4880 subwoofers.
24
SEPTEMBER 2008
afternoon and bands like The Wailers or Marcia Ball at night. Throw into the mix the small
children’s stages and smaller PAs, you have a
complete manifest of demographic production from Summerfest Inc. and Clearwing.
So, after the 11 days with over 700 headliners — what’s left for Vallee to do? “Well,
first we have to load out and that will start
about 9 a.m. the next day, and we’ll finish
about 5 p.m. for the whole grounds. Then
once I’m done with that, I keep track of the
payrolls for the stagehands every day and
enter them into the computer. I take a look
and see where we are at with the budgets.
I have to get projections to our accounting department to see if we’ve gone over
budget or not. I deal with whatever issues
we had this year and start thinking about
changes for next year. I try to start getting an
idea on where we are at for next year. Then I
basically try to get some sleep.”
He starts working on Summerfest early in
the year and never really stops. Advancing all
the artists takes time. Vallee’s responsibilities
are expansive: He takes care of all the hiring
and firing of production staff — surveys new
site plans and implements them, budgets for
new entertainment areas on the grounds and
consults in every aspect of what the Guinness
Book of World Records calls, “the largest music festival in the world.”
(L-R) Clearwing owner Greg Brunclick and Steve Vallee, Summerfest production manager
Jim Pietryga
could hear the subs, but that they could feel
them. That’s a pretty good testimony on how
much air they’re moving!”
The GEO-T performed well for the task at
hand. Its cardioid approach seemed to make
this PA really clear. It brings out all the things
that you’re not used to hearing on other PAs.
The subs move your gut almost requiring
a change of shorts. The degree of access is
great, too. We just loved standing under the
fly and walking the stage ground with nothing transitional.
Walking through the Festival site, you’ll
find a lot of L-ACOUSTICS V-DOSC. Almost all
the stages are digital, with Yamaha PM5Ds
leading the pack — the oldest console that
we ran into was a Ramsa SX1.
Clearwing has grown a lot over the
years and has another office in Phoenix run
by Brunclick’s brother, Gary. The company
has also won a Parnelli Award for Regional
Sound Company of the Year.
Headliners Rush performing at Summerfest
Europe’s claim to the biggest festival gets even bigger.
By TravisMcGee
“The main PA was set up in a nontraditional and unusual manner, which
we call ‘side-by-side,’” said Gabisom’s Peter Racy, chief engineer for Rock In Rio.
“It was nontraditional for line array systems because of its mammoth size and
also unusual because it was intentionally
designed to have a greater amount of
acoustical output than usual. The system
had headroom for days.”
High Expectations
FOH
According to Racy, each cluster (group
of these three arrays) was fed three separate signals called Band, Vocal and Sub.
This helped create sound that was characterized as “effortlessly powerful and
clear” in a festival where the sheer size
of the venues and audiences cried out
for something more than just a standard
PA. “By separating what would normally
just be a single program feed in this way,
we gain loads of headroom from each
of these three dedicated sub-systems,
allowing the entire signal flow [mix busses, summing amps, system processors,
amplifiers and speaker components] to
work in a comfortable range, far below
the traditional onset of system limiting
or distortion, while delivering the huge
sound that has come to be expected at
Rock in Rio,” he said.
FOH engineers could elect to feed
vocal signals/effects only to the inner
VT4889 columns while the music mix
went to the outer VT4889 columns. This
was the program-feed option recommended by the Gabisom sound crew,
which was led by Racy with Valter Silva
in charge at front-of-house. Using the
“Vocal/Band/Sub” triple-program source
Rock in Rio festival
(The main PA) was nontraditional for line
array systems because of its mammoth
size, and also unusual because it was
intentionally designed to have a greater
amount of acoustical output than usual.
The system had headroom for days”
— Peter Racy, chief engineer for Rock In Rio
www.fohonline.com
Production Profile
All in all, it was a really big PA that looked good
and sounded good. What more can you ask for?”
— Tony Szabo, system engineer for the European leg of Bob
Dylan’s tour.
Producao audio - alexandre BaPtista
rock in rio
Rock in Rio draws hundreds of thousands of music-loving
revelers to Lisbon and Madrid.
feed approach, flown subwoofers had
a discrete feed and additional VLF (very
low-frequency) content was also able to
be fed to additional stage-stacked Meyer
subwoofer arrays via an auxiliary signal
bus from the mixing console.
Six delay towers were set up, each with
six Norton LS-8 line array systems, local to
Portugal. With the help of these, Gabisom
was able to cover the entire 300-meter-
Front-of-house position at Rock in Rio
26
SEPTEMBER 2008
deep (985-foot) audience area with plenty
left over to play to the music-driven fountains beyond the seating zone.
“This was the first time that I had to
set a delay time by sight,” Racy noted. “We
supplied a line-level audio signal to the
fountain’s control room. I then had to set
the audio signal delay based upon the
ballistics/responsiveness of the fountain’s
water pumps, while listening to the music
and watching the effect of the dancing
waters. It was actually quite fun!”
Bringing the Crowds
FOH
In Madrid, the July 6 show featuring Bob
Dylan, Lenny Kravitz, Franz Ferdinand and
Chris Cornell, drew one of the largest singleday crowds of the entire festival. “Gabisom
did a great job on the VerTec system design,
setup and operations for this year’s Rock In
A total of 120 JBL VerTec VT4889
large-format line array elements
and 60 VT4880A Ultra Long Excursion
subwoofers were deployed in the
main suspend arrays.
www.fohonline.com
Rio, and our team was quite impressed with
the results,” noted UK-based Tony Szabo, system engineer for the European leg of Bob
Dylan’s tour. “With Peter and Valter in charge
at front of house, and JBL’s new V4 DSP presets loaded in the rig, the show certainly
sounded good. We really didn’t have to do
too much EQ. All in all, it was a really big PA
that looked good and sounded good. What
more can you ask for?”
A JBL VerTec system at Rock in Rio
Production Profile
Europe’s Festival Scene
The U.S. isn’t the only hotspot for festival action. In fact, some of the largest festivals are hitting the European countryside, including England’s Glastonbury and Latitude
Fests, Solidays Music Festival in Paris and Scotland’s T in the Park.
Glastonbury Festival
England’s Glastonbury Festival is unquestionably Europe’s biggest festival. The
three-day festival featured some 500 bands, artists and DJs. The John Peel Stage is one
of the main attractions at Glastonbury Festival with 43 bands performing, including The
Cribs, Friendly Fires, Patrick Watson and The Futureheads.
The John Peel Stage’s monitor tech Mike Taylor, from Emarty, used HK Audio stage
monitoring products for the first time in 2008. Fourteen CT 115 ConTour Series high-/
midrange units, biamped with DSM 2060 controllers and Lab.gruppen FP 10000 power
amps served as front monitors. Two CT 112 enclosures and four CTA 118 units provided
the drum-fill, and one ConTour Array with two CTA 208 and CTA 118 enclosures made
up the side-fill system.
Solidays Music Festival
For the past 10 years, the Ile de France region has supported the Solidays music festival to raise AIDS awareness. As this year was the 10th anniversary of the festival, a fifth
stage was added and a vast electic selection of hip-hop, rock, reggae and techno artists
were invited to perform. French PA company Melpomen, which has provided PA support
for the last decade, was able to use three generations of NEXO’s GEO Series line array
loudspeakers in their FOH systems.
Out of the five stages, the two largest featured NEXO’s GEO T systems. [The larger of the
two had 24 GEO Ts per side with six GEO Subs (flown) per side and six CD18s per side. The
smaller GEO T stage had 12 GEO Ts per side and CD18s per side.] Making their first appearance at the festival, the NXAMP 4 x 4 power amplifiers were used to drive the subwoofers
won the large GEO T stage.
oregon jamboree
T
he Jamboree is quite likely the largest
and most successful music festival in
America that operates under the auspices of a community rather than a private
promoter. In this case, it’s for the sole benefit
of Sweet Home (population around 8,000), a
logging and mill town hit hard by the timber
harvest cutbacks of the early 1990s. Looking
to leverage its location in the scenic Cascade
foothills, the town decided to boost tourism
by hosting a country music festival.
Applying federal timber settlement
dollars as seed money, the festival premiered in 1992 and has grown steadily
ever since. Over 500 townspeople volunteer yearly for the event, working as everything from stagehands to drivers for buses
that shuttle fans back and forth from the
16 temporary campgrounds also operated
by the festival. (Buses are big, bright yellow and otherwise rarely used in August.)
After money is set aside for the following
year’s event, the remaining proceeds —
well into six figures lately — go to community development grants.
Spanning Generations
FOH
The sixteenth edition of the festival
ran the first weekend in August with total
three-day attendance pushing 40,000. Fans
spanning the generations — from preteen
through geriatric — streamed into the site
to hear the 13 acts, with headliners ranging
from high-energy contemporary artists like
Sugarland, Trace Adkins and Neal McCoy to
enduring icons like Glen Campbell and former Alabama frontman Randy Owen.
Since 2003, sound for the Jamboree has
28
SEPTEMBER 2008
T in the Park
ADLIB Audio also supplied sound for two stages at the T in the Park 2008 festival,
staged at Kinross, Scotland; the King Tuts Wah Wah Stage and Slam Stage. Slam Stage’s
massive V-shaped dance-orientated tent had a capacity of 20,000. Its shape and scale
presented some interesting challenges for ADLIB Crew Chief Hassane Essiahi and his
team who worked with Sound Engineer Dave Pringle.
The 40-meter-wide stage — with DJ platform in front — was located at the middle
point of the V, leaving large sections toward the edges of the tent needing to be covered. This was achieved with the installation of two delay stacks per side. They chose to
use a JBL VerTec system, all ground stacked, with the main stage stacks containing six
VT4889 elements a side, augmented with two 4889 per side at the edges of the stage
plus AA FD2 infills along the stage lip. For subs, there were eight VT 4880As per side.
The four delays comprised three NEXO Alpha S2 subs, three B1 bass and six M3 tops per
stack. The FOH console was a Soundcraft Series 5.
Horne Audio rocks the country at Oregon Jamboree.
By BruceBorgerson
been supplied by Portland-based Horne Audio. For company owner J. Peter Horne, the
Jamboree is a keystone event in his summer
schedule. “It’s certainly one of my bigger
events in terms of size and income,” he says.
“It’s also very well run. Any issues that come
up seem to get resolved in a non-stressful
way, which means I can kick back and have
some fun.”
Horne was contracted for the Jamboree
when the previous sound supplier failed to
keep pace with the festival’s growth, according to festival director Peter LaPonte. “Every
year Peter [Horne] listens and makes notes,”
he says, “and then makes new equipment
purchases based on what worked and what
didn’t. Also, his monitor engineers are topof-the-line. We never hear of problems or
complaints.”
Covering Ground
2008 Latitude Festival
ADLIB Audio supplied sound production and crew for the third year running to Lake
Stage, the Film & Music Stage and the Cabaret Arena at the 2008 Latitude Festival. This is
one of a host of festivals ADLIB is involved in this Summer.
The Lake Stage was sponsored by the BBC as an “introducing” platform for emerging
talent. The tent was a small saddle-span design with relatively low headroom, so the
NEXO Alpha PA supplied by Adlib was ground-stacked and comprised two S2 subs, two
B1 bass speakers and two M3 mid-highs.
This was powered by Camco amps with NEXO NX242 system processors; all bands
were mixed from side stage on a Soundcraft Series 4 console, which was also used to
mix six monitor sends. A standard ADLIB outboard FX rack contained a Lexicon PCM 70,
Yamaha SPX 990 and 2000s and an Eventide H3000 harmoniser plus Drawmer DS201
gates and DBX 1066 and 160A compressors.
FOH
To cover the festival grounds, which requires a maximum throw of well over 400
feet to the back of the audience area, Horne
deployed an Electro-Voice XLC-based line array system. The main hangs of 12 mid-high
cabinets per side were buttressed by 12 XLC215 subwoofers. A beefed-up side hang of 10
XLC-127 DVX cabs covered the all-important
beer garden at stage left, and 10 more of the
same (plus four more subs) were placed on
a single delay tower behind the FOH mix.
Down- and front-fill duties were handled by
a total of 10 compact XLD-281 line array cabinets. Everything was amplified by Lab.gruppen FP+ Series and PLM Series units, with
three external Dolby Lake Processors shaping
the signals for the FP+ racks.
The biggest challenge
facing Horne in his system
design was the “upside
down” seating: Many of the
older patrons paid extra
to sit up front in the (aptly
named?) reserved section,
while younger fans of today’s
high-dB country sound were
partying out in the “back 40.”
Ground-stacked subwoofers had proven particularly
troublesome. The essence of
the problem was recounted
by festival director Peter LaPonte: “It was so loud you
could feel it slamming your
chest. A few years back, one
of my staff told me about an
older gentleman who angrily walked out saying he was
wearing a pacemaker and
feared for his safety.”
Horne’s first order of business was flying all the subs.
Then he configured and
shaded his XLC arrays for an
emphasis on the long throw.
Essentially, the overriding goal
was to throw as much sound
to the back as possible while
keeping levels under control in the front.
“I beefed up the delays quite a bit this
year,” says Horne. “Also, the top six cabinets
in the main arrays are the brand new EV XLC907 DVXs, which are a 90-degree horizontal
box. That narrower focus helps to pump up
the levels toward the back. When you move
www.fohonline.com
J. Peter Horne
out wide of the delays, the coverage is much
better this year than in the past.” Horne utilized the EV LAPS software to aid array configuration, then switched to SpectraFoo for
final system tuning.
Production Profile
Oregon Jamboree Festival
continued from page 28
Volunteer Muscle
FOH
Thanks to availability of well-instructed
volunteer muscle, Horne managed the festival with a bare-bones crew. Horne works as
FOH liaison and mixes any opening acts (only
one this year) without their own engineer.
Mark “Sparky” McNeill was the onstage operations chief, while Don Lindsey turned over
monitor mixing/liaison duties to Steve Beatty
on Saturday when he had to leave for another
mixing commitment.
Up at FOH, the console complement
was 100% digital, with Digidesign Venue
boards continuing an upward trend. Horne
brought along his own pair of the compact
D-Show Profile desks, with one permanently
stationed for playback and the other available for acts carrying little or no production
of their own. Three of the top-billed acts carried the complete FOH and monitor kit, while
most supporting acts used Horne’s FOH and
monitor packages — as did headliner Randy
Owen, who was on a fly date.
“There’s been a definite shift toward the
Digidesign boards,” says Horne. “It seems like
the country acts have latched on to them
even more than in the rock world. We bought
our first Profile last year and the second just a
few months ago.”
Also new to Horne’s inventory this year
are his racks of Lab.gruppen amplifiers. For
the Jamboree, all the main house arrays
were powered by a total of 24 FP+ Series
units (FP 7000, FP 100000 and FP 130000)
while delays and monitors were driven by
10 PLM Series Powered Loudspeaker Management Systems with their own built-in
Dolby Lake processing.
Horne says he was particularly impressed
with the guts of the FP 130000 units that fed
the flown subwoofers. “Without the ground
coupling that you get with stacked subs, engineers tend to push the flown subs really
hard to get low-end you can feel. But the Lab
13ks just cruised right along no matter what
we gave them.”
The networked monitoring and control
features were also mentioned as a factor in
his switch to Lab.gruppen. “The DeviceControl software is very user-friendly and lets
me know what’s going on with my load. For
example, on setup day I was able to determine quickly that I was missing something.
It was a mistake we’d made that showed up
right away. We didn’t have to waste a bunch
of time tracking it down, or worse yet, do the
show lacking a couple of subs.”
A Peculiar Mixed Bag
FOH
In monitor world, Horne confronted a
peculiar mixed bag for 2008. He owns both
Shure and Sennheiser wireless in-ear packages, but nobody asked that he bring either.
Most headliners brought their own in-ear
rigs, with everybody else happy to use his
complement of L-ACOUSTICS 115-XT HiQ
wedges. “They are very rider-friendly,” he
notes, “and I like the coaxial design because
I don’t have to worry about matched left and
right pairs.” Horne supplied his own Yamaha
PM5D as a monitor console, with about half
of the acts bringing their own digital boards,
a mix of mostly Digidesign and Yamaha —
with one early-in-the-day act even employing Yamaha’s ultra-compact LS-9.
Horne’s 60-plus package of hard-wired
microphones — largely Shure with a smattering of AKG, Beyer and Neumann models
for targeted applications — was supplemented by 10 channels of Shure UHF-wireless models.
Of course, this is Oregon, and though
99% of the precipitation falls between October and June, the occasional “heavy Oregon
mist” does creep up the Willamette Valley on
summer days. In this case, it fell almost entirely during the opening act — comic duo
Williams and Ree — on Friday. By the time
red-hot Sugarland hit the stage to close the
night, the tarps were pulled back and the
system was ready to prove its mettle.
“I know sound is very subjective, but I’d
have to say that Sugarland’s engineer, Dave
Haskell, had the rig sound exceptionally
good,” says Horne. “The same holds for Trace
Adkins’ guy. Each had a unique approach to
mixing, but both did a great job of getting
their sound out there.”
Festival director Peter LaPorte was
even more forthright in his praise, stating, “Sugarland’s show was one of the best
sounding I’ve heard anywhere, here or at
any other festival, for as far back as I can
remember.” He credits Haskell with the
artistic judgment, but also acknowledges
EV Array
30
Horne Audio’s commitment to constant
improvement.
“Peter [Horne] really nailed it this year,”
he maintains. “It wasn’t too loud up front,
but it still had plenty of fullness and clarity
all the way to the back. He managed that
trick better than ever this year.”
No Limit Off Limits
FOH
It should be noted that Horne did not
have to be concerned with excessive SPL
outside the venue, as is often the case
with festivals surrounded by residential
neighborhoods. (The balance of the year,
the festival site serves as baseball and soccer fields for the adjoining middle school
and high school.) “There’s no limit out in
the city,” observes Horne. “Nobody checks
because they don’t really care. Everybody
loves it. It’s the sound of more money coming into their community.”
Also, Sweet Home is a country music
kind of town. Early on Friday, residents
along 14th Street —next to the festival
grounds in line with the main arrays —
were putting out lawn chairs and coolers
on the front lawns. After all, this was the
week when Sugarland was battling “Hannah Montana” for the number one slot on
the Billboard Hot 200 (all CD sales, not just
country), and these well-located Sweet
Home citizens could hear a free show
at only slightly reduced levels. Another
fringe benefit of community development
with a driving beat.
Lab.gruppen amps at Oregon Jamboree
SEPTEMBER 2008
www.fohonline.com
Headset and Lavalier Mics Buyers Guide
Headset and Lavalier Mics
I
By Bill Evans
still consider it the day I went from "band
guy who owns a PA" to "fledgling anklebiter sound guy." It was an outdoor
festival. Two days. Probably a dozen acts total with canned music in between. I had my
AKG Acoustics HC 577
small collection of typical rock ‘n’ roll mics
and — with the addition of a few more lent
by friends — I thought I was set. Things went
well until the second day when I discovered
that my next act was a magician hired to
AKG Acoustics C520
entertain the kids, and he was pretty pissed
that I didn’t have a headset or lav for him.
Whenever one of us graduates from
bands in clubs to "real" sound gigs, having
a couple of lav or headset mics becomes a
Audio-Technica AT892 MicroSet
Audio-Technica AT898
necessity. Yes, most acts that use headsets
carry their own, but if you have a corporate gig, you better have a couple of lavs in
the old mic locker. Here is a look at some
of what is out there.
Audix Corporation HT2
Company
Model
MSRP
Size/Weight
Pattern
Max Clean SPL
Handling
AKG Acoustics
www.akg.com
HC 577
$579.00
8.1” x 5.7” / 0.99 oz
Omnidirectional
133 dB @ 1% THD
C520 / C520L
$279.00 / $249.00
7.7” x 5.3” / 0.9 oz
Cardioid
132 dB @ 1% THD
Omnidirectional Condenser
Headworn
$549.00
0.32” x 0.11” / 0.08 oz
Omnidirectional
122 dB SPL, 1 kHz at
1% T. H.D.
Cardioid Condenser Lavalier
$315.00
0.91” x 0.21” / 0.03 oz
Cardioid
Phantom/Battery:
131 dB/ 115 dB SPL, 1
kHz at 1% T.H.D.
HT2
$249.00
2.4 oz.
Supercardioid
140 dB
HT5
$449.00
1.1 oz.
Omnidirectional
140 dB
OPUS 54
$189.00
1.38 oz
Cardioid
132 dB
MCE 60
$189.00
0.05 oz
Omnidirectional
120 dB
GLM-100
$361.00
.310” x 1.435” / 1 oz. without connector, 2.8
oz. with connector
Omnidirectional
150 dB SPL produces
3% THD
CM-311A
$546.00
Headband 5.5” diameter, adjustable. Boom
approximately 7 x 3” Headworn mic, 2.1 oz.
CM-311A belt pack and battery, 6.1 oz
Cardiod
148 dB SPL produces
3% THD
4066
$635.00
Adjustable, weight: 0.49 oz. incl. cable and
MicroDot connector
Omni, Cardioid
144 dB
4080
$559.00
1.2”, 0.5 oz. incl. cable and MicroDot
Cardioid
144 dB
RE97-2TX
$299.00
0.6 oz.; mic and headset only: 0.33 oz.
Omnidirectional
>125 dB SPL
RE92TX
$175.00
0.81 oz.
Cardioid
>135 dB
Head-Clip
$69.00
1.2 mm
N/R
N/R
PSL6
$129.00
3.6 mm capsule
Omnidirectional
130 dB
PSM1
$379.00
3.5 mm capsule
Omnidirectional
140 dB
Beta 54 Headworn
$594.65
4.75 oz.
Supercardioid
149 dB SPL at 1%
THD/1 kilohm load
WL51 Professional Cardioid
Subminiature Lavalier
$285.95
0.7 oz. with cable
Cardioid
Unidirectional
138 dB at 1% THD
Audio-Technica U.S., Inc.
www.audio-technica.com
Audix Corporation
www.audixusa.com
beyerdynamic USA
www.beyerdynamic-usa.com
Crown Audio
www.crownaudio.com
DPA Microphones, Inc.
www.dpamicrophones.com
Electro-Voice
www.electrovoice.com
Provider Series
www.providerseries.com
Shure Incorporated
www.shure.com
N/R = No Response Provided
32
SEPTEMBER 2008
www.fohonline.com
F
20
250
dB s
PL
Audix Corporation HT5
Crown Audio GLM-100
Electro-Voice RE97-2TX
DPA Microphones Inc. 4066
Crown Audio CM-311A
Electro-Voice RE92TX
Provider Series PSL6
DPA Microphones Inc. 4080
Provider Series PSM1
Shure Incorporated Beta 54
Frequency Response
Sensitivity at 1 Pascal
Noise Floor
Distortion
Connector Type
Color
HD
20-20,000 Hz
8 mV/Pa
26 dB-A
1% @ 133 dB
TA-3F
Fleshtone
HD
60-20,000 Hz
5 mV/Pa
32 dB-A
3% @ 132 dB
XLR / TA-3F
Black
20-20,000 Hz
-44 dB (6.3 mV) re 1V at 1 Pa
Integral 3-pin XLRM-type
Black, beige or cocoa
N/R
200-15,000 Hz
Phantom/Battery: -43 dB (7.0
mV)/ -46 dB (5.0 mV), re 1V
at 1 Pa
Integral 3-pin XLRM-type
Black
50 Hz-15 kHz
5 mV
26 dB A
0.50%
Mini 3 pin XLR f
Black
20 Hz-20 kHz
7.1 mV
26 dB A
0.50%
Mini 3 pin XLR f , or mini 4 Pin XLR f
Black or beige
N/R
4-pin mini XLR (also available with free
end cable)
Black or beige
N/R
4 pin mini XLR, also available with free
end cable
Black
Hz at
ery:
PL, 1
D.
uces
uces
1%
oad
HD
40-17,000 Hz
N/R
N/R
25-20,000 Hz
20 Hz-20,000 Hz
50 dB re 1 mW/Pa
N/R
28 dB SPL
66 dB at 94 dB
SPL
Black
XLR
50 Hz-17,000 Hz
4 or 1.25 mV/P
27 dB A nominal
N/R
Satin black
20 Hz-20 kHz, 3 dB soft
boost at 8-20 kHz
6 mV/Pa; -44.5 dB re. 1 V/Pa
Typ. 26 dB(A) re. 20 ¬µPa (max.
28 dB(A))
<1% THD up
to 123 dB SPL
peak
Black, brown, Beige
250 Hz-17 kHz with typ. 4
dB soft boost at 4-6 kHz (-5
dB at 100 Hz)
20 mV/Pa; -34 dB re. 1 V/Pa
23 dB(A) re. 20 ¬µPa (max. 26
dB(A))
<1 % up to
123 dB SPL
peak
50-15 kHz
-48 dBV, 4.0 mV/Pascal
32 dBA
Max. SPL >
125dB (<3%
THD @ 1 kHz)
TA4F Connector wiring: Pin 1 - Ground;
Pin 2 - Audio; Pin 3 - Bias Voltage; Pin 4 Unused
Black, beige or
brown
40 Hz-20,000 Hz
5.6mV/Pascal
Equivalent noise , 30 dB SPL
“A” weighted
(0 dB=20 micropascals)
N/R
TA4F Connector wiring: Pin 1 - Ground;
Pin 2 - Audio; Pin 3 - Bias Voltage; Pin 4 Unused
Non-reflecting black
N/R
N/R
N/R
N/R
N/R
Black or tan
20 Hz-20 KHz
-46+3 dB
N/R
N/R
Various
Black or tan
20 Hz-20 KHz
-45dB +3 dB
N/R
N/R
Various
Black or tan
50 Hz-20 KHz
-52.0 ± 3.0 dB
Mini 4-pin connector (TA4F)
Black or tan
2 termination options: 4 - pin mini
connector (fits directly into Shure
Wireless transmitters), or uterminated
(bare wire)
Black or white
N/R
20-20,000 Hz
N/R
N/R
www.fohonline.com
All
Black
2008 SEPTEMBER
33
Production Profile
An Explosion of Sound
The Boston Pops Orchestra’s Fourth of
July concert at the Esplanade on the
Charles River
Sound crew worked hard to ensure the Boston Pops’ Fourth of July
performance was as vibrant as the fireworks. By BryanReesman
Boston Pops audio supervisor Steve Colby
T
here’s nothing like hearing majestic
symphonic music and then seeing a sky
erupting with colorful fireworks on the
Fourth of July, and the concert at the Esplanade
on the Charles River is the most prestigious annual celebration of its kind. Featuring lively
performances from conductor Keith Lockhart
and the acclaimed Boston Pops Orchestra,
guest appearances throughout the years by
everyone from David Lee Roth to Rascal Flatts,
engaging hosts like talk show personality Craig
Ferguson, and (of course) a vibrant fireworks
display, the event is a local sensation, and after
10 p.m., a national television event on CBS.
Organizing a Local Sensation
FOH
This past summer, Boston Pops audio supervisor Steve Colby — who has become the
de facto organizer of the performance audio
side of things over the years, — procured a
state-of-the-art microphone package from
DPA. “I got involved with the DPA while doing a show in Boca over the winter with Acme
Sound Partners,” explained Colby. “They had
a package of mics from DPA. I was so impressed with them and thought the July 4th
event would be a great venue for the Pops
to try them out. So, I got in touch with Bruce
Myers and the DPA guys and collaborated on
an enormous collection. In fact, more than 65
DPA mics were used.
DPA was wise to lend out mics for this
prominent event, which draws 500,000 people along the Charles River in Boston plus
millions of television viewers nationwide.
“The equipment got a lot of exposure. The
P.A. guys get to hear them, I can hear them in
the TV truck and the Rascal Flatts guys were
kind of looking at them,” added Colby. “The
orchestra is easily 99% DPA this year, and it
just sounds fabulous.”
A Sense of Adventure
FOH
Colby has been working with the Boston
Pops orchestra for three decades, including
tour sound for the entire 14 seasons that
34
SEPTEMBER 2008
Keith Lockhart has been conductor. They first
traveled together with a three-week Christmas tour of NBA arenas with no rehearsal
and no sound check. “I can’t imagine there’s
anybody better in the business for doing live
sound orchestrally in the varying spaces,” enthused Lockhart of Colby. “Anybody can get
it right if you give them enough time and
enough money. But [he does] things on limited resources with no time, with something as
variable as the kinds of venues we play in. In
one tour, we’ll play a 10,000-seat arena, a little
concert hall and an outdoor space with no
acoustic whatsoever. So, we look for a sense
of adventure in our sound engineers.”
“One of the great things about working with Keith is that he completely gets the
technical side of it,” asserted Colby. “He understands when something goes wrong why
it went wrong [and] how to deal with acoustic
or musical problems first, then supplement
that with the electronic side of things. He’s
just a dream to work for.”
Multiple Mix Locations
FOH
All in all, eight engineers were involved
in creating the sound mixes used for the production.
“I’ve been the front-of-house guy for the
Pops for many years, and then when CBS took
over the July 4th broadcasts about six years
ago, I moved into the truck to do the TV music,” Colby says. “I’d been the Evening at Pops
TV mixer for PBS for many years, so that’s
how I got associated with the orchestra as a
broadcast mixer. “When I can’t be in the FOH
PA seat, we’re lucky to have that position filled
by Paul Bevan.”
In the Sheffield Remote Recording mobile, Colby mixed the music for the TV show
through a 96-input, all-digital SSL Axiom console with total recall and a 24-input Mackie
sidecar for audience reaction microphones.
Nearby, Al Centrella created the final broadcast mix in an All-Mobile video truck, adding
in local announcements, tape features and
more. In addition to the broadcast mixers,
and Bevan at FOH, mix engineers included
Howard Rose for orchestra monitors, John Daley building a direct string mix used for some
segments, Clayton Young of Capron Lighting
and Sound, (the overall event tech coordinators), handling local preshow playbacks plus
FOH and monitor engineers for guest stars
Rascal Flatts.
Out in the field, FOH mixer Paul Bevan and
system tech Kevin Delaney tackled the difficult challenge of mixing a live orchestra, rock
band and television production elements for
a crowd of half a million people. The main PA,
provided by Scorpio Sound, is comprised of
a JBL VerTec system powered with Lab.gruppen amps.
Working at a mix position approximately
40 feet back from the stage left array, Bevan
operated a completely full Midas XL4 for the
orchestra, plus a Yamaha PM5D for Rascal
Flatts, which totaled 106 inputs.
Bevan reported that they were “in probably one of the worst mix locations you could
possibly be, but that’s a function of the way
the event has been for a number of years.
We’re in an enclosed tent, and the audience
is out there with the speakers in the open.
“There’s enough PA pointing down so that if
you could open up the roof of the tent you
could hear,” he said, “but otherwise you get a
lot of the low end. You have to imagine what
the high end sounds like and stick your head
out periodically.”
make an orchestra, in what’s not really a terrific sounding venue, sound natural,” remarked
Colby, confirming Bevan’s assessment of the
Hatch Shell. The TV mixer noted that it was
constructed before the days of amplification
and specifically to project sound out, but
those same characteristics make it a challenge
today to get a good sounding television and
front-of-house mix. “You hear everybody in
everybody else’s microphones unless you’re
very careful about microphone choice and
placement. That’s where the DPA products really helped the cause.”
The bleed-through and isolation issues
become equally challenging when a rock
band plays on the thrust built at the front of
the stage. “When you put an artist like Rascal
Flatts down there, with a very loud backline
and a big drum kit and guys that really like to
wail, all that sound goes back into the shell,”
adds Colby. “Now that sound is in all of the
orchestra mics. Plus there are musical issues
with that as well because the orchestra is trying to stay in time with the guest artist, and
the guest artist is trying to hear the orchestra
augmentation of songs they play on the road
all the time. These arrangements are often
not completed until a day or two in advance.
So, there are music challenges, electronic
challenges and acoustic challenges.”
Ambient Miking
“Lost In the Sauce”
FOH
The biggest problem to contend with,
beyond the threat of bad weather, was the
shape of the famous Hatch Shell. “Stuff just
builds up in there,” remarked Bevan. “You get
a lot of low mid that builds up and obviously
you get a lot of spill from some of the louder
instruments like percussion and brass into the
string mics. You just factor that into the mix.
So, if you’re getting a lot of high end from the
brass or the percussion into the string pickup,
then you make the sound of their individual
mics a little bit darker just to compensate for
the bleed. One of the expressions I’ve heard
about mixing orchestras is that you don’t mix
instruments, you mix spill. It’s not like the usual mixing of a band where everything is really
close miked. It’s really ambient miking.”
“I think the biggest challenge is trying to
www.fohonline.com
FOH
Orchestra monitor mixer Howard Rose,
working from a Yamaha M7CL and assisted
by monitor tech Kevin Fuller, added that,
“Less is more because of the acoustic signature of that shell. Basically, the four or five
mixes that I have on stage are mainly time,
which is to say kick/snare kind of stuff. The
conductor likes to hear some vocals, sometimes a little bit of piano and any melodic
or rhythmic info he can get to keep the star
act and the orchestra synched together. The
downstage mix for the one or two primarily
vocal acts that I have are star vocal, time
and piano. Again, it’s such an ambient environment that the less I do, the better I do.
You get lost in the sauce so fast that you’re
not doing anybody any good.” Rose added
that 9 to 12 Galaxy hotspots are used on-
CREW
Pops Audio Supervisor/Audio
Designer for the Stage/Music Mix
for CBS: Steve Colby
Production Mixer for CBS
Broadcast: Al Centrella
FOH Mixer for Boston Pops: Paul
Bevan
Monitor Mixer for Boston Pops:
Howard Rose
FOH/System Tech: Kevin Delane of
Scorpio Sound
Monitor System Tech: Kevin Fuller
of Scorpio Sound
Deck Audio Crew:
Jay Arthur/ Patchmaster
John Daley
Lynn Scornavacca
Lance Vardis
Music Mix Mobile Unit:
Sheffield A/V Audio Mobile
Jake Mossman EIC
Wireless Microphones/ Intercom:
Wireless First
Overall Event Coordination/
Production:
Capron Lighting and Sound
Project Supervisor Paul Mcgalliard
GEAR
SSL Axiom with total recall
Yamaha PM5D
Yamaha M7CL
24-input Mackie sidebar
JBL VerTec System
Lab.gruppen amps
Midas KL4
Galaxy Hot Spots
Mics:
DPA 4066 Headset: narrator
microphones
DPA 4041-SP Large Diaphragm Omni
: brass, basses, timpani
DPA 4006 Omni: percussion
DPA 4021, 4022, 4023 Compact
Cardioid: violins, violas, cellos, harp
DPA 4061 Miniature Omni w/ Bridge
mount: close mics for strings
DPA 4061 Miniature Omni on custom
hanger: main omni pickup for
orchestra
The Fourth of July concert was a colorful explosion of confetti, fireworks and sound.
stage for the orchestra monitors and their
distinct lack of low-end was a godsend given how much bass reverberated in the shell
already. The musicians only wanted timebased info — kick, snare, guitar strumming
— to get through.
If all of this does not sound complicated
enough, the massive size of the audience
in attendance meant that delay towers
must be setup to cover miles of outdoor
seating. An additional responsibility that
Bevan dealt with was the tuning of 13 to
15 delay towers that ran back along the
length of the Charles River from the Hatch
Shell. Even though the Pops held a concert
on July 3 as a trial run, the towers did not
go up until midday on July 4, which gave
Bevan and the Capron Lighting and Sound
crew little time to tweak things. “I take a
listen to the P.A., jump in a golf cart and
go around and try to balance them out,”
revealed Bevan. “With the audience out
there you can’t do any kind of analysis, so
we ship this [pre-show] music out. I listen
to the P.A. here, then go out and EQ the
speakers and get a rough level in comparison to what it sounds like in here.” He then
hoped that it translated on their end when
the show began.
Coloring the TV Mix
FOH
“Another big element for PA is the live TV
broadcast, so one of the challenges is you
want to make the P.A. sound nice and big
and exciting for the audience, but you also
want to make that mix clean so the sound
doesn’t get back into the microphones and
color the TV audio,” said Bevan. “So, I check
in with Steve to make sure that the PA is at
a level that’s not interfering with what he’s
doing and ke eping the TV broadcast clean.
Also, EQing it is really important as well because even at a low level, if you have spikes
with people with odd frequencies sticking
out, you’ll hear that on the TV. I also have
the TV production elements for the audience; all the bumpers, tape rolls and host
mics. As well as mixing all the music, I’m
also blending in CBS host Craig Ferguson
and all the other [television] hosts that are
placed in different parts of the property.”
In the end, this year’s Fourth of July celebration at the Esplanade turned out to be
a fantastic event, with a powerful but crisp
sound splashing across the Charles River.
FOH was positioned on the media platform
beneath one of two speaker towers, located
specifically by stage right, and the amplification was clean and not overwhelming. The
biggest hitch of the night was the fact that
there was a lot of humidity and a distinct
lack of cross breezes, which meant the smoke
from the fireworks hung in the air and obscured some of the explosions.
www.fohonline.com
2008 SEPTEMBER
35
Roy & Gene Clair
Feature
The Sound of Sibling Success
By Kevin M. Mitchell
Brothers who built pro audio empire to be honored with Parnelli Audio Visionary Award
R
oy and Gene Clair are quick to say they
are “outstanding in their field.” Not that
they are braggarts — far from it. They
mean it literally, as in they are “out standing
in their field” of humble Lititz, Pa. Far from the
glare of New York or Los Angeles, the brothers
built one of the largest and most innovative
pro audio empires the live event industry has
ever seen.
From their early days of providing sound
for the likes of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons through Elvis Presley, Elton John, Rod
Stewart, Yes, the Rolling Stones, up to undertakings like the US and Live Aid festivals, Clair
Brothers has endured while others came and
went.
The innovations were many, and included
consoles built for the road, the tilted stage
monitor and the S4 speaker to name just a
few.
“When I first met Roy and Gene they were
based in an old barn in rural Pennsylvania,” recalls Bruce Jackson. “Clair Bros. left the barn
behind long ago, but the country values still
run strong. The growth from a regional sound
company to a worldwide operation is impressive.”
Deals on a Handshake
PLSN
Jackson, who himself has a Parnelli Audio
Innovator Award on his shelf, worked for Clair
Bros. for years. He’s known them for 39 years
in different roles including employee, business partner and client. “We’ve done many
deals on a handshake. Equipment changes
comes and goes, but good service is a constant.”
“From the very dawn of rock history, the
Brothers Clair have stood at the head of the
touring sound industry,” declares Patrick
Stansfield, tour manager/producer and the
Parnelli Awards executive director. “Never
sacrificing quality for portability, they coupled elegant packaging and quality audio
into high art. The incredible roster of talents
they’ve fostered and the artists in their client
list alone speak their history loudly.”
“We were very lucky,” Roy Clair says of their
success. “We grew very slowly. We weren’t in a
hurry, and we thought it was best to not be
the biggest. And we always had money in
hand before a system was built.”
Soc Hops and Easter Egg Hunts
The Clairs were raised in Lititz, where their
parents owned a grocery store. As Jackson describes it, it was the “wrong side of the tracks”
if there is such a thing in a small town in Pennsylvania. Gene says he was around 15 when
he became interested in audio, playing with
electronics while his brother looked on. When
their father bought them a small P.A. system
in 1955, they immediately put it to work.
“We were doing very small things on very
small stages,” Gene says. “We’d use an inverter
to power it off a car battery, the sort of thing
you don’t hear of now, but it took 12 volts and
turned it into 120.”
Roy says the P.A. included a horn, Stromberg-Carlsson integrated preamp, 35-watt
power amp and microphone. “Our father intended us to do Easter egg hunts and small
sock hops with it, and that’s what we did,” Roy
says. For their trouble the boys would get $5
a gig, which rather than ending up in the local
malt shop’s register, always went into buying
more equipment. “It would take us a while to
save for a mic — they were about $45 back
Clair Bros. handling the audio for the Papal Mass by Pope Benedict at Yankee Stadium.
36
SEPTEMBER 2008
PLSN
then, so we’d have to do eight shows to get
one!” , he laughs.
Their first business was actually Clair Reconing, where they reconed speakers. This
led to experimenting and building their own
products. “We did a pretty good job making
the speaker cabinets stiffer than most, and
that helped propel the sound forward from
the speaker rather than leaking from the side
and back of the box,” Roy says. “We learned
right away that the speakers were more efficient if they didn’t move or vibrate. It’s simple
now, but we were on the forefront of that.”
Gene would get a job as a technician for
Franklin & Marshall College, a modest liberal
arts college in nearby Lancaster, Pa., where he
had no way of knowing that the opportunities there would be the launch pad of Clair
Bros. Audio. The college would call him in for
all kinds of things, and that included helping
with concert events. “That started the whole
thing because we met groups,” Gene says.
The boys made $95 a gig for their efforts.
The gear at this point included four Shure
55s, a Bogen amplifier and two columns with
six eight-inch speakers each. The school got
comfortable with them providing the sound
for local bands, so when Dionne Warwick was
to do a performance there, they didn’t hesitate to turn to them.
Big Break
PLSN
Then came their big break: Frankie Valli
and the Four Seasons came to the college.
People were intrigued by the system the
brothers put together, and Roy saw an opening. He boldly asked to go into their dressing
room where he explained why the system
sounded so good. After the show, the band
Roy and Gene Clair in 1966
www.fohonline.com
thanked the boys, who went home with their
usual $95 richer and happy.
“The next day, we got a call from a local
DJ saying Frankie Valli was trying to get a hold
of us,” Roy says. “And it turns out they wanted
us to come down to Allentown, Pa. because
the system they were supposed to use was
terrible. So, we borrowed my wife’s uncle’s
truck and did the show. After, I asked the tour
manager to take us on the road with them —
don’t ask me where I got that idea — and the
tour manager said, ‘funny you mention that
because we were just thinking about that.’”
Between the local events and being on
the road with the Four Seasons, the brothers
continued to make money at their “hobby”
and poured money into more equipment.
More mics, more A7s and two Harmon Karden
75-watt power amps made it into their inventory. Meanwhile, Roy would graduate from
college with a degree in electronic industrial
arts from Millersville State University, where
he later taught school.
The brothers built more equipment and
started attending AES shows. They were at the
show when the Crown amp was displayed — at
300 pounds and 250 watts, and being all tube,
the brothers saw that was likely the trend and
they were right. After the show, they talked
Crown into selling them that very amp, which
had the serial number 101 — as in the first one.
Their reputation grew. Elton John was in
the beginning of his first U.S. tour and had a
terrible experience with the sound preparing
for a Glassboro, N.J. gig. “They got in trouble
up there, and Elton freaked out,” Gene says.
“We got the call and took off in the middle
of the day. After that gig, Elton wanted us
to work for him.” Even continued on page 57
Roy Clair with a picture Elvis, one of the company’s legendary clients.
NEWs
Join Us
r
te
of Cerem
ies
Alice
Cooper
Roy &
Gene Clair
In Honoring
The Very Best
Of Our Industry
on
Ma
s
P R O J E C T I O N L I G H T S & S TA G I N G N E W S
When:
October 24, 2008 • 7pm
Where:
www.parnelliawards.com
HIGH-DEFINITION TELEVISION
Sponsored by
GOLD SPONSORS
Parnelli Lifetime
Achievement
Award
SPONSORED
BY
Rio Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas
Dennis
Sheehan
SILVER SPONSORS
Parnelli Audio
Innovator
Award
Brought to you by Martin Professional
38 PLSN August 2008
200.0809.38-39.indd 38
9/4/08 2:30:55 PM
and the Parnelli goes to...
NEWs
P R O J E C T I O N L I G H T S & S TA G I N G N E W S
Below are the nominees for the 8th Annual Parnelli Awards. Cast your vote to honor those
individuals and companies who have done outstanding work in the past year. Voting for the
Parnelli Awards is limited to subscribers of Projection, Lights & Staging News and Front of House.
To cast your vote, go to www.parnelliawards.com/vote
2008 Parnelli Ballot
Sound Company
Lighting Company
Video Rental
Audio Analysts — Linkin Park
ClairShowco — Police
Firehouse Productions — Radiohead
Rat Sound Systems — R.E.M.
Sound Image — Rascal Flatts
Special Event Services — Coldplay
Bandit Lites — Rascal Flatts
Ed & Ted’s Excellent Lighting, Inc. — Bon Jovi
Premier Global Production Co. — Gigantour 2008
Q1 Production Technologies —
Trans-Siberian Orchestra
See Factor — Various
Theatrical Media Services — Dave Matthews Band
Upstaging — Police
I-Mag Video — Rascal Flatts
Moo TV — Brad Paisley
Nocturne Productions — Nine Inch Nails
Pete’s Big TV’s — Bruce Springsteen and
the E Street Band
Screenworks NEP — Kenny Chesney
XL Video — Foo Fighters
FOH Mixer
Scott Boorey — Steve Miller Band
Dirk Durham — Toby Keith
Jon Garber — Rascal Flatts
Pete Keppler — Nine Inch Nails
Ken “Pooch” Van Druten — Linkin Park
Jim Warren — Radiohead
Monitor Mixer
Jules Aerts — Bob Dylan
Kevin Glendinning — Justin Timberlake
Chris Lantz — Seal
Kevin “Tater” McCarthy — Linkin Park
Troy Milner and Monty Carlo — Bruce Springsteen
Mike Sprague — Rage Against the Machine
System Tech
Ted Bible — Def Leppard
Brett Dicus — Bruce Springsteen
Russell Fisher — Toby Keith
Matt Naylor — Kenny Chesney
Lee Vaught — R.E.M.
Mike Wolf — Elton John
Hometown Hero
Sound Company
Midwest — Great Lakes Sound, Toledo, OH
Southeast — Atlanta Sound & Lighting, Atlanta, GA
Southwest — LD Systems, Houston, TX
Southwest — HAS Productions, Las Vegas, NV
Northeast — MHA Audio, Hagerstown, MD
Northwest — Morgan Sound, Lynnwood, WA
Canada — Tour Tech East, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
Production Manager
Omar Abderrahman — Hannah
Montana/Miley Cyrus
Jim Digby — Linkin Park
Bill Leabody — Nine Inch Nails
Robert Long — Rage Against the Machine
Mark Spring — George Michael
Ed Wannebo — Kenny Chesney
Tour Manager
Mike Amato — Linkin Park
Scott Casey — Bon Jovi
David Farmer — Kenny Chesney
Andy Franks — Coldplay
Chris Littleton — Steely Dan
Brian Ormond — Radiohead
Video Director
Lighting Designer
Roy Bennett — Nine Inch Nails
Bryan Hartley — Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Mattheiu Larivée — Chantal Chamandy: Beladi - A
Night at the Pyramids
Mark Jacobson — Tool
Sha Xiao Lan — Summer Olympics
Opening Ceremony
Andi Watson — Radiohead
Staging Company
Accurate Staging — Linkin Park
All Access Staging Productions — Rascal Flatts
ASI Production Services — NCAA Final Four
Brown United — Billy Joel at Shea Stadium
Mountain Productions, Inc. — 2008 Papal U.S. Tour
Stageco — George Michael
Set/Scenic Designer
Justin Collie — Beyoncé
Seth Jackson — Toby Keith
Jason Robinson — Wrestlemania
Bruce Rodgers — Dave Matthews Band
Mike Swinford — Kenny Chesney
Willie Williams — George Michael
Set Construction
Accurate Staging — Linkin Park
All Access Staging Productions — Wrestlemania
B and R Scenery — Superbowl
Show Group Production Services — Keith Urban
Tait Towers — Bon Jovi
Hometown Hero
Lighting Company
Northwest — Hollywood Lighting Services,
Portland, OR & Seattle, WA
Southwest — Precise Corporate Staging
(PCS), Tempe, AZ
Midwest — Blue Planet Lighting, Inc., Hollister, MO
Southeast — Eye Dialogue Lighting & Sound,
Charlotte, NC
Northeast — Earl Girls Inc., Egg Harbor City, NJ
Canada — Metalworks Production Group,
Mississauga, ON
Be front and center as the
industry salutes its finest companies and
practitioners at the 8th Annual Parnelli Awards
Steve Cohen — Billy Joel
Mike Drew — Rascal Flatts
Mark Haney — Eric Clapton
Tony Bongiovi — Bon Jovi
Bailey Pryor — Brad Paisley
Christine Strand — Return to Forever
Rigging Company
Atlanta Rigging
Branam Enterprises
Five Points Production Service
Show Group Production Services
Stage Rigging
Pyro Company
Advanced Entertainment Services — Poison
Pyro Spectaculars by Souza — Fourth of July
Pyrotek — Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Strictly FX — Avenged Sevenfold
Zenith Pyrotechnology — Wrestlemania
Tour Manager
Mike Amato — Linkin Park
Scott Casey — Bon Jovi
David Farmer — Kenny Chesney
Andy Franks — Coldplay
Chris Littleton — Steely Dan
Brian Ormond — Radiohead
Coach Company
Diamond Coach
Four Seasons
Hemphill Brothers
Music City Coach
Roberts Brothers Coach
Senators Coaches
Trucking Company
Ego Trips
ES Transport
Janco
Roadshow Services
StageCall
Upstaging, Inc.
Freight Forwarding
Acme Global Logistics
Epes Freight Management
Horizon Freight System
Rock-It Cargo
Show Freight Industries
Sound Moves
www.parnelliawards.com/vote
100.0809.42-43.indd 39
2008 August PLSN 39
9/4/08 4:22:22 PM
reG
Mc
GeA
ry
All
P
ho
tos
by
G
Installations
The interior of the MGM Grand Theater
Jeff Nelson, Foxwoods MGM Grand audio supervisor, Marc Wager Weisgal NAT director of digital media, Stan Pace, Foxwoods MGM Grand audio tech; Jeff Mele,
President/CEO NAT; Chris Arnold, Foxwoods MGM Grand Audio tech; Greg Downing, director of engineering NAT; Steve Gamelin, Foxwoods MGM Grand lead audio
engineer. Not Pictured: Bob Cowley, lead audio technician; Patrick Nelson, NAT project manager; Nathan Gohla NAT project manager; Ken Beaudette NAT digital
media project manager.
A Symbol of the Future
MGM Grand and Foxwoods Resort Casino join forces to build a new entertainment venue.
By TaraMcCartney
T
he symbol of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation is a reflection of the
past. A tree perched on a rocky knoll
and framed against a clear sky represents
Mashantucket, the “much wooded land”
where the people hunted and prospered. A
statue of a fox stands as a vigilant reminder
of the turbulent times when the Pequots adopted the name that still remains today, the
“Fox People.”
Fast-forward to May 2008 with the opening of an enormous expansion of Foxwoods
Resorts and Casino properties in collaboration with the MGM Grand. “The Tribe was
interested in partnering with entertainment
companies who would augment our enterprises to expand what we offer to our clientele, such as convention markets, high-level
entertainment venues and headliners,” states
Lori Potter, spokeswoman for the Tribe. “This
is why MGM was selected as a partner opportunity.”
A-List Headliners
FOH
The new property includes the 4,000seat MGM Grand Theater at Foxwoods and a
fourth luxurious hotel complex. Latin superstar Gloria Estefan opened the theater Memorial Day Weekend, followed by such acts as
Larry the Cable Guy, Cyndi Lauper, The Steve
Miller Band, Joe Cocker, Sarah Brightman,
Carrie Underwood and Sammy Hagar and the
Wabos. The Theater will also showcase some
of the world’s hottest sporting events and offBroadway shows including upcoming perfor-
mances by Cirque de Soleil. An invitation-only event took place a week prior to Estefan’s
concert with performances by Josh Groban,
Alicia Keys and John Mayer, all backed by David Foster and his orchestra.
“MGM and Foxwoods wanted to provide
world-class facilities not just for casino customers but also to service the convention
market, which was being underserved in
Connecticut,” states David Holahan, public
relations spokesman for the Mashantucket
Pequot Tribal Nation. “The new theater provides the resort with an additional venue for
performances by top flight entertainment.
The large venue will offer the opportunity for
bigger acts to perform, and more frequently.”
With state-of-the-art acoustics and ergonomically designed seating, this versatile venue’s performance spec was created by PMK
Consultants of Dallas, with North American
Theatrix (NAT) of Waterbury, Conn., handling
installation details and systems coordination
for the project as a design/build based on
the performance spec from PMK, along with
partners Woods Electric and Barbizon Light of
New England.
NAT’s role encompassed design, coordination and supervision of the installations of
audio, digital signage/media/advertising, video systems, theatrical lighting, IT systems and
security/surveillance systems. It was NAT’s responsibility to assess the owners’ needs and
work with the owners and Bertino Associates,
the program manager, to coordinate and integrate the systems into a converged system ul-
timately yielding a mechanism for advanced
multimedia environments and marketing
capabilities without significant increases in
operating staff.
A Complicated Structure
FOH
The owners' needs were not much different than any other casino: They needed an exciting environment throughout the property
and entertainment venues that would leave a
lasting impact on audiences, casino clientele
and visiting convention attendees.
“What is different at the MGM Theater at
Foxwoods than in most other venues is that
the theater is a very complicated structure
and required extensive modeling to build in
the audio, video and theatrical lighting/rigging elements,” states Jeff Mele, president of
North American Theatrix.
The Theater proscenium is flanked by 20to 60-foot “peel” walls that create an asymmetric, wavy surface that towers over the audience. “The concept recommended by Wilson
Associates (interior designers) and HKS Dallas
(architects) is truly unique,” says Mele. “The
NAT team was responsible for properly integrating the performance audio system,
massive 10- by 18-foot Hi-Definition plasma
walls and the theatrical lighting system into
the theater. Pook Diemond Ohl (PDO) was
contracted to install and coordinate all the
stage rigging and draperies. “They also did a
remarkable job on this project,” he adds.
“From a technical standpoint, we were
looking to build a room with great acoustics
and an array of equipment that will meet or
exceed 99% of the technical riders out there,”
notes Steve Gamelin, lead audio engineer
at the MGM at Foxwoods, Foxwoods Resort
Casino. “Each piece of gear was evaluated for
sound quality, build quality, tour-use longevity and rider acceptance. From initial conversations, we wanted to provide a high-quality
environment for both the artist and the audience so that each would leave our facility
with the feeling of an exceptional show experience.”
Kicking It Up a Notch
FOH
He continues, “Most touring engineers
and artists have come to love our 1,400-seat
Fox Theater because we have provided this
service for many years. Audiences know the
Fox is one of the best places to see a show
and they continually talk about sound quality. We wanted to kick that up a notch and we
feel we have surpassed the Fox Theater. Many
touring engineers comment to us that the
Fox is one of their favorite sounding rooms in
the world, so to achieve what we have in the
new theater was not an easy task.”
The joint decision of Foxwoods entertainment and NAT was to base the sound system
around a d&b audiotechnik line array system,
which includes 24 Main Left/Right J series
(flown 12 per side); seven Center Cluster Q Series downfill (flown); 14 J Series Subwoofers
(flown seven per side); eight E3 Lip Fills (built
into stage lip); nine E8s under balcony; seven
E12s for over balcony E12; all powered by
History of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation
The history of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation
is one of dramatically changing fortunes. Native peoples
have continuously occupied Mashantucket in Southeastern Connecticut for over 10,000 years. By the early 17th
century, just prior to European contact, the Pequots had
approximately 8,000 members and inhabited 250 square
miles. However, the Pequot Massacre (1636-1638) — the
first attempt of genocide by colonists against indigenous
people in North America — had a devastating impact on
the Tribe.
Land Battles
In the ensuing decades, the Pequots battled to keep
their land, while at the same time losing reservation mem40
SEPTEMBER 2008
bers to outside forces. By 1774, a Colonial census indicated
that there were 151 tribal members in residence at Mashantucket. By the early 1800s, there were between 30 and 40 as
members moved away from the reservation seeking work.
Others joined the Brotherton Movement, a Christian-Indian movement that attracted Natives from New England to
a settlement in upstate New York and later, Wisconsin. As
for the remaining land in Connecticut, by 1856, illegal land
sales had reduced the 989-acre reservation to 213 acres.
In the early 1970s, tribal members began moving
back to the Mashantucket reservation, hoping to restore
their land base and community, develop economic selfsufficiency and revitalize tribal culture. By the mid-1970s,
tribal members had embarked on a series of economic
www.fohonline.com
ventures, in addition to instituting legal action to recover
illegally seized land.
Economic Ventures
As the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation sought to
settle its land claims, it also actively engaged in a number of
economic enterprises, including the sale of cord wood, maple
syrup and garden vegetables, a swine project, and the opening of a hydroponic greenhouse. Once the land claims were
settled, the Tribe purchased and operated a restaurant and
established a sand and gravel business. In 1986, their economic ventures accelerated when the Tribe opened its bingo
operation, followed in 1992 by the establishment of the first
and successful phase of Foxwoods Resort and Casino.
The 4,000-seat MGM Theater
The entrance of the theatre
d&b audiotechnik D12 amplifiers with remote
network. Six B2 subs are in inventory for use
when extra sub bass is required. Twenty-four
d&b monitors and four d&b side fill stacks
round out the entire speaker package.
Two Yamaha PM5D-RHV2 digital sound
reinforcement consoles as well as a Yamaha
M7CL are the mainstay at the new theater.
One console is outfitted with an Aviom16
card and two AuviTran EtherSound cards. The
second PM5D-RHV2 includes two AuviTran
EtherSound cards.
“The console choices were made primarily by Foxwoods Entertainment based on their
experience of what tools they need in their
toolbox to support the multitude of visiting
acts and in selecting devices they could rely
on both electronically and sonically,” Mele
says. “The Yamaha PM5D is a popular console
and is requested on many riders we deal with,
so we bought two,” adds Jeff Nelson, audio
supervisor, MGM Grand at Foxwoods. Some
of the artists that have used the PM5Ds to
date are Gladys Knight, Al Green, Googoosh
Mehrdad and Huey Lewis.”
In addition to Nelson and Gamelin,
theater crew consists of Production Manager Don Costello, Production Supervisor Jennifer Baker, Production Supervisor
Eddie Scuncio, Lighting Supervisor Tom
Roach, Lead Audio Technician Bob Cowley
and audio techs Chris Arnold, Stan Pace,
Mike Farrell and Jim Joseph.
Wired mics consist of Sennheiser, Shure,
AKG, Royer, Neumann, Countryman as well as
a Shure Uhf-R Wireless System. A pair of MIDAS Heritage 3000s, a DigiDesign Venue Profile and Venue D-Show console are also used.
Audio Effects
FOH
Audio effects are plentiful and include
Klark Teknik Helix Equalizer with Rapide
and wireless remote (22 EQ Channels), Klark
Teknik DN6000 analyzers, DBX 162SL dual
compressors, Summit TLA-50 tube compressors, Drawmer DS-404 quad Gates, tc
Electronics M2s, Yamaha REV-500sand Lexicon PCM-81s, Avalon AD2022 dual mic pres,
Avalon AD2044 dual compressors, Summit
TLA-50 tube compressors, Drawmer DL441
quad compressors, and Drawmer DS-404
quad gates. System EQ is handled by a Dolby Lake Processor with remote tablet for all
zones. QSC ceiling speakers and CX amps are
used in the back of the house controlled by
Peavey Nion processors. Personal monitoring is provided by a Sennheiser G2 system
with ACP5000 antennas.
“NAT listened to our specific wants and
needs and was totally committed to fulfilling those wants and needs,” adds Lead Audio
Engineer Steve Gamelin. “We could not have
worked with a better team of people who
helped us realize our ultimate goal.”
Mele,
audio
digital
www.fohonline.com
2008 SEPTEMBER
41
Road Test
Electro-Voice PL Series Mics
By MarkAmundson
E
lectro-Voice has revived the PL
series of pro audio microphones,
and brought for th a promising
crop of both vocal and instrument
microphones that are value priced,
but professional in per formance. The
PL Series is currently on the road with
STAIND, Finger Eleven and ZZ Top (on
drums). The mics have also proved
roadwor thy on this summer's Vans
Warped Tour. With three -year warranties, EV is making a promise that
the quality is wor thy for road usage.
I received one of each model for this
road test review.
The Gear
RT
PL24
With a full retail price of $129, the
PL24 vocal microphone has complete
professional microphone details. This
mic is flat in response from 200 Hz to 15
kHz in far field frequency response, with
a modest proximity effect close up. In my
critical listening tests, the super-cardioid
response was confirmed, with a full and
even sounding performance brought
out by using the Neodymium dynamic
capsule. My only complaint was a touch
more handling noise than its more expensive siblings in the PL series.
PL44
The PL44 vocal microphone takes
the flat response from the PL24 and
flavors in a boosted presence response
that many vocalists favor. A slight
flattened windscreen top gives it a
bit of style and maintains the supercardioid pattern with the Neodymium
capsule. In critical listening tests, the
handling noise was very good, with a
nice sounding response with a tight
pattern at most frequency bands. I
felt this was a nice mid-range model
with a $165 retail price, and every bit
as good as the popular tight-pattern
dynamic mics.
42
SEPTEMBER 2008
PL80a
The EV PL80a is a re-issue body style
mic that comes in two finishes, the “a” finish in a modern dark gray (EV describes
the finish as “black satin”) handle, and
the “c” finish with the classic tan look. But
PL80 received the modern Neodymium
price of $199. The large dynamic capsule
provides a flat 50 Hz to 100 Hz frequency
response with a natural scoop in the low
mids and a nice “click” peak at 4 kHz so
you can have both a modern hi-fi bottom and that fashionable heavy metal
click without having to tax your console
I found the Electro-Voice PL Series mics
useful for live sound applications, and
the pricing is affordable in comparison
to competitive offerings from reputable
brands.
capsule and shock mounts like its other
PL series mics for a super-cardioid pattern response. In critical listening tests, I
found the presence frequency response
pleasing with reasonably low handling
noise. The pattern was tight over most
audio frequency bands, and the $249 retail price is not outrageous for the quality.
PL84
As expected, the PL84 was my favorite sounding microphone with the condenser element and tighter-than-usual
cardioid pattern. While a touch hotter
in output than the dynamic vocal mics
in the PL series, the 141 dB max SPL rating is ideal for screamer vocals. In critical listening tests, I considered the PL84
having the best detail in the presence
band, while still looking and handling
like a normal dynamic microphone. At a
$230 retail price, the PL84 is your “diva”
microphone without the diva price tag.
PL33 Kick Drum Mic
Moving on to my favorite category of
mics, the specialty instrument mics, the
PL33 mic looks almost identical to the
ND868, but with a more favorable retail
equalization resources. In critical listening tests, the PL33 was extremely tight
in pattern, which is the perfect cure in
loud stage environments.
PL35 Tom Mic
One look at the PL35 tom mic, and
you will shake your head with the “why
didn’t they do this a long ago?” thought
in your mind. The full-size dynamic capsule provides a full range sound in listening tests, and its super-cardioid pattern
is ideal for getting all the tom sound and
minimal cymbal bleed. The PL35 has that
beautiful angle rear XLR connection that
removes the need for right angle patch
cables on the drum mics. The included
universal drum rim clamp is a necessary
accessory. With the $165 retail price, the
PL35 will be a hot seller.
PL37 Condenser Mic
This is the mic I wished Electro-Voice
would have introduced years ago. The
PL37 is a small element pencil condenser mic perfect for drum overheads, hihat, acoustic instruments and choirs. It
is not your perfectly flat response mic,
but if high frequency detail is needed
over low frequencies, you have found
www.fohonline.com
your mic. In testing, the high sensitivity
was evident, and the cardioid pattern
was tight enough for cymbal work, while
keeping off-axis stage wash from leaking in. I do recommend a windscreen for
this mic, as any air movement is picked
easily. With a retail price of $165, picking up a couple for percussion work will
not hurt your budget compared to similar pencil condensers.
The Gigs
RT
I found the Elec tro -Voice PL Se ries mics useful for live sound applications, and the pricing is affordable
in comparison to competitive offerings from reputable brands. At the
gigs, the vocal mics cut through the
mix nicely, and the musicians had little difficulty settling in to the tone
of the mics.
The PL33 kick mic is notable in that
you get two mics in one design, so you
do not need a boundary mic for the
click and a large diaphragm mic for the
boom. The PL37 makes a great “Poor
Man’s C451” pencil condenser mic for
when great cymbal sounds are really
what you are after. All in all, the EV PL
Series shows novel design ideas and
fills needs for working sound people in
real-world gigs.
What It Is: Vocal and instrument microphones.
Pros: Affordable, quality sounds, nice
cosmetics.
Cons: No major issues for the money.
How much: See product descriptions.
Web site: www.electro-voice.com
Road Test
Spectr Audio SPX 1534s, SPX218T Subs and AP28s
By BillEvans
I
have this one annual gig in the LA area that
I should really give up. But I like the people,
and the nature of the event lends itself to
trying new gear, so it is a great Road Test opportunity. In fact, in the five years I have been
doing the gig I don’t think we have used the
same speaker system once. This year, the boys
at Spectr Audio got the call. After going back
and forth a few times on the requirements of
the gig, we agreed on a configuration.
The Gear
RT
All of the Spectr Audio stuff is built on
the beefy side — we didn’t try dropping ‘em
off the truck, but I am betting they could take
it. You get 18-ply calibrated Baltic birch (“calibrated,” means that the thickness of an entire
sheet varies by no more than 0.5 mm) covered
with black GigArmor paint. With two handles
per side as well as top and bottom, the SPX
1534s were not a problem to move around
with two guys, even at 88 lbs. each. Actually
for a dual 15” cab like this, 88 lbs. is not that
heavy — credit that to the neodymium components inside.
Speaking of inside: two 15-inch drivers
and a 3-inch, 60-degree horn coupled with a
switchable passive crossover and two Neutrik
Speakon NL4 connectors wired in parallel. We
used four of the 1534s as our main top boxes
would have been nice, but I have to admit
that the top handle and sleek sides make for a
good-looking box for gigs where looks count
as much as sound.
One small issue, one of the subs came
out of the box with a good-sized nick in the
GigArmor paint. Fixable, but I think the lack of
rounded edges on the subs is going to make
nicks like this a common occurrence. (Spectr
Audio let us know after the gig that they had
noticed the same problem and had adjusted
the design as a result. The new design will be
in place by the time you read this.)
The Gigs
RT
Like I said, I have done this gig for several
years, but this one was different from all of
the others. This is the annual fundraiser for
the biggest Catholic high school in LA and
we have always done it at the school’s football field. They always do two bands and a DJ
with the first band usually a jazz or Latin instrumental act and the second an “old-school”
dance band generally in the 10-piece range.
The DJ has monitors for himself, but sends
his main mix to us. Not generally a tough
gig except that it is a long day in August and
these guys want to party until as late as the
law will allow. They generally go until at least
midnight.
All of the Spectr Audio stuff is built on
the beefy side — we didn’t try dropping
‘em off the truck, but I am betting they
could take it.
For subs, we went with the SPX218T. They
are sleek and low-profile subs that look equally good on a rock ‘n’ roll stage or at a corporate
gig or even a church install. They go down to
32 Hz (plenty for most gigs) and even with
dual 18-inch drivers the weight is a reasonable 201 lbs. With a sensitivity rating of 102 dB
and a max SPL of 136 dB, long term they will
handle any mid-sized gig easily.
Finally, this was a gig where coverage was
crucial, so we needed some satellites and went
with the ArenaPro 28s. They shipped us six, although we only needed four. Same Baltic birch,
(but covered with textured paint and available
in custom colors), same 60-degree coverage
as the 1534s, but with a pair of 8-inch drivers
and a 1-inch horn and weighing in at just 39
lbs. These are ideal for spoken word, corporate
and speaker-on-a-stick gigs. They are also biampable and go down to 70 Hz — not bad
for a small box. For our situation, side handles
Spectr Audio Speakers
What It Is: Good performing passive speaker cabinets.
Who It’s For: Bands, small-to mid-sized
soundcos, corporates, installs and gigs up to
2,000 people.
Pros: Dead simple. Nice sounding even in
passive crossover mode.
Cons: Lack of rounded edges on subs look
sleek, but may lead to chips in the paint.
(But this is being addressed so…)
How Much: AP29 MSRP: $1,790, SPX218T
MSRP: $3,000, SPX1534N MSRP: $Z2,780
Web site: www.spectaudio.com
Being outdoors, coverage has been something we have had to adjust for. They like it
loud up front on the dance floor, but the older
alumni who tend to sit farther back don’t want
to have the music intrude on conversation.
At the same time, everyone has to be able to
clearly hear when announcements and presentations are made and awards given.
This year was made more complicated
by a change of venue. The football field is
being renovated and a new stadium built,
so we moved from the school overlooking
downtown LA out to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, which presented a dual challenge.
First, volume was a big issue. In another lifetime, I was a newspaper editor in Pasadena
and know very well about the neighbors of
the Rose Bowl who live in multimillion-dollar
homes, have considerable political muscle
and don’t like their weekends intruded upon
by events in the stadium at the bottom of the
hill. They put up with the Rose Bowl game
and a few other sporting events, but music
has always been an issue. The contract with
the venue explicitly called for a 95 dB limit
“at the source” with no weighting specified
and the promise of a $3,000-per-minute fine
for exceeding that level. That was bad, but
coupled with the fact that the school had to
rent a venue instead of using the school for
free resulting in a very tight budget made it a
potential nightmare.
I partnered on this gig with my FOH cohort Jamie Rio, who generally provides racks
and stacks. I throw my Midas Venice 320 and
some rack gear and mics into the back of the
PT Cruiser and drive from Vegas to LA. For
the past two years, Jamie has had a second
gig on the same day, so
he has been there for
setup, leaving me with a
crew guy/tech and then
comes back for load out.
This year, I had the pleasure of working with Jon
“Nacho” Gollihugh who
spends most evenings
mixing at a well-known
Sunset Strip nightclub.
We got the mains
setup with two 1534s a
side on top of the 218T
subs. We positioned
them to try to keep as
much SPL as possible
on the dance floor without a lot of leakage that
would cause “neighbor”
issues. As to the satellites…
This is always an issue
and one that is more psychological games than
anything else. They want
to hear the announcements, but if they can see
the speakers then they
are “too loud” before we
even turn them on.
We tried to get
around that this year by
SPX 1534 over a SPX 218T sub
hiding them — something that the small size
of the AP28s made very
easy. They ended up
halfway back between
the stage and the last
tables in a pair of planters filled with — what
else? — roses as the picture shows. (The picture
below also shows that
climbing around in rose
planters in shorts is not
a great idea. But we do
what we need to do.)
We wanted to see
what the Spectr Audio
stuff could do under
worst-case conditions,
so initially set up fullrange with the intention
to move to bi-amped
before the gig began.
But the weird speaker
placement and need to
hide cables and such
coupled with two guys
and a 100-degree August afternoon put us
too close to hit time to
And what it took to get them there.
AP28s hidden in the roses.
make the changeover,
so we did the entire gig
in “worst-case” mode. To make it even tough- with some cheap compression driver. So
er for Spectr Audio, the “A” amps (except one) many boxes have built in crossovers that are
were all out on the other gig. We got one totally worthless — you have to bi-amp them
good QSC amp for the subs and low-end, MI to get anything to sound halfwway decent.
grade (I won’t even mention the brand) amps As I walked the dance floor, I was surprised
with 1/4-inch connectors (not even binding that a full-range PA speaker could sound
this good. The coverage from box to box
posts) for the tops and satellites.
was even. The quality didn't fall off as you
So, how did it go? Let’s start by asking Jon:
“I was shocked at how well these speak- got to the edge of the horn. With two boxers sounded even running full-range. I fig- es splayed together they created one even
ured they were going to be another run of coverage area with hardly any sense of hot
the mill box with a couple of 15s and a horn spots or dead areas.”
www.fohonline.com
2008 SEPTEMBER
43
Road Test
Crown Macro-Tech i Series Amplifiers
By MarkAmundson
Crown Macro-Tech i Series
I
f you think Crown would gracefully sunset the popular Macro-Tech
line of tour-grade audio power
amplifiers, well you are in for a surprise. The new Macro-Tech i Series
provides a decent series life extension by keeping the front-panel look
and feel, while sneaking in some of
the same technology from the I-Tech
series amplifiers. One could spend a
lot of time comparing the I-Tech with
the Macro-Tech i, but the little time I
spent on this tells me there are both
similarities and differences.
The Gear
RT
On the similarities side, the new
Macro-Tech i Series does get a pair
of Class I power amp stages; and de pending what size MAi amp you buy,
you get either 2,000-, 3,000- or 4,000watts per channel at 4-ohms ratings.
The Crown MA9000i amplifier I received has 3,000 watts per channel
at 4-ohms, but also does about 4,570
watts impulse power with 1,500 watts
per channel at 8-ohms and back to
2,500 watts at 2-ohms. The MacroTech i Series also has a similar switching power supply as the I-Tech amplifiers with a separate cooling fan for
the supply.
On the front panel, the Macro-Tech
look and feel is preserved by the grille
work, logo plate, two volume knobs,
signal/ready LEDs and power button.
Three more LEDs handle the power,
bridge mode and data traffic indications. The front also takes in cooling
air and lets the two rear fans exhaust
the heated air.
The rear panel has more of an ITech look and feel, except for missing
the color ful paint job on the I-Tech
rear panels. The Crown MAi power
amplifiers have a 20-ampere IEC inlet next to the power supply exhaust
44
SEPTEMBER 2008
fan and resettable circuit breaker. The
middle of the chassis contains the analog and control jacking, with in/out
XLR connectors for each channel and
a RJ-45 ethercon connector by Neutrik for data control. Three momentary
push-button switches handle the sensitivity selection (1.4V/32 dB/25 dB),
input mode selection (stereo/bridge/
Y-mode) and network reset control.
The remaining rear panel features are the power amp exhaust fan,
and the speaker output connections.
The beefy 50-ampere-rated Neutrik
Speakon NL4 connectors handle each
channel’s needs, with channel one
connector having channel two’s outputs on the +/-2 circuit contacts. In
addition, there are the expected 60ampere-rated binding post connections for traditional in-rack or install
wiring.
ity is no easy walk in the park. So, I was
merciless in torturing the MA9000i
amplifier, both in subwoofer duty and
on top-boxes. I normally do not try
2-ohm operation, but I had to do it
just because so many club installs in
my area inflict that kind of loading all
the time on MA5002 amps. While each
channel of the MA9000i loaded at
2-ohms (two 2x18” sub cabs) does not
stand a chance against stereo 4-ohm
loading, it did do much better than
what a MA5002 could handle, even
with similar power ratings.
So, the 3,000 watts per pair of
subs does k ick ass and take names.
Many of its high power amplifier
peers can occasionally fall shor t in
speed to handle top -box duty. The
Crown MA9000i was a nice and expec ted exception in that clean highs
and good mid-range fidelity came
The Crown MA9000i was a nice and
expected exception in that clean highs and
good mid-range fidelity came to my top
boxes with this amplifier.
I took the time to break out the
Torx 10 bit on my electric screwdriver
and popped the bottom cover off the
MA9000i amplifier. What I found was a
lot of nice surface-mount technology
(SMT ) circuit components intermixed
with power supply reservoir capacitors, power transistors, and large inductors for the class I switching. The
design of this amplifier is meant to stay
very cool, and the near 90% efficiency
of this amplifier will keep it that way.
The Gigs
RT
Living up to the Macro-Tech durability and large power output capabil-
to my top -boxes with this amplifier.
While 3,000 watts is a bit much on
monitor wedge duty, I am sure that
plenty of MA5000i amplifiers will
work fine in this application.
I checked out the System Architect software that came bundled with
the amplifier. The features are ideal
for most touring application, but will
not have speaker processor filter features that are used in top of the line
touring amplifiers like the I-Tech. But
you do get amplifier volume control,
load and amplifier monitoring, and
compression and limiting thrown in
for good measure.
www.fohonline.com
In summary, the Crown Audio Macro-tech i series amplifiers are beautiful
products that fit the practical/durable
description. While there’s nothing wrong
with the previous Macro-Tech amplifiers,
the 28-pound weight of the new amplifiers is appreciated in portable applications, and the huge power ratings make
the new i series an obvious winner for
live sound professionals.
Crown Macro-Tech i Series Amplifiers
What It Is: Tour-grade audio power amps.
How much: Crown Audio MA9000i: $5,200
SRP.
Pros: Rugged, lightweight, high fidelity.
Cons: Nada.
Web site: www.crownaudio.com
I would concur with all of that
and add that the “seam” between the
coverage of the 1534s and the AP28s
was pretty much non-existent.
We found out when we got there
that the “hard” dB limit was not enforced until 11:01 p.m. so we were
running about 98-100 dB on the
dance floor until then with the satellite boxes barely on and then bringing them up for the awards part of
the evening.
In the end, we had zero complaints about volume OR coverage
(well, they complained when I had
to all but kill the PA at 11 p.m., but
that ‘s another story). The organizers commented on the high quality
of the sound and we’ll be back next
year. If I had my way we would have
the same system with us.
Welcome To My Nightmare
Tell Me Again Why I Love This Job?
A
few months ago, I was hired to do a
gig for a company I had not worked
for before, but heard a few horror
stories about, mostly pay related. We were
carrying most of the gear, but subbed out
local crew, most of the lighting, racks and
stacks and some backline. First, there was
a problem with the promoter paying the
balance when due, and the local crew (who
had a five-hour call) sat around for three
hours (after unloading the local gear for the
first hour). Finally, the payments were made
and we started unloading our truck.
After the truck was unloaded and
pushed into the venue (from across the city
street), the five hours were up and the crew
walked, leaving everything to be moved to
the stage and set up! Apparently the local
company that hired the crew “tried” to buy
them for longer, but they all had other gigs
to work at!
Besides me, there was one other person
from my company and two local guys from
the rental company to set up a mid-sized
high-profile show in a large club (including
four electrics with many movers, flying two
Meyer arrays, pulling snakes, setting up consoles, risers, backline, etc.)
To make matters worse, the monitor
console I was given was an Innovason
SY80, with only an FOH rack with input and
output cards and no stage rack — enough
to do most shows with ease. However, on
www.tonygleeson.com
this show, the monitor engineer had his
program set up to use a stage rack and
FOH rack, and apparently there is no easy
way to reconfigure the console to use the
line ins and outs on the rack. That alone
was enough for them to consider canceling the show, but he started working on
rebuilding his mixes, and I started wiring
his special patch that was wildly different
from the FOH patch.
Add in the band never putting 220v
transformers on the rider to the mess
and me having to rewire some twist locks
to make 220v (very unconventional and
slightly dangerous, but I’ve seen it work before so it would have to make due again).
Now all we needed was to find Edison to
Euro converters and some more people
who speak Greek to translate between the
band crew and us!
We were setting up the stage as the
room was filling with audience at 8 p.m.
We sound-checked one instrument at a
time about an hour and a half after the
show was supposed to start (10 p.m.).
There was one instrument (of 12 or something) that FOH did not see, and he held
the show for 30 minutes, while I ran back
and forth, and passed an argument between him and his monitor guy. Shortly
after the show started, we lost power
at FOH twice because I was not given a
twistlock power cable to wire to FOH, and
was told to plug FOH into a wall outlet,
and had three Edison interconnects in
the middle of a mob of patrons.
Finally, we got better tape and security
people to watch the connections. The show
started around 11 p.m. if I remember right,
and went until 2 a.m. two hours later than
it was supposed to end. The crew is there
to unload, but except for helping us push
our heaviest items to the truck, they did
not help us AT ALL, and my partner, truck
driver and I packed up the entire system.
They dropped me off at the hotel at 9 a.m. I
got two hours of sleep, woke up 45 minutes
late and hauled ass to the airport to catch a
11:45 a.m. flight back home! It then took me
almost a month to get paid.
P.S. I am still trying to remember why I
love this job!
In The Trenches
Randall Turner
Terry Holdershaw
Randall Turner
Owner/Designer
Turner Specialty Contractors, LLC
Bradford, PA
www.audionlightsnstagecurtains.com
877-45-AUDIO
[email protected]
Terry Holdershaw
Operations Manager
Star Productions Inc.
Mississauga, ON
www.starproductions.com
519.591.2725
[email protected]
Services Provided: Audio, lighting, stage
curtains, design/build.
Services Provided: Full production
ser vices.
Clients: ABC News — “Nightline with Tek
Kopple,” “This Week with Sam Donaldson and Cokie Roberts,” “Good Morning
America,” ABC Sports — ”Monday Night
Football,” First Baptist Columbia, S.C., Bemus Point United Methodist Church and
Family Church, both of Jamestown, N.Y.
Clients: Private, corporate and festival
events. Clients include: The Healing Cycle,
Pottahawk, Transitions Optical, Golder
Associates, etc.
Quote: “Whatsoever you do, do as not
unto man, but as unto the Lord.”
Personal Info: Over 25 years of experience
in the television and theatrical lighting and
audio business. I was formerly a controller
and then president of a $30-million general contractor. I have installed systems in 14
states and designed systems in 26 states.
Long and proud history as a U.S. Military
family: One son is a U.S. Marine Lance Corporal with combat medals currently on
46
200.0809.46.indd 46
SEPTEMBER 2008
second tour of Iraq as Point Man (and door
breacher). Our second son will enter the
Marines as an officer next year.
Hobbies: Weightlifting. I read EVERY issue
of the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Business
Week, The Economist, Fortune, Barrons and
Leatherneck.
Equipment: Harman audio dealer (Crown,
AKG, Soundcraft).
Don’t leave home without: A nice pair of
pants with a shirt and matching tie (since
you never know where you’ll be invited to
or with whom) and my bible. No joke.
Quote: “Sounds good!”
Personal Info: Six years in the business and things are going well so far.
Hobbies: DJ-ing, computers, skiing.
Equipment: Allen & Heath consoles.
Don’t Leave Home Without: Duct Tape and Red Bull.
If you’d like to see yourself featured in “In the Trenches,” visit www.fohonline.com/trenches to
submit your information to FOH, or email [email protected] for more info.
www.fohonline.com
9/3/08 9:40:44 AM
The Bleeding Edge
A Look In
The Rearview Mirror
T
he basic tenet of Bleeding Edge is to
look forward at cutting-edge technology
and what it can offer us now, or perhaps
might promise us in the future. Sometimes it
can be fun (and quite educational) to look in
the rearview mirror, so to speak, where technology is concerned. Since this month is AES
month and we’ll be seeing a lot of new product from our favorite gear manufacturers,
we thought it might be fun to set the time
machine back to 1998 and have a look at the
audio rage of the time and what has perhaps
fallen by the wayside.
A Flashback
TBE
In 1998, I purchased my first real computer: an Apple PowerMac 8600. It was one
of those beige rectangular boxes Apple
made before their sleek designs started
showing up in the Smithsonian. It had a
604e CPU running at 300 MHz. Your average high school track star runs faster than
that now, but it was good enough for me
200.0809.48.indd 48
to run Pro Tools 4, which had just come out
(more on that in a minute). My 8600 had
32 MB RAM, three PCI slots and used SCSI
drives! Now? It’s still in service at my studio, though mostly for word processing,
archiving of various files (including audio)
and an occasional e-mail. It has floppy
and ZIP drives so every once in a while
it comes in handy — like when I recently
purchased a used TC Electronic M5000. I
wanted to upgrade the operating system,
and you can download the files from the
TC Web site. If you have a floppy drive, you
can transfer the files to floppy, insert the
By SteveLaCerra
floppy in the M5000 and off you go. By the
way, that M5000 is pushing toward 15 years
of age and still sounds great. 1998 was the
year that TC announced the M3000, which
like its older brother, still sounds fantastic.
Take THAT, plug-ins.
Interesting Developments
TBE
An interesting development in the computer world was something called the Universal Serial Bus. We now commonly refer to it
as USB, but prior to the development of USB,
your keyboard and peripherals either mated
with Apple or PC hardware — but not both.
My first real computer — an Apple
PowerMac 8600 — had a 604e CPU
r u n n i n g a t 3 0 0 M H z . Yo u r a v e r a g e
high school track star runs faster
t h a n t h a t n o w.
USB delivered on the promise of providing
a portal to a multitude of devices including
storage devices and audio interfaces.
If you had one of those hot-rod Macs you
could run Pro Tools 4 software. One of the big
features of PT4 was that it offered support of
24-bit audio files. While I’m not yet convinced
that 88.2 and 96 kHz sample rates are always
the way to go, I think most people can hear
the difference between 16- and 24-bit audio
files. Score one for Digidesign. For those engineers who couldn’t bear using a mouse to
mix (show me one engineer who likes to mix
using a mouse and I’ll show you to the psych
ward), Digidesign rolled out the Pro Control
while Mackie produced the HUI. Both of these
controllers set trends that others would follow, all the way to Digi’s own current Venue
and D-Show Profile.
If you were recording live shows in 1998,
you were using either Tascam DTRS machines
or Alesis ADATs. Those lucky enough to take
a 2-inch, 24-track machine had palpitations
that year when tape manufacturer Ampex
became Quantegy — and would later go out
of business.
There were several interesting product introductions aimed at live sound in 1998: Xwire
unveiled the X905, a 20-bit digital audio wireless transmission system. About a year ago,
the developer of Xwire, Guy Coker, started a
company called X2 to market the latest 24-bit
version of that technology, and X2 was recently purchased by Line 6. Digital consoles
had invaded the studio: The Mackie d8B, Panasonic DA7 and Yamaha 02R were all setting
new standards for digital audio recording and
mixing. Initially, the concept of a digital console for live use was a pretty foreign concept.
I believe it was a Todd Rundgren tour where
the engineer carried on the road a couple of
digital desks intended for studio use. Soundcraft on the scene with the Spirit 328, a digital
console that could interface 16 digital and 16
analog inputs, plus included total recall with
moving faders and onboard effects designed
by the folks at Lexicon. Yamaha’s 01V brought
most of the capabilities of the 02R down to a
smaller format, and Tascam’s TM-D1000 also
provided a compact format more suited to
live use. All of these desks were a far cry from
current digital live sound consoles, but they
helped develop the standards that we expect
in digital mixers today.
A Different World
TBE
In the world of power amps, manufactures started paying attention to the weight
of the chassis, way before we’d have to swallow $4-a-gallon gasoline prices. In particular,
QSC’s PLX Series offered light weight, high
power and reliability in a two-space package.
That trend is certainly continued today with
more amplifier manufacturers designing less
weight into their products while increasing
performance. In the world of microphones
there were several important developments.
beyerdynamic announced the world’s first
digital microphone. Employing a traditional
transducer, the beyer MCD Series performed
A/D conversion onboard the microphone
for the first time, negating the need for an
external mic pre while ensuring that the mic
signal would not degrade due to cable capacitance, RF or EMI issues.
Neumann would later join beyerdynamic as the only other manufacturer of digital
microphones, but at the time, Neumann
was busy celebrating its 70th anniversary.
The Neumann TLM103 became one of the
most affordable Neumann microphones
ever, making it available for studio and (albeit high-end) live use. Shure rolled out their
first large-diaphragm studio condenser microphone ever, the KSM32. This mic offered
great performance, quiet operation and affordability. At the time, we didn’t know that
the KSM44 would be the first in a line of mics
that have become popular in the live sound
world. The KSM Series continues now with
models such as the KSM27, KSM141 and
KSM9. The wonderful thing about microphones is that they never become obsolete.
Outboard Offerings
TBE
New outboard offerings in 1998 included
feedback exterminators from various companies and the Antares ATR-1, which provided
real-time pitch correction in a rackmount
package. Who would need to use such a
thing? Hmmm… is it true that engineers mixing certain artists have to sign non-disclosure
agreements? I’m sure we’ve all heard the ATR1 in live situations more often than we are
aware.
One of the developments in live sound
consoles that didn’t fair so well was the idea
of placing vacuum tubes in the mic preamps
for extra warmth. I thought that a console sitting in the sun at a County fair in Jefferson
City, Mo. during August had all the warmth
it needed. Apparently, I was correct. Unfortunately there are some audio products that we
are still awaiting. Some of those include the
Lead Singer Attitude Adjuster, Guitar Player
Attenuator and Teletransporter — so I can
stay away from planes. That would truly be
progress.
Steve “Woody” La Cerra is once again out on
tour this summer mixing front-of-house for
Blue Öyster Cult. He can be reached via email at
[email protected]
9/3/08 4:25:58 PM
Regional Slants
Wes NorWood
Sound on Stage
“Somebody had to figure out the microphone thing.
So that was the first thing I did.”
By DavidJohnFarinella
J
erry Pfeffer got into the PA business while
playing in his first band. He was in grammar school. “Somebody had to figure
out the microphone thing,” he recalls with a
laugh. “So that was the first thing I did.”
A handful of years later, Pfeffer was working at a hi-fi store in San Francisco when the
phone rang and somebody needed a PA system. The owner let him borrow the van and he
loaded up a couple of speakers with a handful
of microphones. “It’s been one of those things
where it’s one job to another to another,” he
says of his company’s growth, “until it’s got to
this point. It’s a little crazy now.”
A Little Crazy
FOH
A little crazy is a little bit of an understatement, considering that Sound on Stage
is one of the San Francisco Bay Area’s preeminent regional companies. In fact, its gear
and personnel can be found at venues like
the Shoreline Amphitheatre, Concord Pavilion, Warfield and Bill Graham Civic, at corporate events for companies like Apple, Oracle
and Adobe, and at civic happenings like the
inaugurations for California Governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger and San Francisco Mayor
Gavin Newsom. And that’s just a partial list.
“Last year we pushed in excess of 1,200
events,” reports General Manager George
Edwards. “We were really flying. At one point
last summer, we did 63 shows in nine days.”
Treasure Island Music Festival in San Francisco.
Edwards points to a number of reasons
why the company has excelled over the
years, including low employee turnover, a
good sense of camaraderie, an eye on technology and tight inventory control. “I would
say that 90 percent of us that are here have
been here 10 to 30 years,” Edwards says.
“There is no hierarchy. You’ll see the owner of the company in his nice white tennis
shoes and gold watch tipping trucks with
the new 25-year-old kid.
“To coin one of Jerry’s phrases,” Edwards
continues, “we’re all just here to refine our
craft. We’re not trying to be millionaires or
rocket scientists. We love what we do and
we’re blessed enough to be able to continue to do it.”
Following the Pulse of Technology FOH
On the technology front, Sound on
Stage makes gear decisions based on rider
requirements, Edwards explains. To that
end, the company has recently added digital boards from Digidesign and Yamaha and
Lab.gruppen amplification to its collection
of L-ACOUSTICS V-DOSC boxes and analog
boards. “We’re not being complacent,” he
states. “We’re following the pulse of technology and staying as close as possible.”
All of the Sound on Stage gear is managed via a new bar code and inventory
tracking system that boosts efficiency and
practically ensures bidding and work flow
success. “We’ve got multiple ways to tell if
we’ve oversold,” Edwards says. “Red flags
come up if something is in the back of a
truck from the night before and it needs to
go to another truck.”
And while Sound on Stage has flirted
with staging, lighting and video over the
years, the company remains an audio
house. “We stick to what we know best,” Edwards says. “Every so often somebody kicks
around the idea of buying some plasmas
and a projector, but as soon as it comes up,
it dies.”
that the same philosophy applies. “At one
point, we all have toured for the company,
so consequently we developed relationships with [people from the national companies],” he reports. “When they have gigs
out this way they’ll call and respectfully
say, ‘Please take care of my customer.’ We
look at those calls as welcoming and not
threatening. I think the truth of the matter is they know that we’re the little engine
that could. We’re not looking to conquer
the world. We’re just looking to do well
with what we have.”
Friendly Competition
That said, Pfeffer marvels at the change
in his business. “I never thought it would
be like this,” he admits with a laugh. “I remember thinking that if I could ever have
enough gear to do a show at the Cow Palace, that would be a big thing. Then you
hit that goal and you think, ‘Wow, maybe
I could do a stadium show like Day on the
Green.’
“When you’re starting out, you never
have an idea that it’s going to get this crazy,”
he continues. “Having more than one system was something I couldn’t understand.”
Then he pauses before adding, “I really find
this a good time to be in the business. It’s
changing and it’s a little scary at times, but
everyone is trudging forward.”
FOH
While the Bay Area features a number
of sound companies, Edwards points out
that each has their own niche, and it’s rare
that Sound on Stage will get a call from
somebody else’s customer. “Once in a blue
moon, maybe if there’s a new person in
the picture checking out options, we’ll get
a phone call,” he says. “But we talk to each
other. If I get a call, I’ll call the other company and ask about it. There’s a lot of work
out there and very rarely do our paths
cross, so I like to believe that at a bare
minimum it’s friendly competition. There’s
a little honor amongst bidders.”
As far as competition from bigger companies coming into the area, Edwards says
FOH
Wes NorWood
Wes NorWood
The Times They Are A-Changin’
dVDOSC were used extensively for the Red Bull Air Race in San Diego.
50
200.0809.50.indd 50
SEPTEMBER 2008
SOS systems engineer Denis Deem (lower right) assists Van Morrison’s FOH engineer John Willis (center)
opening for the Rolling Stones at Oakland Coliseum.
Zach Pfeffer (on ladder center) and Sean Roberts (on tower right) set a speaker
tower for the Red Bull Air Race in Monument Valley, Utah.
www.fohonline.com
9/3/08 11:14:24 PM
Sound Sanctuary
Mixing Sound
God’s Way
By JamieRio
S
ince I have been writing Sound
Sanctuary, I have spent a lot of
time in houses of worship, mixing
live sound, installing sound systems,
tuning up systems and interacting with
the people that operate and volunteer
at worship houses. The one theme that
seems to be common among the different houses that I have visited is the lack
of volunteer training.
I certainly understand why this
phenomenon exists. Worship volunteers
generally have limited time to give, and
that time seems better used in actual
doing rather than learning. Please don’t
think I am being critical, I am just stating
what I have observed. The fact of the
matter is that I admire anyone who will
give freely of his or her time. That said,
let me get into this months installment
of Sound Sanctuary.
Uncovering the Mystery
FOH
Every sound in your house of worship
that is amplified must travel through
your house mixing console. Some of you
may have a good understanding of how
your house mixer, signal path and gain
structure work. But for a lot of you that
console is a very scary piece of equipment, and how sound travels through it
is a mystery. However, it is simpler than
you think.
The microphones or direct boxes on
your worship house stage pick up sound
from you preacher, choir, worship band,
etc., and send it to your snake or directly
to the mixing board through a balanced
XLR cable. This is the path that the signal takes, commonly known as the signal
path. This “sound“ (now in electric form)
enters your mixing board at the channel or channel strip input. If your house
console has a 16-channel board, you will
have 16 channel (mono) inputs. Some
manufacturers will refer to their stereo
channel inputs as two channels, but for
this discussion we will only examine the
mono inputs. The input channel can only
be entered through a female mic input
or a ¼-inch line level input. Take a look at
the backside of your board and you will
see what I am referring to. While you are
looking back there you may see another
¼-inch female jack named “insert.” Don’t
worry about it for now.
Some church volunteers may have a
good understanding of how the house
mixer, signal path and gain structure
work. But for a lot of you that console
is a very scary piece of equipment.
An Audio Godsend
FOH
At the top of that input channel
strip you will have a knob titled “gain” or
“trim.” This knob adjusts how much the
channel pre-amp boost the incoming
signal. If you crank it up too much you
will get distortion (clipping); however,
if the incoming signal is too low you
may experience unwanted hum or hiss.
The idea is to set this level just right.
You can use your ears, LED indicator
lights or meters to set this level. If the
incoming signal is really hot (usually a
keyboard, iPod or computer) you can
engage your mixer’s “pad” button. If you
don’t have one, sorry, but if you do it
will knock down the incoming signal by
24 to 30 dB (give or take). In the same
area as the gain knob and pad button
you should find a high-pass filter button. This handy item will roll off the low
frequencies of your incoming signal at
80 or 100 Hz. This button is a godsend if
you need to eliminate boom from a mic
or instrument.
Next you will enter the EQ section
of the channel strip. I believe I covered
equalization in-depth last month so get
a copy of FOH or go online and read
up. Keep in mind two EQ rules: 1) Less
is more. Don’t over EQ a mic or instrument and 2) Generally, you will want to
remove offending frequencies, not add
frequencies.
Twist Some Knobs
FOH
After we leave the EQ section, we
come across the Aux sends. These knobs,
sometimes labeled “monitor” or “effects” allow you to send the signal to
another place without interrupting the
signal traveling through the channel in-
52
200.0809.52.indd 52
SEPTEMBER 2008
put strip. The aux signal can be used for
onstage monitors, effects processors or
recording devices. The aux signals from
the individual channels are sent to the
aux master bus in your consoles master
section. I will not be getting into master
section until next month just because a
lot happens there. Let me just say that
from the aux master buss the aux signals can be sent to the aforementioned
destinations (stage monitors, etc.). Your
house board may have a pre/post fader
button in the aux area of each channel
strip. The pre-fader position means the
signal is sent to the aux buss before the
fader. Your channel strip fader will have
no effect on the aux signal. The post
fader button means that the fader will
affect the level that is sent through the
aux send. Pre-fader is usually reserved
for monitor sends and post for effects
processors.
Leaving the aux sends, we encounter the pan control knob. In its simplest
form, the pan knob will send the channel
signal to the left or right output of your
mixing console. If your board has a subgroup section, the pan knobs function is
greatly expanded. Now you can choose
to send the signal either to the right or
left mixer or to an individual subgroup. I
promise I will expand on the concept and
advantages of subgroups next month.
After the pan knob, your board will
either have a mute button, on/off button,
solo/PFL button or all of the above. The
mute button cuts the channel (just like
the mute on your TV remote), on/off is
self-explanatory and the PFL/Solo sends
the channel signal to your headphone
jack (then to your headphones). By the
way, buy a good set of headphones or
have your house of worship buy some.
They are invaluable.
Lastly, we come to the channel
fader. This slider is the output volume
control for each individual channel.
With your gain structure set up properly the fader should be set at the “0”
spot to begin with. There you have it.
Study your mixing console and don’t
be afraid to twist some knobs. It gets
easier every time.
You can e-mail Jamie at [email protected]
www.fohonline.com
9/3/08 4:21:34 PM
C’mon
Just
CALL
Anklebiter
Maintaining
the Time Spent
vs.
Gig Budget Ratio
I
share yet another experience from
the wonderful wacky world of sound
production this month. I have mixed
feelings about this incident — you’ll soon
find out why.
Being ultra-cool, suave and debonair,
I have made many friends out of my clients, to the point that we have the occasional social gathering. Yes, I am a far
better trencherman than sound engineer.
(Is trencherman a little revealing about
my age?)
A Yearly Event
FOH
Anyway, one of my friends has a yearly
event that garners big time regional and
minor league national acclaim. Another
group is coming to town, trying many of
the same ideas, but at a different time of
year. This group was referred by the venue to my friend, who knows and gnaws
on the local and state laws and policies
and machete masters the usual red tape.
I don’t know what title his job has, but
the description was pretty much to make
the event happen by crossing the “Ts” and
dotting the lower case “Js.”
My friend is very organized and has
timelines, flowcharts, schedules and any
other word you can think of for a quasicorporate system to get things done. Of
course, being ultra-cool, suave, etc., I was
brought in to handle the production side
of things. I put together a pretty good
price with some great gear and people,
and, lo and behold, they balked at the
price!
I know I am not the cheapest, but I
am the best (not really, but I have some
great friends that keep me from biting
off more than I can chew). In the three
months since we have been trying to get
Rolling
Stones
HOTLINE
By KenRengering
answers or even a rider, I have backed
off gear, brought the price and deposit
down, agreed to have another vendor
on the property — in other words, I have
I think the event will be a bust, which
is never good for the local scene. And I am
sorry my friend will probably terminate
his relationship with this group, thus
I exchanged more than 70 e-mails
regarding this turd. I think that’s
one of the signs of a sound gig going
bad. When the e-mails are flying, the
gig is usually circling the drain.
been sucking a little heine to make the
gig happen. I know what you’re thinking,
but I passed kissing a while ago.
An Unnatural Act
FOH
I did this in an attempt to win this contract for my guys, my friend and me. Yes,
the hope of future business was gleaming
in my greedy, beady eyes. This group’s VP
told my friend he was offended I wanted
a 50% deposit! I even agreed — after they
balked at another contract and the terms
— to be their production manager and
provide a qualified stage manager, talent
coordinator and assistant talent coordinator. I do have a gag reflex, and the rising tide of bile was giving it a test. Maybe
I was too preoccupied searching for my
nads to notice.
Then, a few telling events occurred.
They bounced a check on my friend.
They tried to go around me to hire my
talent coordinator, and, after balking at
the price and terms of my bid, the next
company’s price was higher and wanted
a 50% deposit in three days. Surprise,
surprise! Amazing how the taste of gloat
can wash away the taste of bile. All
right, I know, I know, the taste of gloat is
bittersweet.
54
200.0809.54.indd 54
SEPTEMBER 2008
severing a potential source of income
for him. I did advise him to forewarn the
local venue from which he was referred
— feeling it was the decent thing to do,
especially as he is a local promoter.
Gig Gone Bad
FOH
I exchanged more than 70 e-mails regarding this turd. I think that’s one of the
signs of a sound gig going bad: When the
e-mails are flying, the gig is usually circling the drain. I think we’ve all had those
clients whose “time spent vs. budget ratio” is way out of whack. Under my breath,
I may mention that doing the Rolling
Stones would only require four e-mails
and a phone call. (I honestly have no idea,
but when I get that phone call from the
Stones, the readers of FOH will probably
know. How much would a full-page ad
cost me?)
So, as always, it all comes down to the
love of the job. Can you love it enough
to wade through the river of BS? When
it comes to the carrot and the stick, only
work for carrots because every stick hurts
us all a little. Sticks are only good to measure how deep the BS was or will be.
I have to go look for my testicles now.
Let me know if the Stones call, cool?
www.fohonline.com
9/3/08 4:27:35 PM
The Biz
Surround Moves
from Movies to Live
W
hen the iconic Bleecker Street music venue, the Village Gate, was
at its peak in the 1960s and ‘70s,
the sound system was decidedly monaural,
though plenty suitable for the eclectic array
of musicians, from folky Dave Van Ronk to fusion prophets Dreams, who trod its stage. But
when the Village Gate came out of retirement
this year, under the rubric Le Poisson Rouge,
its programs may have been just a eclectic
as ever, from jazz to classical to rock, but its
sound system had to face the reality of modern expectations. It had to go surround.
Modern Expectations
BIZ
The system, with Meyer Milo components
configured in a 5.4 array (four subs), was assembled and installed by Masque Sound,
which has done multichannel sound systems
for Broadway theaters as well with a design
by John Storyk, who is better known for his
recording studio designs. That’s all part of a
differentiation strategy in a city that has once
again become cluttered with club venues. Le
Poisson Rouge’s owners, David Handler and
Justin Kantor, both classically trained musicians and composers, paid a premium for the
system — not quite $1 million for a system
that covers 800-seats, says Handler — but
they can command a premium for its use.
One of the maiden voyages of the system
was the debut, last July, of a new piece by
electronic music and media composer Morton Subotnick, which in classical electronica
is the equivalent of the famous four nights
at the dearly departed Bottom Line by Bruce
Springsteen in 1974.
“A sound system like this gives artists
like Morton and other classical composers a
place where their compositions that require
multiple source points can be accurately portrayed,” says Handler.
It also makes for a memorable experience
for record release events, particularly multichannel or high-resolution records like Nine
Inch Nails’ With Teeth, but certainly for any record. “The amount of depth that this system
has is pretty incredible,” says Handler. “It takes
the room a step beyond being a place just to
hear music — it makes it a place that attracts
music and sound connoisseurs.” There are a
few touches that wouldn’t be out of place in a
recording studio, including airtight doors leading to all exits and hallways. “This club shows
people what a listening environment can be,”
he says. “It’s like high-def video — once you’ve
seen it, you don’t want to go back.”
Surround on Broadway
BIZ
Clubs aren’t the only live spaces that are
getting into surround audio. Broadway’s first
surround production was Into The Woods,
2002’s spooky Tony Award winner that had
the prerecorded voice of Dame Judy Dench,
playing Giant Tess, appear first as sound from
the rear of the theater, then inch ever closer to
the front, speaker to speaker, as the lighting
dragged a huge shadow across the stage. The
effect did as it was intended: it turned heads,
though that’s not something you want to do
on a regular basis on Broadway lest you incur
the wrath of the diva. But Into The Woods’ foray
into surround did get the attention of directors, more and more of whom have prevailed
upon show producers to spend the extra geld
for a multi-channel sound system.
But the trend has limits. FOH mixer Dave
Rat (Red Hot Chili Peppers) assembled a multi-
By DanDaley
channel system for Pink Floyd founder Roger
Waters when he headlined the Coachella festival this year, using L-ACOUSTICS’ V-DOSC,
dV-DOSC, KUDO and other components.
What made it work, says Rat, is the fact that
the surround channels — which occupied
six of the eight clusters around the field and
were aimed to fire back at the stage and over
the audience’s heads — were used almost exclusively for prerecorded sound effects, such
as jet and rocket engine sounds, that were
mixed through a separate Yamaha PM5D console rather than the Midas XL4 used for FOH.
“As soon as you put anything rhythmic into
rear channels at this kind of scale, you’re asking for time smear and delay problems,” says
Rat. “The only solution for that is to keep the
clusters spaced at a maximum of 70 feet between them to avoid delay problems. But that
would also limit the size of the venue or add a
huge number of extra clusters or towers.”
As impractical as a surround live PA seems
to be for large venues, Rat believes it’s a great
way to brand a club or theater as a serious
listening room and attract artists and patrons
who want that level of audio.
Increasingly Cinematic
BIZ
As theatrical productions become increasingly cinematic, surround sound seems
to work for them the way it works in the
movies. “In an effects-heavy show, surround
systems are now considered necessary on
Broadway by some directors,” says Simon
Matthews, who was the production sound
mixer on Into The Woods and who now runs
what has to be called a many-channel sound
system for Young Frankenstein, in which a separately sourced speaker hangs spaced about
every eight feet around the room and twice
as many in the orchestra rings.
Going surround on Broadway, where
sound systems are for the most part leased
on a weekly basis, doesn’t cost producers a
lot more money. David Strang, general manager at PRG Audio, one of Broadway’s main
systems suppliers, estimates that it adds no
more than $1,200 to $1,500 a week to a typical system rental. “But the surround part of
the sound system is usually the first to get cut
when there are budget issues in a show,” he
says. Strang says the live surround trend has
resulted in having to buy and keep more different types and sizes of speakers available,
since the range of club and theater requirements is much wider than that usually found
in touring systems. “It means a bigger investment in more kinds of equipment and not
necessarily a bigger return on it, and that’s
meaningful in this economy,” he says.
This has not escaped the notice of sound
systems designers, who can use the principles of supply and demand to leverage better
rental deals for their productions in a poststrike environment where producers remain
skittish despite healthy box office returns.
“When you know what the shops have on the
shelf, it helps to negotiate the price,” says Dan
Moses Schrier, who designed the first surround system on Broadway.
Surround sound in clubs and theaters
might also do for live music what 5.1 did for
the movies: get more people out of the house
and buying tickets to shows. And that’s good
for everyone.
Dan Daley can be reached at ddaley@
fohonline.com
Theory and Practice
Color Codes
C
olor-coding of cabling, road cases,
speakers, etc. is one of those “how do
you know that?” questions I get all the
time. In all honesty, I have to blame my eighth
grade industrial arts teacher (in electronics
shop) for the lifelong passion into all my esoteric electronics knowledge. But, of course, it
was 1974, and my first project was a one-tube
AM radio. I remember a lot of both the good
and bad habits of electronics from that class;
bad things like how to toss molten solder
from the iron-tip toward other classmates,
and good things like the color code.
For those of us old enough to remember,
there was a sentence commonly used as a
memory device, which by today’s standards
is considered to be “inappropriate.” The first
letter in each word of the sentence stood for
a color: Black, Brown, Red, Orange, Yellow,
Green, Blue, Violet (Purple), Gray and White. If
you don’t know the memory device sentence,
ask someone with a bit of gray hair. Just don’t
repeat it in “polite“ company. These colors also
have numeric representation as 0 through 9.
Why Color Codes Exist
T P
The reason these color codes exist is because electronic components like resistors, ca56
SEPTEMBER 2008
By MarkAmundson
pacitors and inductors commonly had stripes
or dots of color to represent a numeric value
in ohms, farads or henries. These colors also
used the colors as base 10 power multipliers,
plus silver and gold colors were added to indicate part quality in the form of tolerance of the
value. As a teenager, I used to buy experimenter grab bags of unsorted components and
make sport of how fast I could identify a part
at a glance. For example, a resistor with yellow
violet orange and silver stripes was a 47k-ohm
resistor with a +/-10% value tolerance.
This even went back before my 1937 RCA
console radio were I could identify a burnt
power resistor because it had one red dot on
a brown painted form to signify a 200 ohm
value. The reason why color codes go back so
far in history is that painting stripes and dots
was simpler technology than imprinting letting, and much easier to read in poor lighting
of a chassis. Table 1 shows this standard electronic component color code.
Cabling
T P
This relates to live sound because a commonly trained staff can then understand how
the colors have meaning to stage gear. A
good example is my Speakon cabling that I
have with three standard lengths of 15, 30 and
50 feet. The 50-foot coil of cable has a green
stripe of electrical tape near the Speakon NL4
plugs as a reminder that green means “5” or a
50-foot length. Likewise, my 30-foot speakon
patches have orange tape stripes for “3” or 30foot designations. To make things a bit more
complex, my 15-foot speakon patches have
a brown stripe followed by a green stripe,
which means “1 5 “ or 15 feet of cable.
I do this to my standard Edison (NEMA
5-15) power cords as well, in which I keep
10, 15, 25, 50 and 100-foot lengths. Since
the jacketing of these SJEOW and SEOW cables is black, I had to break the rule a touch
since black electrical does not really show
up or mean much to anybody. So 10’ extensions are brown, 15’ is brown-green, 25’ is
red-green, 50’ is green and 100’ is a single
white stripe. As long as my stagehands,
techs and engineers are reasonably trained,
everything gets found and put back in its
work trunk.
Other Codes
T P
There are so many color codes that keeping them straight is maddening. Codes like
standard single-phase AC wiring (black=hot,
www.fohonline.com
red=hot, blue=hot, white=neutral, and
green=ground) are necessary for distro
maintenance. But the color codes for lowvoltage HVAC or Telephone/Cat5 systems
can drive you to tears. Unfortunately, we
better start getting Cat5 color code literate
pretty soon if digital consoles become standard equipment everywhere. If you need
that color code refresher, check the back issues for my piece Ethernet audio (also in the
book, page 76).
One ancient color code I want to lay on
you is the old radio chassis wire colors that
may be handy. Since I spend plenty of time
fooling around with guitar effects pedals,
having standard coding for ins and outs
and power connections is necessary. Stated
plainly yellow is for inputs, blue for outputs,
red is DC power positive, black is DC power
return/negative, green is ground and white
is a free color for control wiring. This code
goes back to the vacuum tube days where
brown was tube filament and pilot light
wiring. Old as it is, I still find it a handy way
to sort things out.
If you have a handy color code, send me
an e-mail and state your preferences and/or
rationale.
Company
Page
Phone
Web
Company
Page
Phone
Web
A&S Case Company
18
818 509 5920
http://foh.hotims.com/18518-210
QSC Audio Products
C4
800.854.4079
AKG
47
818.920.3212
Radial Engineering/ Cabletek
55
604.942.1001
Audio-Technica
9
330.686.2600
Rane
25
425.355.6000
Bosch/Midas Digial Consoles
C1
248.876.1000
Renkus-Heinz
5
949.588.9997
Carvin Pro Audio
48
800.854.2235
http://foh.hotims.com/18518198
RSS by Roland
52
800.380.2580
Checkers Industrial Products
54
800.438.9336
Sennheiser Electronic Corp.
6
860.434.9190
Crown Industrial
3
574.294.8000
Sound Image
27
760.737.3900
dbx Professional Products
53
801.568.7660
Soundcraft
37
888.251.8352
DiGiCo
51
516.249.1399
Studer
49
+41 44 870 75 11
Digidesign
29
650.731.6287
Tour Tech east
19
902.468.2800
DPA Microphones
17
303.485.1025
Westone Music Products
4
719.540.9333
EAW
35
800.992.5013
Worx Audio
8
336.275.7474
Electro Voice/ Bosch
7
248.876.1000
Yamaha Commercial Audio Systems
1, 13, C3
714.522.9011
FDW-W
15
608.227.2040
Yamaha Corporation of America
45
714.522.9011
Full Compass
41
+49 (0) 9421/706-0
Gear Box Pro
8
877-789-5774
Hear Technologies
21
256.922.1200
MARKET PLACE
Innovason
12
888.DIG-DESK
Gabriel Sound
58
973.831.7500
JBL Professional
23
818.894.8850
Gear Box Pro
58
877-789-5774
Kaltman Creations
31
678-714-2000
Hi-Tech Audio Systems
58
650.742.9166
Meyer Sound Laboratories
C2
510.486.1166
http://foh.hotims.com/18518112
New York Case/ Hybrid Cases
58
800.645.1707
Morgan Sound
21
(425) 771-7257
SoundBroker.com
59
702-736-3003
OVO/ Mega Systems
54
210.684.2600
Sound Productions
58
800.203.5611
Peavey Electronics
11
877.732.8391
Transamerica Audio Group
58
702-365-5155
Roy & Gene Clair
during this period, both Roy and Gene kept
their day jobs and worked seven days a week.
“They were long weeks,” Gene sighs.
In 1968, they were in Philadelphia running
sound for Cream, Iron Butterfly and Jefferson
Airplane, among other acts. “Often the bands
would ask if we were from New York or LA,”
Roy says with noticeable delight. “When we
said we were from Lititz, they couldn’t believe
it. Like Jefferson Airplane — they couldn’t believe that two hicks like us put together the
best, loudest system they had ever heard.”
They would eventually quit their day jobs.
“We’re conservative people, and don’t like to
take crazy chances,” Gene says quietly.
Don’t Know “No”
PLSN
The 1970s would see their collective star rise
higher. Dick Clark Productions had the Jacksons
and the Osmonds touring and used Clair Bros.
sound. But it was the acts that were respected
for their intricate music that seemed to especially appreciate the sound company: Blood
Sweat & Tears used them frequently, including
the first American rock band to go behind the
Iron Curtain. For the prog rock Moody Blues,
once they heard what Clair Bros. could do, no
other sound company would do. Chicago and
Yes would come to rely on them for sound.
“But another significant feature was
that we didn’t know what ‘no’ was,” Roy says.
“Whatever people wanted, we did it. If they
wanted us on some street corner at 10 p.m.
on a Tuesday night, we did it. Nothing was
too much. We were a ‘yes’ company.”
Meanwhile, Franklin & Marshall, the place
of the launch of their career, became home to
their farm team. They would hire college kids
to work for them, and one of the first ones to
be hired full time was Donald Gehman, who
would go on to engineer and produce the likes
of R.E.M., Stephen Stills, John Mellencamp,
among others. Otherwise, Jackson laughs and
tells as Roy and Gene were wrestlers, they were
partial to hiring other wrestlers, some of whom
could lift 300-pound speakers by themselves.
Key to their longevity was speed: “We
always strived to make the setup faster then
what it took at the previous gig,” Gene says.
“We specialized in connectors that made it
easier and quicker.”
Gene would spend almost all his time on
the road as they added other acts, and during the summer, his son Troy would be right
along side him in what had to be a young kid’s
dream. Roy at this point was focused more on
development and the business end.
“The sound company landscape in the
early 1970s was very different,” Jackson explains. “It was the exception for a group to
take the sound company on tour. This arrangement gave the regionals the chance
to be exposed to a string of big acts as they
passed through their area. And the companies that gave the best service and delivered the best sound quickly grew to become
worldwide touring entities. It was a great opportunity for a small bootstrapped operation
to make the transition to the big time,” which
is exactly what Clair Bros. did.
“Roy and Gene are two quite different
personalities,” Jackson continues. “I've been in
partnerships and know full well how difficult
it can be to see eye to eye on all the different
aspects of being in business. The dynamic
between Roy and Gene had a lot to do with
their success. Roy was very conservative in
managing the money and didn't like operating on credit. I recall Clair Bros. always took the
‘prompt pay’ discounts. Gene was far more daring and seemed to thrive on living out on the
technological edge.” Jackson says it was Gene
who drove the genesis of the ubiquitous S4.
It was 1974, and one of the biggest ad-
vances of the pro audio business came out of
the Clair Bros. barn, and that was the S4. The
4-foot by 2-foot by 2-foot system needed only
one connector on the back. It was an influential, great-sounding system that seriously cut
the time needed to set up and tear down.
“We first used the S4s with Rod Stewart,
and it was the first show we hung speakers
from a grid,” Roy says. “We came up with a
hanging device that would allow you to
point the speaker where you wanted to. The
hardware was beautifully machined, done
by local Lititz people. We were the talk of the
industry at the time.”
Mick Jagger wanted to see it and came
to a Stewart show, making Roy walk with him
around the arena during a show to really get
a sense to what the hanging S4s could do.
Suffice to say he was impressed because he
had the Clairs do the band’s 1975 tour. Peter
Frampton would use them too, as would David Bowie, the Beach Boys and most acts doing arena tours at the time.
“After a while, everyone else kept coming up with new speakers, but always comparing them to the S4s,” Gene adds. “It was
a compliment.”
Other Innovations
PLSN
While he acknowledges that Bill Hanley was
the first one to put monitors on the stage, Roy
says they were the first to build a box for them
that slanted up. “The first one was for the horn
section of Blood Sweat & Tears, and then the
rest of band, then other bands wanted them.”
The Clair Bros. built the first audio board
with a talkback button it. So, rather than the
FOH engineer yelling at the band, a button
could be pushed and a conversation could
be had through the monitors. “Believe it or
not, even that simple feature got us a few
shows including Yes.”
www.fohonline.com
In 1984, they built a sophisticated road
console that boasted parametric EQ and
folded up conveniently in a box. “Nobody had
parametric EQ on the road in a console,” Roy
says. “They were in the studio, and there were
some tours that borrowed studio consoles
and used them on the road, but there was
nothing like this. We also had a bar graph meter that no one else had. Our engineers, Bruce
Jackson and Ron Brothwisk, designed this.”
A commonsense business approach always pervaded, as many festivals sprung up
all over the country, the Clair Bros. were careful which ones they did. More big acts and
events would continue, all fueled by their
ability to hire and develop good people.
“Back when the company was in a converted chicken house in Brickerville, Pa., the
Clairs’ took a kid out of college and gave
him a chance,” says Greg Hall of his own beginnings. “And for 30 years, it’s been a great
place to work. I’m still proud to be apart
of what they built.” Today, Hall is business
manager for the company.
In 1995, Gene, who stayed on the road,
finally got off and retired. “My last tour was
with Elton John,” he says. “I didn’t mix that,
but was in charge of setting up the system.”
He would sell his part of the business to his
son Troy, who today is in charge of the touring division. Barry Clair, Roy’s son, is in charge
of the systems division.
Roy is still active in the business, though
on his terms. And the company still continues
to dazzle. One of their recent gigs was handling the audio for the Papal Mass by Pope
Benedict at Yankee Stadium.
“Their love of sound and the entertainment industry took them out of Lititz and
around the world, yet they always chose to
keep their base within a few miles of their
childhood home,” Jackson says.
2008 SEPTEMBER
57
To Advertise in Marketplace, Contact: Dan Hernandez • 818.435.2285 • [email protected]
STAGING • LIGHTING • SOUND
Order online TODAY at www.plsnbookshelf.com
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FOH-at-Large
It’s All About Control
A
as “cocky anal-retentive.” Of course, if the
engineer keeps insisting upon getting
what they want, they will also become
known as an “asshole,” which, for those of
you who may not know, is a derogative
term and is definitely not the same as being “anal.”
I have heard certain engineers being
described as “anal,” and others described
as being an “asshole,” but the one that really made me wince was when I heard an
engineer described as being an “anal asshole.” Sort of a weird mixed metaphor, but
given the choice, I think I would rather be
an “anal asshole” than a “horse’s patoot”
since, if I am correct, a horse’s patoot is a
euphemism referring to the rear portion
of the aforementioned animal.
t this time of year — when the members of our celebrated audio industry
descend upon one town or another
and fill massive convention centers with
miles and aisles of new, state-of-the-art audio technology — my thoughts turn to control. After all, every item on display at AES
is purporting to present the user with more
control of their mix along with the promise — spoken and unspoken — that each
new piece of technological wizardry will offer a newer, faster and more efficient way to
manipulate and manage the mechanics of
their audio world.
FOH
There are many items and concepts
of control that we take for granted. Tools
that at one time did not exist, but through
diligence, need and brilliance were made
manifest by a few great minds that could
not only visualize them, but actualize
them as well. What we take for granted as
everyday items in our audio arsenal are
things that at one time did not exist when
the need arose. To name just a few of the
technological innovations that have aided
the audio engineer in his or her quest for
ultimate control, I would have to include
such every day controls as parametric EQ,
compression, noise gates and 31 band
equalization.
Wireless microphones and personal
monitors have become a mainstay in the
industry, and although they are relatively
new to the scene, digital consoles and
line array speaker systems are almost a
prerequisite on most riders. With the advent of computers and digital technology,
speaker management has been taken to a
new level of controlled use. Wireless and
digital advances now make it possible for
the monitor engineer to walk the stage
while ringing out wedges and mixing at
the same time, thus doing away with any
intermediary help and again allowing the
engineer more control.
COMING NEXT
MONTH...
Installations
For $90 million, it damn
well better float…
The Horseshoe Casino
in Hammond, Ind. is a
riverboat no more.
FOH Interview
Why an SD7 AND a
D5? Because he can.
FOH gets deep with Lars
Brogaard.
Buyers Guide
Large-format line arrays
60
SEPTEMBER 2008
Part of Our Job Description
By Andy Au
What We Take for Granted
By BakerLee
Have fun at AES. Be particular, ask
questions, demand answers and find
new equipment that helps you maintain
control of your domain.
A Plethora of Technology
FOH
Every year at the AES convention the
tried-and-true established audio companies and many new upstart businesses put forward a plethora of new and
updated technological advances to be
picked through and assessed by all of us
control-obsessed audio engineers.
Just for the record, I totally support
being in command of an environment
that could so easily spiral out of control
at any moment. All engineers are fully
aware of how frightening it is to be behind a console during a show and have
something go wrong. Thirty seconds of
downtime can feel like time without end
in a very hot place, therefore, we try to
avoid any of these eternal moments by
doing our best to control all situations
during a show.
It is my experience that to avoid
sweating bullets during a show, most
successful audio/production people live
by the Boy Scout mantra “be prepared.”
State-of-the-art equipment is definitely
one of the key ingredients for maintaining control of the audio stew, but as we
all know, anything can happen, which is
why most engineers try to ensure their
success by preparation. It’s not easy nor
is it always possible to plan for every situation, but based upon our experiences
and our skills, we try to do just that with
varying degrees of success.
Only Words
FOH
A good blend is in the details and
most engineers are constantly tinkering
with the audio mix in an effort to achieve
perfection. Perfection, as we all know, is
a rather high bar to jump. Therefore, the
successful engineers I know are, to a fault,
diligent and detail-oriented in their search
for flawlessness. I say to a fault because
I have often seen this meticulousness
and attention to detail misconstrued as a
negative trait and described by others as
“picky,” overbearing,” “fussy,” “demanding,”
and even “anal-retentive,” or in hip terms
just “anal.” The term “anal retentive” has
slipped into our vernacular due to an acceptance of Freudian psycho-babble and
is often used as a pejorative to describe
a person with an obsessive-compulsive
disorder. It is not a very eloquent way of
describing a person — let alone an audio
engineer — but be that as it may, it is part
of the contemporary lexicon.
Some people, who are a little more laid
back in their approach to production and
audio, view the engineer’s attention to
detail as demanding and arrogant. Many
times an engineer will refuse to share consoles or snakes. Engineers are very particular about what they need in order to make
a show successful and often do get an attitude when told they cannot get what they
want. So, this “anal-retentive” becomes
known as arrogant and now they are seen
www.fohonline.com
FOH
Recently, I mixed a popular morning radio show, and since it was an early
morning show we were required to load
in and set up the day before. I insisted
upon bringing my console as well as all
my microphones, stands and personal
monitors. I was being somewhat “anal”
about my gear and actually had a bit of a
fit when I was informed that I had to use
his in-house snake. Therefore, I became
somewhat of an “asshole” when I insisted
that the house technician stay overtime
and be available for a sound check when
we arrived to set up the gear.
Although I had been an “anal asshole,”
all went well at the check, and it wasn’t until the band started to play the next morning that the show’s host stated screaming
that he did not have any vocal in his headphones. The house technician blamed me
for not sending them the vocal, but I was
sending them a stereo mix and I had a great
full mix (if I say so myself ), which included
the vocal. Turns out that the on-air mix was
fine, but the house technician neglected
to send the host of the show a headphone
mix, and while the band had everything in
their ears, the host could only hear what
his studio microphones were picking up.
I felt like a “horse’s patoot” due to the
fact that the in-house engineer had not
been “anal” or “asshole” enough. I had taken for granted that the house audio tech
knew what he had to do. When he verified
he was receiving signal, I just assumed
that he was sending signal everywhere it
needed to be sent, and while technically
the blunder was not my fault, I assumed
some of the blame because I had not
been a bigger “anal asshole.”
That said, have fun at AES. Be particular,
ask questions, demand answers and find
new equipment that helps you maintain
control of your domain. Remember that it’s
OK to be an “anal asshole” and that in certain ways it’s part of our job description. If
you have successful gigs then consider the
sobriquet a badge of honor. One should
take solace in the fact that being an “anal
asshole” is better than being a “horse’s patoot.” Try not to feel self-conscious about
your “anal assholiness” and remember that
you will be in a convention center surrounded by like-minded souls.

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