Concert Tours: Higher Profit on Lower Tix Sales

Transcription

Concert Tours: Higher Profit on Lower Tix Sales
ThE NEws MagazinE For LivE Sound
August 2005 Vol. 3 No. 11
Live 8: Sound Around the World
FRESNO, CA—Pollstar, a concert
industry trade publication, has released
its findings about the state of the financial
health of the industry at 2005’s midway
point, and the news appears to be good
for live event audio providers.
The report states that the general
health of the industry has dramatically
improved over the report issued at the
mid-year mark in 2004, even though
ticket sales have substantially dropped. A
study of the top 100 tours in 2005 shows
that the improvement is due to adjusted
expectations for ticket sales. Pollstar attributes the adjustment to more conservative approaches on the parts of talent
buyers when scheduling concerts, instead
of last year’s attempts to book anyone and
everyone in order to make a profit.
U2 ranked as the most lucrative tour
of the year thus far, grossing $48.4 million
(Clair Brothers Systems). The Irish rockers
were followed by Celine Dion (in-house
install), doing well in Vegas with a gross of
$43.9 million; Kenny Chesney (Morris Leasing) at $35 million; Elton John (combining touring and the Red Piano Las Vegas
show) at $31.7 million and the Eagles
(Clair) with $28 million.
Rounding out the top 10 are Mötley
Crüe, $21.3 million; Cher, $18.3 million;
Riverdance, $18 million; Josh Groban, $16.9
million and Jimmy Buffett, $15.9 million.
At number 11 is Larry the Cable Guy
at a gross of $15.4 million, followed by
George Strait at $14.5 million; Dave Matthews Band, $13.4 million; Duran Duran,
$13.3 million; Bob Dylan, $13 million; Yanni,
$11.9 million; Sarah McLachlan, $11.6 million; Maroon 5, $11.5 million; Green Day,
$11.2 million and Rod Stewart, $11 million.
For more information, visit www.
pollstar.com.
Shure Mourns Loss of Three Employees
Photo by Paul Hugo, Sennheiser
NILES, IL—Employees at Shure
received a shock on July 14 when they
returned from lunch to hear that three
of their own had lost their lives during
that same break. Michael Dahlquist, John
Glick and Doug Meis were killed in a car
accident after being hit by a woman now
charged with first-degree murder.
(continued on page 39)
2005 Parnelli
Nominations
In This
Issue:
TARZANA, CA—The Parnelli
Awards are given to individuals or companies that demonstrate excellence
in the live event production industry
in a number of categories, including
soundco of the year and FOH Mixer
of the year. Awards will be presented
during a banquet at the Rosen Center
in Orlando, Fla., on Nov. 11.
Nominations are open to all
FOH readers at www.parnelliawards.
com/nominate.php For individual
nominations, be sure to include
their name and the event or tour
for which they are nominated, and
for regional company nominations,
include the city and state. Nominations close on Aug. 19, and FOH
subscribers can vote for the award
winners beginning Sept. 7.
FOH Interview
Keeping it in the family with
Hootie and the Blowfish.
The Biz
Is the Yamaha/NEXO merger a
glimpse of live event audio's
future?
FOH-at-Large
There's no crying in Monitors.
Ad info: www.fohonline.com/rsc
Ramon Morales, monitor engineer for Destiny’s Child, prepares for the group’s set at the
Live 8 show in Philadelphia on July 2. The nine concerts held in venues across the globe
challenged audio service providers, mixers and technicians of every stripe. For a rundown
on some of the people and gear involved, see Showtime on page 12.
The three friends had all worked at
Shure for years. Dahlquist, a 39-year-old
senior technical writer, began working at
Shure in October 2001, but maintained his
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August 2005, Vol. 3.11
What’s
Hot
18
Product Gallery
Digital consoles are great—if you
have more dough than you know what
to do with. Here is a look at current
analog offerings.
Columns
16. FOH Interview
14. On Broadway
Billy Huelin and John Adair keep the family
together at FOH and MON for Hootie and
the Blowfish.
Peter Hylenski opts for style over FX in
Sweet Charity.
22. Production Profile
Bruce Johnston employs the latest tech
in the service of “meat and potatoes”
rock with Oasis.
24. Making It Happen
Star Way Productions goes up, up and
away at the Temecula Balloon and
Wine Festival.
30. Road Tests
26
Installations
La Rêve at the new Wynn casino
is pushing the limits of live audio production…underwater.
40. FOH-at-Large
Features
DAS Compact Speakers, Onyx mixer
from Mackie and a digital snake from
LightViper. We hooked it all together
and see if they blow up. Actually, we did
a few pretty cool gigs with ‘em.
Remember, there’s no crying
in monitors.
29. The Anklebiters
When I grow up, I wanna own a soundco.
Departments
4. Editor’s Note
5. News
32. The Biz
Yamaha and NEXO hook up to all but
complete Yamaha’s ability to control the
entire signal chain. All they need is mics…
34. Theory and Practice
Are you cheaping out on road cases?
Bad move.
35. Sound Sanctuary
It’s hard to be mobile, but maybe even
tougher to go from moving to fixed. How
to help your church sound system put
down roots.
10. On the Move
11. New Gear
12. Showtime
33. In the Trenches
33. Welcome to My
Nightmare
Feedback
Cable Catastrophe
The first thing that I noticed when I received my copy
of the May 2005 FOH was the photo from the Walt Disney
Concert Hall. Maybe it’s just me and those that I work with,
but I was disgusted by the rats’ nests of cable all over the
stage. I don’t understand how a facility that has quickly
been labeled as “world-class” would allow their stage to
look like that.
Whenever I run cable (audio or lighting) for a show, I
am always very conscious (sometimes even anal) of where
people are going to be walking and try to minimize the
amount of cable in those areas. We see some riders that are
very specific about areas that cannot have any cable crossing, but this is something I try and work towards on almost
all events. I take pride in the work that I do and make sure
that the stage is as clean and safe as possible. I also think
it looks bad when you have to watch musicians step over
a cable every couple of steps so they don’t trip and fall. We
may take a little extra time to ensure the cleanliness and
safety of our workspace, but we have a very good reputation that we are all proud of.
Andrew Moyer
Via e-mail
Humbusters
I read Mark Amundson’s recent article on hum with
great interest. But when dealing with the 4-D world of
electromagnetics, hum sources can be less apparent.
Last year, I was pulling a backline gig for a friend. While
line-checking the headliner, a nasty hum appeared on the
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D.I., which was passive. All of the usual ground lifting, cable
changing and D.I. replacement commenced to no avail.
My bass rig was being blamed for the problem, so I
investigated it intensely. When I moved the D.I., which was
on top of the amp, from one side of the amp to the other,
the problem vanished.
Lesson learned? A passive D.I. will hum when placed
directly over the power transformer of an amplifier!
Al Sekeet
Via e-mail
Hi Al,
Yup, you proved the transformer theory in a gig setting.
Better D.I.s should be magnetically shielded, but alas, most
are aluminum-based with open frame transformers. Thanks
for the anecdote; it is a good reminder.
Mark
Church and State
As a new sound company owner/tech, I always read
your magazine and am very thankful for the product
coverage and experience pointers you provide. I received
my copy of FOH today, and when I read your “Church and
State” piece, I felt I should write and tell you how much I
appreciate your standpoint. I have been an I.A. Local 99
(Salt Lake City) stagehand for eight years and am finishing
up my apprenticeship to be a journeyman. This past winter,
I found that I was beginning to understand sound quite a
bit more (I’ve always been a lighting guy) and, feeling that
the best way to learn would be to plunge right in, decided
to purchase my own P.A. to mix for my many friends who
are in local bands—thus, the beginnings of my little sound
company. So you can see how I rely on your mag to actually educate myself. Many of the concepts that I couldn’t
understand before I learned solidly through FOH.
My point is that if you didn’t have that editorial integrity, I would basically have screwed myself. I do have a pro
sound guy coach who is basically trying to keep me from
doing too many stupid things, but I very much appreciate
the entire staff of FOH. Thanks.
Michael Pombo
ProSoundLive
I just read with interest Bill Evans’ editorial on the
necessity of separation between editorial and advertising.
Thank you for your integrity—that separation you speak
of is why I take and avidly read your magazine and will still
subscribe even if you have to start charging for it. Nowhere
else that I know of can I get similarly unbiased information
from the people actively using the products. Keep it up!
Second thought—could the Modern House of Worship
seminar that was at Pro Production 2005 be expanded this
year? There was more “meat” in that than the other show,
and it would be very useful to have exhibits and professionals that are directed to the needs of possibly the most
quickly-growing segment of your readers.
Jeremy D. Price
Positive NRG Audio
www.fohonline.com
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Editor’s Note
Odds
andEnds
L
ots happening out there this month,
but nothing that I am inspired
enough about for a whole 700-word
column. So, let’s do a collection of short
bits, shall we?
The Squeeze Is, Apparently, On
A few months back, we talked about the
consolidation at the top end of the live event
audio world and how it might result in a
squeeze on mid-sized providers. It seems
like that vise is beginning to tighten. In
just the past couple of weeks, I have heard
about some mid-sized companies that are
struggling, and rumors of ballooning deficits
are running rampant. At the same time, word
on the street is that some of the big boys are
tightening the screws. One regional provider
looking to move up into the touring world
said that he had been told that one national
company “will not be under-bid. If I bid $100,
they will come in at $50.”
But throwing your weight around only
works while you have the bulk to pull it off.
I was reminded of this the hard way about
a month ago while loading a trailer—by
myself, again—after a gig. Trying a leverage
maneuver I had used in the past to heft
some heavy powered cabs, I found myself on
my butt and thankful that the cab had not
fallen on top of me. The move that worked
when I weighed 320 lbs was not doable with
me at 185. In the same spirit, I told that same
regional provider that I had heard another
soundco who, after bidding on a tour, was
told by someone at one of the big national
companies, “When I want you to have a tour,
you’ll have a tour.” It did not go over well. I
think his response was something along the
lines of “them’s fightin’ words.”
A bit of caution: Just like General Motors
once dominated the auto world and made
sure every one of its competitors knew it, a
big sound company may think that they are
just too big to be affected by anything that
anyone lower on the food chain might do.
But look at GM now. Can you say, “Oh, how
Publisher
Terry Lowe
[email protected]
the mighty have fallen”? And few (except
those at GM) are mourning the fall. Just
something to mull over…
The Desert Sounds Damn Good
I have finally made the move to Las Vegas
and, aside from the fact that moving and
unpacking are two very different things, all is
going well. Have been to a couple of shows,
met some very cool audio types and plan
to continue that trend. One thing is quite
sure—there is a hell of a lot going on as far
as live sound and theatrical installs go in
that corner of the world. The latest temple
of excess, the Wynn, is putting on a Cirquestyle show that is, once again, pushing the
production envelope pretty hard. Maureen
Droney spent mondo time navigating the
personalities and politics to tell us all about
the audio end of the show in this issue. I got
to visit the SPL shop to take some pics, and
am still trying to score actual tix for La Rêve
so I can see if it is as cool as it sounds.
But it is not just the huge spectaculars.
Vegas is becoming the production hub for
the western United States, and there is not
a touring act of any importance that does
not make a stop there. In the first week I
was in town, I checked out shows by acts
ranging from Rick Springfield to Hootie and
the Blowfish to Robert Plant. (Where I was
not able to talk with the FOH or MON mixers
because someone from another “magazine”
had been at the show the night before and
was such a pain that they were boycotting
the press. But I did have a good chat with
Thunder Audio crew chief Keith Jex that you
will get to read all about next month.)
What’s more, it seems that every little pub
in town (and in Las Vegas, there is one in just
about every 10-square-block neighborhood)
has live music. It really is a lively mix and my
family and I are digging it so far. Even the
heat ain’t so bad. (Whaddaya think A/C is for?)
Hmmm, Who Should I Nominate?
Nominations for the 2005 Parnelli Awards
Editor
Bill Evans
[email protected]
Technical Editor
Mark Amundson
[email protected]
Associate Editor
Allison Rost
[email protected]
By BillEvans
are heating up, and if you have someone you
think is worthy, you need to log on to www.
parnelliawards.com/nominate.php. These are
OPEN nominations. Do you get what I am
trying to say here? How can I put this? OK,
it’s like this—if the nominations come out
and you think you deserve one, but don’t see
your name on the list, then you have no one
to blame but yourself. Get it?
Tips and Tricks
We started a feature in PLSN a few months
back where we asked readers for little tricks
of the trade that they might be willing to
share. The results have been good—when
we get ’em. (My personal fave is wrapping
10 feet or so of gaff tape around an old
credit card and keeping it in your pocket for
emergencies when a roll of the stuff ain’t at
hand. And yes, there is one in my man-purse.)
Anyway, let’s show the squints that we can do
better. Got a good work tip? Send it to me at
[email protected], and we’ll shoot a pic
and run it if it’s good enough. And it’s worth a
T-shirt or some other swag we can dig up.
Well, I am over that 700-word hurdle. Time
to head home (actually to my in-laws place,
where I am staying while I am back in SoCal
for final production of FOH and PLSN) in
time to catch my fave new guilty pleasure:
Rock Star: INXS. Come on, don’t try to tell me
you’re not into it. Cheesy, but cool. Kind of
like some of the shows in my new place of
residence…
Copy Editor
Linda Evans
Contributing Writers
Jerry Cobb, Dan Daley, Maureen
Droney, David John Farinella,
Nort Johnson, Ted Leamy, Baker
Lee, Tony Mah, Bryan Reesman,
Jamie Rio, Richard Rutherford,
Joyce Storey, Tim Williams
Photographers
Steve Jennings
Production Manager
Shawnee Schneider
[email protected]
Senior Graphic Designer
Robert A. Gonzalez
[email protected]
Graphic Designers
Ezra Padua
[email protected]
Josh Harris
[email protected]
National Sales Manager
Peggy Blaze
[email protected]
National Advertising Director
Gregory Gallardo
[email protected]
General Manager
William Hamilton Vanyo
[email protected]
Business and
Advertising Office
18425 Burbank Blvd.
Suite 613
Tarzana, CA 91356
Ph: 818.654.2474
Fax: 818.654.2485
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P.O. Box 16147
North Hollywood, CA 91615
Front Of House (ISSN 1549-831X) Volume 3 Number
11 is published monthly by Timeless Communications
Inc., 18425 Burbank Blvd., Suite 613, Tarzana, CA 913566902. Periodicals Postage Paid at Tarzana, CA and
additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address
changes to Front Of House, PO Box 16147, North
Hollywood, CA 91615-6147. Front Of House is distributed free to qualified individuals in the live sound
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Canada under Publications Mail Agreement Number
40033037, 1415 Janette Ave., Windsor, ON N8X 1Z1
Overseas subscriptions are available and can be obtained by calling 1-818-654-2474. Editorial submissions
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Reserved. Duplication, transmission by any method
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ES TA
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Publishers of...
August 2005
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News
Audio Solutions Reinforces
University Sound
GREENVILLE, SC—When Furman University went looking a sound reinforcement
system that would work with the surroundings of their open-air amphitheater, Audio
Solutions, Inc. of Greenville saw a solution.
Audio Solutions, Inc. president Alan
Simonton said, “Furman University puts on a
summer concert series in their outdoor amphitheater, which is by a large lake.They needed better coverage for the audience area,
which extends beyond the main seating area
to around the banks of the lake. Two clusters
of two EV ZX5s are flown from the stage roof
as mains at left and right, and, in combination with the six Sx600PI dual-element line
arrays mounted in the bell
tower in front
of the amphitheatre,
the
audience can
hear
things
clearly wherever they are
sitting.”
Simonton continued: “This was the
first time we used the ZX5, and I’m very
pleased with the results. Along with the
EV speakers, we’re running a Midas Venice
320 at FOH. The console is operated by the
college’s auditorium staff—they really like
its balance of warm sound quality and userfriendliness. We got very positive feedback from the college right after the first
event—we were there to hear the system
for ourselves, and the sound was crisp
and even everywhere there were people
gathered. By selecting application-specific
solutions from EV, we installed a system
that is visually very unobtrusive, yet fills
the designated space with sound that isn’t
struggling against the outdoor setting.”
Performing In a
Hostile Environment
SAN DIEGO, CA—The open sea often
ranks as a hostile environment. In the world of
sound reinforcement, even a fake ocean can
present a tsunami-sized challenge for system
installers. Consider Sea World San Diego’s
new attraction, “Clyde and Seamore in Deep,
Deep Trouble,” which opened in June in the
newly-renovated sea lion and otter stadium.
Human actors work with animals in an actionpacked spectacle that sometimes requires
the players’ complete submersion, while giving commands to the flippered and furry
stars of the show. Obviously, an operation like
this requires body pack wireless transmitters
that perform beyond the limits of those used
in a landlocked stage production.
Sea World picked Lectrosonics’ recently
modified MM-400B Miniature Digital Hybrid
Wireless system for the job. Lectrosonics’ Matthew Robertson says of the MM-400B, “It’s
completely submersible, it’s in a watertight
case, everything has been sealed with gaskets and it has a microphone connector that’s
silicone-treated.”
Watertight features are a must, Robertson
says, because, “During the course of the show,
you’ve got actors completely covered with
water, and there’s water flying everywhere.”
Besides the obvious advantage of a water-resistant design, the MM-400B has been
modified to allow the on-off switch to be used
as a mute switch, eliminating the slight delay
that occurs when switching the system back
on. Robertson says, “At Sea World, (the actors)
have to give commands to the animals, and so
they hit the mute switch, give the command
and then unmute the audio so they can start
doing their lines again.”
Water isn’t the only challenge facing Sea
World San Diego’s performers. A large military presence, along with frequencies not
regulated by the FCC coming from Mexico
necessitated another technological tweak.
Robertson says,“The frequency scanner on all
of our receivers makes it a lot easier to work
in a hostile RF environment. You’ve got some
nasty stuff floating around down there.”
—John Sollenberger
www.fohonline.com
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Music Midtown Festival Gets
Three-Way Sound Treatment
ATLANTA, GA—With six stages hosting
over 100 major and emerging musical acts,
the Music Midtown Festival rolled out musical
acts to entertain more than 300,000 guests
on the 40-plus-acre festival site in June. Roy
Drukenmiller, of Rock ‘n’ Road Audio of Tucker,
Ga., and onsite production manager James
(Jid) O’Brien worked with Nashville’s Spectrum Sound and Blackhawk Audio to ensure
there would be enough hardware.
On the Miller Lite/99X/Comcast Stage, altrock ruled with a lineup that included the Pixies, Lemonheads, The White Stripes, DEVO and
Keane performing through an array featuring
34 Meyer MILO and four MILO 120 expanded
coverage high-power curvilinear array loudspeakers, as well as two dozen 700-HP ultra-
high-power subwoofers. Four MSL-4 hornloaded long-throw loudspeakers provided
frontfill. Front of House engineer Tommy Rodgers drove the mix using a Yamaha PM1D
digital console, with loudspeaker processing
courtesy of an LD-3 compensating line driver.
The Hooters/Kicks 101.5 stage featured an
all-star country lineup including Alan Jackson,
Jo Dee Messina, Keith Urban, Trace Adkins and
Cross Canadian Ragweed. FOH engineer Mark
Archibald used a pair of UPJ-1P compact
VariO loudspeakers as reference monitors for
the mix coming from the Yamaha PM5D digital console and bound for 20 MILO cabinets
and 14 M3D-Sub directional subwoofers.
The urban sound was pumping at the
Coca-Cola/Verizon Wireless/Hot 107.9/Fox 5
stage, where the party played host to Black
Eyed Peas, Public Enemy, Doug E. Fresh, MC
Lyte, Whodini, Biz Markie, Slick Rick and more.
FOH Jeremy (Kong) Barfield, also flying a
PM5D digital desk, busted his moves through
a rig of 12 M3D line array loudspeakers. Pro-
cessing was again provided by an LD-3 compensating line driver.
“I had a great, if wet time,” reports Bloc
Party FOH engineer Pete Bartlett, “but the day
only reinforced my feeling that I’ll be choosing
Meyer MILO for our October UK tour.”
Shaw Festival
Debuts LCS
Sound System
NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE,
ON—A
few changes are happening at Canada’s Shaw Festival this year—largescale musical productions have been
added to the repertoire of its main
stage, which is implementing the use of
microphones and sound reinforcement
in a theater conventionally known for
unamplified productions. To accommodate these changes, the festival has chosen an LCS Matrix3 digital audio mixing
system and CueConsole control surface
for sound reinforcement, audio control
and FOH and monitors mixing.
Gypsy opened on May 7 and was the
first musical ever to play on the Shaw’s
Festival Theatre stage. The production
also inaugurated the theatre’s new CueConsole rig. CueConsole, the control
surface for the LCS Matrix3 digital audio
engine, was specifically designed and
fine-tuned for such large-scale musical
productions as Gypsy. Walter Lawrence,
head of audio, comments, “There are
1,024 cues in Gypsy. This is the first time
I’ve ever mixed to a script, and it’s busy,
very busy.” In addition, Lawrence notes,
“We gave up just 12 seats for the new
FOH position. Management had originally allocated 14 seats, and when we
gave them two back, they were so happy.
It was like Christmas for them.”
According to Peter McBoyle, Gypsy’s
sound designer, the use of microphones
and sound reinforcement at the Festival
Theatre was an artistic choice and he is
able to use the key features of Matrix3
and CueConsole to add a luster to what
is occurring on stage that isn’t ordinarily
achieved acoustically.
The LCS system at the Shaw consists of six Matrix3 digital audio engines
equipped with 112 analog inputs and
seventy-two analog outputs. The Matrix3
audio engines also provide all of the DSP,
EQ and delays for the loudspeaker system. CueConsole provides the handson control of the Matrix3 and consists
of three Faders modules, five Meters+
modules, a Transporter and an Editor.
The Wild Tracks option provides 24 channels of audio playback for sound effects.
In addition, the system can be controlled
via a wireless connection from anywhere
inside the Festival Theatre.
August 2005
www.fohonline.com
7/28/05 7:55:35 PM
7/28/05 9:26:45 PM
News
Mount Sinai Gala Benefits from Acoustical Tag Team
NEW YORK, NY—The Mount Sinai
Medical Center—a working hospital, not a
venue—was host to more than 1,400 guests
for its 20th anniversary Crystal Ball gala.
The annual fundraising event is held in the
hospital’s acoustically-challenging atriums.
Clear speech and high-quality sound were
concerns—the spaces are constructed of
concrete, steel and glass.
New York’s SIA Acoustics enlisted New
York’s Scharff Weisberg to provide the elaborate audio and video presentation systems
for the event, which consisted of a special
video program, VIP addresses and dancing
with music. The gala extended across three
separate areas of the hospital—the Guggenheim Pavilion, Cummings Atrium and Annenberg lobby.
A-Line Delivers
AL10 System for
Artesia Centennial
Principal challenges of the Mount Sinai
location were the acoustics of the Cummings
Atrium. Applications of velour and a series
of 624 acoustical panels were hung above
the event area and effectively improved the
room’s broadband reverberation time from
over 3.5 seconds to a manageable 1.5 seconds.
The acoustical treatments were especially effective at absorbing low-frequency energy
and improving the overall tonal balance.
Two separate sound systems were specified to provide audio reinforcement for the
event. The primary system provided coverage
for the entire event space and was used for
speeches and a small instrumental combo.
The second system was designed to contain
sound on the dance floor, and was configured
to maintain a comfortable atmosphere for
people at surrounding tables while creating
a narrow strip of high sound-pressure levels
for dancers.
The dance system consisted of six Meyer
M2D/M2D-Sub pairs mounted on a custom
rigging frame and aimed directly at the floor.
In this manner, the dance floor was covered
with high SPL direct sound and reflections
from the floor were absorbed by the overhead acoustical panels. Overall, more than
100 Meyer Sound self-powered loudspeakers
(continued on Page 10)
ARTESIA, NM—Q-Systems Sound &
Lighting of Hobbs, N.M., took delivery
of A-Line Acoustics new compact AL10
Line Array system for the July 4th centennial celebration in Artesia, N.M. The event
included concert performances by the
hit country band SHeDAISY, Clay Walker
and Thousand Foot Krutch. “With only
two guys we were able to easily install
and aim the 20 box AL10 system to cover
12,000 people up to 450 feet,” remarked
Q-Systems owner, Don Williams, adding
that he could have used more subs to
keep up with the AL10s.
McDonald’s
Goes Back in
Time Via Pattern
Control
CHICAGO, IL—The design of the
new Rock ‘n’ Roll McDonald’s in downtown Chicago is a modern interpretation of the original McDonald’s, but with
30-foot-high glass walls with pointsupported panels on three sides of the
building. One area within the restaurant
pays tribute to the chain’s 50 years by
featuring music and memorabilia from
the 1950s through the 1990s in distinct,
but closely adjoining and mostly open
seating areas. With the help of Sound
Physics Labs SPL-Runt speakers paired
with Crown CTS 8200 amplifiers and
an Ashley 2424 M processor the music
that marked each decade can be piped
into each of the seating areas without
spilling over into adjoining areas. The
result is that a diner sitting in the 1960s
section that butts up against the 1950s
area can clearly hear “A Hard Day’s
Night” without “Rock Around the Clock”
competing for attention.
Chris King, a co-owner of JESA Nationwide Services, the Chicago-area
company that designed and installed
the system was given the challenge of
a mostly open space, highly reverberant
surfaces and the need to keep the sound
clear and focused, but low enough in
volume not to overpower.
August 2005
www.fohonline.com
7/28/05 7:56:33 PM
Collective Soul Evolves with PMs and New Antenna Combiner
ATLANTA, GA—The Atlanta-based rockers
Collective Soul are in the news again after a
few years out of the limelight. They recently
embarked on a tour of the United States and
Canada to promote the release of their album,
Youth, on the El Music Group label. And the
band recently invested in the new Sennheiser
AC3000 antenna combiner—the first in the
country—to go with six recently purchased
Sennheiser ew300IEM-G2 wireless monitor
systems for this tour.
Duffy, who worked all last year with
Sony artist Howie Day and was production
manager for Train for a couple of years, says
that Collective Soul bought the six mixes of
ew300IEM-G2, for the five band members,
plus the monitor engineer, at his recommendation.“I came in with the band in February as
a replacement engineer and started them on
the wireless personal monitors from day one.
I recommended they purchase these moni-
tors and get away from the rental costs. It’s
been an amazing investment. And it’s been
bulletproof.”
He continues, “We also got the new
AC3000 antenna combiner. If I’m not mistaken, we got the first one to clear customs in the
U.S. That thing is amazing. To be able to take
eight units down to one and have an active
combiner under one antenna is something
the industry’s been missing for a long time.”
The band is also carrying eight Sennheiser
SKM300-G2 belt packs. In addition to units
for the five musicians and Duffy, “The drum
tech is piggybacking the drummer. And we
keep one spare that I keep tuned to an open
channel in case we have one drop during
the show.” The band members are using Ultimate Ears UE-5 Ambient earpieces with UE-7s
for Duffy. “It’s standard across the board,” he
explains, “so we can hear what each other is
hearing, which gives us a great reference.”
To streamline the
power requirements
of the entire monitor
rig, Duffy commissioned a friend to
build a custom transformer-loaded power
supply box. “We found
a way to get away
from the wall warts
and into a line cable.
We’re calling it the
717 Wart Remover,” he
reveals.“It’s taken away
the need to find eight
holes to plug into every day. The entire rig,
including the console,
is tied into one power
conditioner on one
IEC line cord.”
Yamaha PM5D Sales
Top 1,000 Units
BUENA PARK, CA—Yamaha has sold
more than 1,000 units of its PM5D digital
sound reinforcement console worldwide
as of July 1, breaking previous sales records set by the company’s PM1D and
DM2000 products. According to Commercial Audio Systems division general
manager Larry Italia, PM5D consoles
have been sold to the national and regional sound reinforcement, tour sound,
broadcast and mobile recording, house
of worship and corporate presentation
markets.
“This figure represents a major milestone for both the PM5D and Yamaha’s
digital mixing console line,” states Italia. “It signifies that the market has now
completely accepted digital mixers as a
viable platform, and, given the diversity
of the customer base, the PM5D is a top
choice for virtually any application.”
The Yamaha PM5D Series combines
the self-contained, smaller footprint “one
box” design of the DM2000 and the operating style of the PM1D. There are two
front-end configurations: model PM5D,
with manual mic preamps based on
the circuitry found in the DM2000; and
PM5D-RH, with recallable mic preamps
derived from the head amplifier design
of the Yamaha PM5000.
Neutrik Sets Out for Sea
with Theatre Company
LAKEWOOD, NJ—Neutrik recently
donated audio connectors to the Caravan
Stage Tall Ship Theatre Company, a floating theater that will be touring through
European waters in the upcoming
months. The Three Year European Waters
Tour will take the floating theater,
www.fohonline.com
August 2005
On The Move
L-R: Dan Murphy, Peter Mott
Atlas Sound has added new partners to
its sales and technical teams—Dan Murphy,
Peter Mott and Jeff Kuells. Dan Murphy,
who will provide technical support for Atlas
Sound/Varizone products, has the position of
digital products technical support specialist.
Peter Mott’s position at Atlas Sound is the
regional sales manager for the Midwest.
Joining the Atlas Sound team on a consulting basis, Jeff Kuells will be working on sales
and forecasting for several Atlas Sound
product groups.
William Wilkins III, a sales representative
with over 15 years experience, has joined
Bluefin Events as the new Sales Representative. He can be reached at [email protected].
Community Professional Loudspeakers has promoted Christopher
Christopher Barrow
Gerry Tschetter
Barrow to the position of manager of new
product development.
3v4 HM Electronics, Inc. (HME) has appointed three new DX200 representatives—
Noreast Marketing, LLC in the Northeast
region; Tech Rep in the northern Midwest
region; and Spoiled by Technology in the
Midwest region. These representatives will
manage HME’s dealers located within their
territory and find new dealers in the area.
Additionally, sound professionals in
Asia and Europe can now purchase wireless
intercom systems directly from three new
distributors representing HME. More Technologies, Inc. will represent HME in Asia, and
Orbital Sound and Apex n.v. will represent
HME in Europe.
Mary Cook
EAW has appointed Mary Cook to the
position of application support group (ASG)
manager. Cook will be located in EAW’s
Whitinsville, Mass. office.
EAS (Excellent Audio Support) is the
newly-appointed exclusive distributor of
Radian products in Germany and Austria. In
addition, Audio Marketing Netherlands is the
new distributor of Radian in The Benelux.
The Sextant Group has hired Glenn A.
Peacock as senior consultant based in the
firm’s Phoenix office.
QSC Audio has named Gerry Tschetter
as the company’s director of product
management. Effective immediately, Tschetter will take charge of a new market-driven
product management team dedicated to
the task of product development and
product marketing.
SLS Loudspeakers is continuing its
expansion campaign with the appointment
of three new rep firms. The new rep firms
include: Pearson & Pearson Marketing, Inc.
for the Rocky Mountain region, Faultline
Marketing Group for the Pacific Northwest
and Bencsik Associates for south Florida and
the Caribbean regions.
Mount Sinai Gala Benefits from
Acoustical Tag Team
Continued from page 8
were suspended from a glass ceiling from more than 60 chain motors. An additional 81
Meyer M1D, 23 UPJ-1P, 10 UPM-1P and four MM-4 loudspeakers plus four Tannoy i9 column speakers were utilized to cover the remaining areas of the atrium and lobby.
“The long line arrays of M1Ds were for control, not volume,” says Sockey. “We wanted
to design a system that really put sound where we needed it. With a line array, increasing
the number of elements results in greater low-frequency pattern control. The acoustical
treatment was designed to work with the sound system and create a great amount of
overall directionality.”
All loudspeakers were fed by BSS Soundweb 9088 and 9088ii processors, networked
by a 9000 hub. These units were flown from the trussing in custom frames and distributed
throughout the event area to minimize cable runs from the processors to the loudspeakers. Feeds from Schoeps podium microphones, the strolling musician, and the DJ’s outboard mix were mixed with a Yamaha DM1000 digital mixing console.
“I can’t imagine doing a job of this complexity without the self-powered loudspeakers,” says Sockey. “We simply ran Cat-5 cable around to the network of Soundwebs. Without amp racks to deal with, we ran very short audio lines to the Meyer
loudspeakers, nearly all of which we could control individually. It was a straightforward, elegant solution.”
McDonald’s Goes
Back in Time Via
Pattern Control
Installed above a drop ceiling in
the back center of each area and firing
through a custom speaker grille at a
mostly direct downward angle, the SPLrunts keep the sound contained. With the
exception of the larger 90s area where
two are installed, one runt is enough to
deliver enough sound for each of the
other decade areas.
“Although you can hear a bit of music
from both areas if you’re standing right
on the line between them, everywhere
else you’re seated, you’re just hearing
music for that area,” King says.
Neutrik Sets Out for Sea
with Theatre Company
the ship Amara Zee and the new play
Vanishing Currents to 10 venues in the
Netherlands and Belgium. In 2006, the
Caravan will be making trips to Germany
for the World Cup in Hamburg, England
and Ireland, followed by a voyage to the
Baltic countries in 2007.
“We needed connectors that would
be reliable in adverse weather conditions,” stated Jonathon Zener, Caravan’s
sound designer. “We knew that Neutrik
connectors could put up with rough
handling, last in the long run and would
be easy to install.”
200.0508.OnTheMove.JH.indd 10
7/28/05 7:59:36 PM
New Gear
Shure E4 Earphones
Alcons QR36
Equipped with high-definition drivers and tuned-port technology for
a wider frequency soundstage, the E4s join an existing line of professional
Shure isolating earphones, including the E2, E3, and E5 models.
Each set of E4 earphones comes with earpieces outfitted with a highenergy/low-mass micro-transducer providing wide-frequency stereo
sound, sonic accuracy, and isolation from outside noise. Sensitivity at 1 KHz
is rated at 122 dB SPL/mW, while impedance is 110 ohms (also at 1K). Goldplated stereo output connectors with a 1/8-inch plug are also part of the
package, and 61 inches of cable is supplied.
The Q-series scalable ribbon-array columns represent a “crossover product” between a traditional point-source loudspeaker and
a J-curved line-array system. Applications range from stand- or
truss-mounted single-unit mobile P.A. system, up to multiple-module flown array in reverberant halls or high ceiling theatres and as
high power side-fill stage monitors.
The QR36 is a two-way passive-filtered modular line-source
column. With a length of one meter/39 inches, the QR36 consists
of 6x6.5-inch woofers in frontal bass reflex-loading and two units
of Alcons’ RBN1801 18-inch pro-ribbon transducers with patented
“Real-90” horizontal dispersion. The frequency response is 74Hz
to 20KHz(+/-3dB), with a lowest usable frequency of 53Hz (-10dB).
Power handling is 780W RMS, bringing 129dB continuous output,
while the 6,000-watt peak power handling from 1KHz up, offers a
150dB “virtually infinite headroom.”
Shure Incorporated
800.25.SHURE • www.shure.com
Crest CPM Mixers
Alcons Audio
+31 229 28 30 90 • www.alconsaudio.com
Peavey FX Series
Mixers
Available in 16-, 24- and 32channel versions with dual digital effects processors Peavey’s
new FX series mixers also include
a USB port that provides recording and playback capability via a
computer or flash drive.
Users can save to a
flash drive via USB port A,
or use both USB ports (A
& B) to send the stereo output to a computer or hard disc for recording. With this
feature, sound engineers and musicians can compress a live performance or rehearsal directly
in MP3 format.
Other features include four pre-aux sends and two post-fader sends to feed either the onboard FX processors or out board gear. FX Series mixers also include three-band EQ with mid
sweep, 80Hz low-cut filters and insert points on all channels; four subgroups with insert points;
and headphone output. The 24FX and 32FX models have universal-voltage, switch-mode power supplies (operable between 100 and 240 volts) and BNC lamp outputs. On all models, the
last two channels have stereo quarter-inch and XLR inputs with separate gain controls so a
microphone and CD can be used simultaneously without giving up a channel. The stereo input
can be assigned directly to the left/right outputs.
With 24 and 32 channels respectively,
the four-bus CPM 24-4 and CPM 32-4 mixers
boast six aux sends and four-band EQ (high,
low, sweepable mid frequency and variable
low cut). The back panel on the CPM 24-4 and
CPM 32-4 is inset, keeping unsightly connection wires hidden once installed.
Each channel can be assigned to the left,
right or a separate mono bus that can be used for recording or to create a separate mix for the
center cluster or a remote room. All four buses have built-in soft-knee compressors that enable
minimal adjustment of the threshold and post-compression gain controls. These compressors
are equipped with reverse-wired inserts so they can be used on a channel or on the outputs
via a simple stereo cable.
Compressors 1/2 and 3/4 are linkable, and there are inserts on the left, right and mono outputs. All of these, along with aux 1 through aux 4, are XLR balanced. The quarter-inch inputs on
the two stereo channels can be used at the same time as the XLR inputs on those channels, and
separate input gain controls are provided.
Crest Audio
866.812.7378 • www.crestaudio.com
Peavey
601.483.5365 • www.peavey.com
QSC MD Series
The MD-FP122/62r, MD-FP122/
94r, MD-FP152/64r, and MD-FP152/
94r models, the latest self-powered
additions to QSC’s ModularDesign
(MD) series offer a wide range of
coverage patterns, employing 12or 15-inch low-frequency drivers.
As with the entire MD line, the new
self-powered MD models sport a
lightweight-yet-robust 30-degree
trapezoidal enclosure designed to
facilitate easy assembly into arrays
covering from 60 to 360 degrees.
QSC Audio
800.854.4079 • www.qscaudio.com
www.fohonline.com
200.0508.NewGear.rg.indd 11
August 2005
11
7/28/05 8:45:17 PM
Showtime
LIVE 8
Whether it meets its stated social goals or not, the series of Live 8 concerts will
be noted for the challenge they presented to live audio service
providers. Here is a look at the gear and crew for several of the shows.
Philadelphia, PA
Venue
Philadelphia Art Museum & Ben Franklin Parkway,
Philadelphia, PA
Crew
Sound Co: Clair Brothers Audio
FOH Engineers: Matt Herr, Scott Frey (Clair)
Monitor Engineers: Chris Fulton, Frank Lopes,
Robert Bull (Clair)
Systems Engineer: Howard Page
Production Manager: Mike Wolf, Frank Simon
System Techs: Ken Kaler, Steve Gal, Josh Sadd, Andy
Hill, Shawn Clair, Matt Clair, Hank Fury, Jason Heitman,
Dave Ferretti, Frank Principato, David Horoschack,
Barbara Adams, Shane Simon
Gear
FOH
Console: 4 x Midas XL-4
Speakers: 60 Clair Bros. i-4 line array with 52 i-4B bass
cabinets, 16 S-4 subs, 8 P-2, 36 Clair R-4
Amps: Clair/Crest, Clair/QSC
Processing: 10 Clair iO
Mics: 300 total, all major brands represented. Vocal
mics as follows: Audio-Technica (Toby Keith, Linkin
Park, Jay-Z, Keith Urban), Neumann (Dave Matthews
Band, Sarah McLachlan), Sennheiser (Kaiser Chiefs,
Eagles, Alicia Keys, Destiny’s Child, Josh Groban, Tim
McGraw, Pink Floyd, Rob Thomas, Stevie Wonder),
Shure (Paul McCartney, U2, The Black Eyed Peas, Kanye
West, Will Smith, Coldplay, Def Leppard, Elton John,
Jars of Clay, Maroon 5, Green Day)
Power Distro: 5 Clair Bros.
Rigging: 4 x 2 tons, 2 x 50’ Lulls
Breakout Assemblies: Clair Bros.
Snake Assemblies: Clair Bros.
MON
Console: 3 x ATI P-2, 3 x Midas H3000, 1 DiGiCo D5
Speakers: 28 Showco SRM, 8 Clair R-4, 4 Clair i-4B, 16
Sennheiser IEM, 8 Shure PSM700
Amps: Clair/Crown
Processing: TC 1280
Rigging: 4 x 1/2 tons
Rome, Italy
Venue
Circus Maximus, Rome, Italy
Crew
Sound Company or Provider: LIMELITE srl
FOH Engineers: Arturo Pellegrini, Antonio Paoluzi
Monitor Engineer: Domenico Lettini,
Marco Dalla Torre
Systems Engineer: Daniele Tramontani
Production Manager: Giancarlo Campora
Audio Coordinators: Fabrizio Fini and Stefano Cisaria
Stage Manager: Tony Soddu
System Techs: Fabrizio “Scoglio” De Amicis
Gear
FOH
Consoles: 2 x Yamaha PM1D 96ch, 3 x DiGiCo D5,
1 x Midas XL4
Speakers: L-ACOUSTICS - 104 V-DOSC, 48 SB218,
18 dV-DOSC
12
August 2005
200.0508.Showtime.EP.indd 12
Amps: Lab.gruppen
Processing: BSS Soundweb - XTA 226
Mics: Shure, Sennheiser, Neumann, AKG
Power Distro: 400A - TRIFASE 380V
Rigging: 11 scaffold towers - 22 motors 1 & 2 tons
Chain Master
Breakout Assemblies: LIMELITE srl
Snake Assemblies: LIMELITE srl
MON
Console: 4 x Yamaha PM1D 96ch, 2 x DiGiCo D5,
1 x Midas XL3
Speakers: 20 x Outline Butterfly C.D.H. 483 Hi-Packs,
12 x Outine Victor Live Subs,
24 x Outline H.A.R.D. 212 SP wedge monitors
I.E.M.: 8 x Shure PSM 700, 8 x Senneiser
Amps: 12 x Outline T6.5
Processing: 2 x Outline Genius 26
www.fohonline.com
7/28/05 8:06:23 PM
Barrie, ON
Venue
Gear
Molson Park, Barrie, ON
*Late addition to Live 8 lineup; crew had 10
days’notice
FOH
Console: 2 x Midas XL4
Speakers: 52 x Meyer MILO, 20 Electro-Voice Xsub line
array woofers, 24 JSI J61 horn-loaded subwoofers
Processing: 4 x Xilica DLP4080A
Crew
Sound Company: JasonAudio
Project Manager: Jon Erickson
Senior Systems Designer: Jeff Berryman
Senior Systems Engineer: Jamie Howieson (JasonAudio)
FOH Engineer: Bob McFee
Live Recording Company: LiveWire Remote
Recorders
Truck for Odd Bands: The Audio Truck
Recording Engineer: Doug McClement
Truck for Even Bands: Le Studio Mobile
Recording Engineer: Simon Bowers
MON
Consoles: 2 x Midas H3000
Speakers: 14 x EV Xw12, 4 JSI J31
Amps: 12 x QSC PL218
Processing: EV Dx38
The Audio Truck
Console: Amek Mozart
Recorders: 48 tracks of Protools HD at 48k/24bits,
backup 48 tracks of Mackie HD
Le Studio Mobile
Console: Yamaha DM2000
Recorders: 48 tracks of Nuendo at 48k/16bits, 48
tracks of Tascam DA-88s at 48k/16bits
London, England
Venue
Hyde Park, London, England
Crew
FOH
Console: 3 x DiGiCo D5 Live, Midas H3000
Speakers: 200 x EV X-Line, L-ACOUSTICS V DOSC
Amps: EV’s Precision P3000RL
Mics: Sennheiser
Processing: TC Electronic M6000, Yamaha SPX990
MON
Console: 3 x DiGiCo D5 Live
Speakers: Turbosound TFM-450, Flashlight, TQ-440,
TQ-425
Sound Company: Britannia Row Productions
Managing Director: Bryan Grant
Crew Chief: Bryan Grant
FOH Crew: Chris Coxhead, Andy ‘Baggy’ Robinson,
Mark Ballard, Dave Bracey, Amanda Thomson, Chris
Morrison, Bob Lopez, Jock Bain, Richard Trow, Rob
Andrews, Dave Webster (DiGiCo)
Monitor Crew: Jon Lewis, Chris Morrison Nick Maddren, Maurizio Gennari. Pete McGlynn, Mark Izbister,
Steph Thompson, Rob Elliot, Steve Donovan, Bob
Doyle and Roger Wood (DiGiCo)
Gear
www.fohonline.com
200.0508.Showtime.EP.indd 13
August 2005
13
7/28/05 8:07:14 PM
On Broadway
Sweet Charity
Photos by Paul Holnik
The Sound of
LEFT: Christina Applegate
performs “If My Friends Could
See Me Now” RIGHT: The cast of
Sweet Charity performs “I’m a
Brass Band”
A Victory of Style Over Sound Effects
A
revival of Bob Fosse’s 1966 musical,
which he later adapted into a movie,
Sweet Charity follows the misadventures of dance hall hostess Charity Hope
Valentine as she hopelessly searches for
the right man to help her escape her life of
misery—and a chance meeting with a shy,
awkward accountant named Oscar may be
her chance for happiness. Yeah, it’s definitely
dated in its concept, but headliner Christina Applegate proves that she is far more
talented than many would give her credit for
as she sings and dances her heart out and
makes Charity her own, while the show itself
offers the razzle-dazzle that choreographer
Fosse was known for. This modern production features some fantastic sets, costumes
and music, particularly one groovy club
sequence drenched in purple (“Rich Man’s
Frug”) that shirks lyrics and is all about
the dance.
Sound designer Peter Hylenski gave
FOH the inside scoop on working on this
vintage 1960s musical, and how this revival
is quite different from other big budget
productions today.
Broadway musicals
today tend to fill up
scenes with background sound during
non-musical moments,
but Sweet Charity
doesn’t.
Peter Hylenski: That was a stylized choice
that we had discussed in meetings. Did
we want to bed sound effects underneath
everything? Did we want to do introductory
sound effects? It was really a decision by
Walter Bobbie, the director, and myself that
we would try to stay away from that in this
particular production, just because of the
stylized nature of it; instead, we’d focus in on
the words and the music.
The vocabulary of the sound effects of the
show really became more about if it needed
to be there to motivate an action. The splash
of her falling into the lake and the elevator
effects—things like that needed to be more
realistic and focus in on the action. But we
tried to stay away from atmospheres and
that sort of thing. This is a very light show.
There are only six sound effect moments,
really. The only real construction was coming
up with the elevator; the movement of the
elevator and how that worked. Those are
multi-part cues, but we didn’t really focus
on the sound effects as much because there
were not that many.
Christina has at
least two mics on
her, correct?
She wears two complete rigs, and those
rigs actually are completely independent all
the way up through the subgroup of the con-
14
August 2005
200.0508.OnBroadway.EP.indd 14
sole. So she has two independent channels,
two independent microphones, transmitters,
cables—the whole thing. It’s a full backup
scheme that allows us to have her completely
redundant, and it also gives us an opportunity to have two different mic positions for
moments like “If My Friends Could See Me
Now,” when she’s got the top hat on.
That was a really tricky moment to deal
with. She’s putting that top hat on and off,
and we toyed around with rebuilding top
hats and getting down to the wire frame and
then using acoustically transparent materials.
We thought about putting a mic into the hat,
but it’s on and off her head so many times in
So you only have one
mic for her during “If
My Friends Could See
Me Now”?
Yes, and we have had her mic go down
during that number. It becomes a very tricky,
painful experience for those three minutes,
but usually she’s running with two independent mics. They both come to the desk, and
the operator has the ability to swap between
the two given any circumstance. But it’s very
rare that you find her mic-less. Everybody
else has at least one microphone and some
have multiples.
“The approach of the show from
a sound perspective was trying to
get back to its roots—the warmth
of the 1960s.”
– Sound designer Peter Hylenski
the middle of words and sentences that you
really couldn’t really swap between a hat mic
and a head mic.
How did you meet
that challenge?
We just ended up putting her ear rig,
which is sometimes in a standard position
on different characters in the show, further
down on her face because the top hat does
come down so far. When she puts it on, it’s
pretty much up to the top of her ear where
her rig would normally be, so we really had
to bring the mic even further down. It was a
bit of a challenge trying to make it the most
effective solution to a problem that is never
going to be the same every day. She puts the
hat on differently every day. The reflections
are a little different every day.
Did you mute the
other mic on her forehead for that number?
It gets completely turned off, and we
switch to the ear rig for that entire number.
Are any ambient mics
on stage picking anything up, just in case?
No. Everybody wears the radio, and that’s
it. The level of the show on stage is variable,
so we can adjust the stage fallback levels,
but during most of the bigger numbers the
level onstage is loud enough that it would
be pretty difficult to pick up most of this with
an ambient mic.
You’re running a
Cadac J-Type board
with 73 inputs and are
using mostly DPA 4061
mics with Sennheiser
transmitters. What
about processing?
There’s a rack of processing. Again, the
approach of the show from a sound perspective was trying to get back to its roots—the
warmth of the 1960s and the vintage-ness
of the show, I guess. I’m a big fan of vintage
sound equipment and tube gear. So we
have some Valvotronics tube compressors,
Summit DCL-200s, TC Electronic reverb, some
gates and compressors for toms and stuff
during the drumming sequence. Some old
standby dbx 160s on there.
Most of the band processing was done
through that gear. It’s a very percussion
and drum-heavy show because of the style
of the choreography. Wayne Cilento, the
choreographer, is very into percussive dance
arrangements, as was Bob Fosse, of course.
So coming into the project, I thought of it
in terms of how we were going to deal with
moments in the show where you have an
18-piece band playing full-out, and then the
whole band drops except for the drums and
the percussion. You need to maintain the
same impact and the same dynamic without
letting the whole bottom fall out because
the drums have so much importance, and it’s
not just about keeping the time. It really is
the driving energy of a lot of these numbers.
The drum chain and the drum mix in the
By BryanReesman
show are pretty significant. So the Summit
compressor is actually doing a stereo drum
compression chain, à la the old studio trick
of taking the subgroup of drums, sending
it back through a compressor, bringing that
back into the console and being able to
mix that compressed drum sound with the
non-compressed sounds, to give some extra
body to the sounds of the drums and really
fill them out.
How were the
marching band drummers miked during the
sequence where they
play rudiments simultaneously? Was it live or
sampled sound?
We run their mics up so we can hear the
actual drumsticks hitting the deck and the
floor. They aren’t triggering anything. During
that sequence, the drummer and percussionist are both playing, and then there is
also a sweetened drum track underneath it.
We took the drummer into a studio and got
some different marching snares and marching toms, different cymbals and different
bass drums, and laid down tracks just to fill
it out. We tried it without, and having the
sound of a single snare drum just didn’t have
the energy that we were looking for. And the
idea of a marching snare drum line of nine
guys playing exactly the same rudiment at
exactly the same time gives you that different energy and different feel.
How big is the
orchestra and how
many percussionists
are there?
The orchestra is 18 people, and there’s
one drummer and one percussionist, who’s
actually not in the pit but in a dressing room
on the second floor of the theater. We’ve
converted it into a sound-isolated percussion
room. You walk in the door and it’s absolutely
full of percussion—timpani, mallet instruments, congas, bongos, lots of hand toys. He’s
got a video and audio links to the stage and
to the musical director so he can play along
with what’s happening in the pit.
There’s a fantastic group of people playing in the pit. Lots of studio quality microphones—lots of Neumanns, Sennheisers,
some Neumann tube stuff. We’re really just
trying to capture that energy and deliver it
to the audience. To keep that full, rich, warm
sound, like that warm brass sound in the
signature “Big Spender” moment right at the
top of the show. It was a lot of fun putting
that together, and I love the music, so that
made it all the more enjoyable.
www.fohonline.com
7/28/05 7:58:51 PM
Sonic Quality. Features. Flexibility. Selection. Price. And Reliability. When choosing your next mixing console,
consider that these words each describe a major competitive advantage of Yamaha MG-Series mixers.
Visit www.yamaha.com/proaudio for details, then go see your favorite Yamaha Pro Audio dealer
to make your final choice. Prices range from $129 to $1299 MSRP.
©2005 Yamaha Corporation of America
200.0508.Ads.ss.indt 15
7/28/05 9:27:26 PM
FOH Interview
Billy Hu
elin
And Joh
n Adair
J Billy Hu
elin (left
By BillEvans
I
t is going to sound like a cliché (or
B.S., take your pick), but for the band
and crew for Hootie and the Blowfish,
it really is a family affair. Ten years after
their debut record exploded out of South
Carolina to sell something like 16 million
copies, the same four guys are in the band
with auxiliary players who have been with
them for years. And back at the bus, you’ll
find much of the same crew that started
with them. That includes FOH mixer Billy
Huelin, who has been at the console for 13
years (“since they were doing frat parties”),
and monitor guy John Adair, who has been
at side of stage for seven years.
After their sophomore record Fairweather Johnson “massively disappointed”
their record company, selling “only” about
four million out of the box, the band largely
disappeared from the pop radar, but never
stopped working. Today, they have a new
record (the first single was the #1 add
on AC radio as this interview took place)
that they are releasing independently (it
is being distributed by Vanguard but it is
still an indie release and, yes, a band with
combined sales of 25 million is unsigned),
a new manager (Doc McGhee, who has
steered acts like KISS Aerosmith, Van Halen
and Bon Jovi) and are still working about
150 dates a year.
FOH caught up with Billy and John after
soundcheck for a recent show in Las Vegas.
Billy Huelin: We’ve gotten into a really
nice groove where we basically have two
busses and one truck every summer. And
in that one truck, we can do consoles,
monitors, some moving lights—things
like that. But we haven’t carried a P.A. in 10
years. For me, it’s always about constants
and variables, and if you can reduce those
variables down to getting local racks and
stacks, you get that comfort level.
We do everything, you know—we did
the Mountain Winery this week up in
Northern California, in Saratoga. It’s a beautiful gig, but it’s a real small place, very low
sound limit thing up in the hills. And then,
we have Pine Knob again this year on the
calendar. There’s a real wide variety.
Your Midas is seven
years old. That’s an
awful lot of mileage.
BH: Not only that, but that thing has
16
August 2005
200.0508.FOHInterview.EP.indd 16
) and Joh
n Adair
Keeping It In the Family With Hootie
been to Cuba. It’s been to the Middle East.
It’s been all over the place. I was amazed
at how well it’s held up. We were really,
really lucky to do these U.S.O. shows for
the troops, and we did them carrying our
own gear. But it’s a little bit scary because
all of a sudden you’re out there and it’s 123
degrees in Guantanamo and you’re like, “I
don’t really know if this thing’s gonna make
it through it.” And then, it’s 20 degrees in
Bosnia or something like that. It’s surprised
me that it’s really held up that well.
John, You’re on a
PM1D, right?
John Adair: Yeah.
Did you carry your
console on these
shows, too?
JA: Oh yeah.
What’s the monitor
situation? Band
on PMs?
JA: Mostly PMs. So I’ve got five out of six
that are consistently there.
Let me guess… It’s the
guitar player.
JA: That’s the last holdout. He’s doing
good, though. We rehearsed with PMs
earlier this year and he’s been about 50-50.
When I started seven years ago, there were
16 wedges on stage. The stage volume
was insane.
BH: You would stand in this pocket up
there and it was ungodly. I mean, it
was full-on stereo P.A. band mix up on
stage. It was great in a way, but it’s been
really nice not to have to deal with that
part of it.
I don’t want too much of it to go away,
though. I like to turn the P.A. off and hear a
good-sounding stage. That has everything
to do with John. I never ever want to get
away from that. That’s part of the sound.
There are a lot of open mics up there. The
flip side of that being I wouldn’t want to
be the guy sitting out there and it’s 105
coming off the stage and you’re just going,
“Oh my God, what do I do now?”
JA: Otherwise, it’s just so out of control
that it’s a humongous roar and you’re just
fighting for your pitch or your groove or
something. You can actually hear what’s
going on. I think it’s translated into better
playing and singing for the guys, too.
You do a lot of very
varied gigs. What does
that do to gear plans?
BH: We probably have about three
types of sets leading up to the full band
thing. So there’s the very acoustic thing,
so if we tell them, “You know what? It’s
two monitor mixes, a djembe and some
acoustics,” then we do that. We have the
next step where we start getting into a
small trap kit, one guitar amp, bass amp—
it’s what we call the “hopped-up” acoustic
thing. And what we’ve found is that we
can actually pull off a pretty electric set
without opening Pandora’s box and having to have the 40 inputs and the risers
and all the gear.
It must be a great
situation to have that
kind of flexibility from
a band.
BH: The band was very amenable to
it because we want them to be comfortable. We did Tiger Woods’ wedding this
year—perfect example. We didn’t want
to go and do this guy’s wedding with a
full band and everything. So we did this
hopped-up acoustic thing, and you know
what? It was a rocking set and it was fun,
and everybody had a great time.
The choice of PM1D—
has that been due to
PMs or…
JA: I think it’s more of a show-saver for
me because of the fact that the guys play
multiple instruments in multiple positions.
Pre the digital console, I had an H3000, and
the period between songs was a frantic
button-pushing and knob-turning experience.
I was actually really lucky because last
year, right after we got the PM1D, we spent
four nights in one place. Each night, they
did a CD plus a few covers. So, over the
space of four nights, I got every song I was
ever going to do.
BH: The set list is actually only a recent
invention.
JA: It is. That’s been within the past few
years. It used to be that they’d come out
and decide what song to play. And then,
song-by-song, they’d decide where to go.
But I started to learn the little hand signals
and the motions and the gestures that
they’d make…
BH: I would always look up and
I could tell by the combination of instruments. I could narrow it down to a few
possibilities. Even now, it’s hard for our
lighting guy because he definitely lives
in a programmable world out there. The
guys will just veer from the set list with
no indication to anybody. And it’s not as
bad for us because we’re used to it. It’s a
matter of “Oops. Whatever. Move on.” But
he’s always looking at me like [confused
gesture]. But he’s smart enough—he’ll
just say, “Is it fast or slow?” and try to hang
in there.
One hundred to 200
gigs a year? That’s
a full-time gig.
BH: Part of that is also that everyone’s
married and has children, so there was a
time that we were easily doing 250
a year, just dogging and dogging and
dogging it. But now I think we’re really
fortunate to be able to work. There’s
nothing that says that you’re gonna be
asked back anywhere.
Anything else techrelated we need to
talk about?
BH: I think for John and I, it’s nice for us
because we get along very, very well and
we’re into a groove. And we have really
funny conversations about the digital/analog thing. But for me, it just has everything
to do with how I like to work, and I do like
to see it laid out in front of me. I don’t do a
lot of scene changes and hard mutes and
all that stuff. I’m not opposed to embracing
digital, but I’m not patient with, “You can’t
use this or you can’t do that or blah blah
blah…” My biggest problem right now is
that I’ve used three digital desks, and I had
the same problem each time. The techs
don’t know how these desks operate. And
if they don’t know that, it’s very hard for me
to step in. I think I’m a fairly quick learner,
and I’m always asking questions and wanting to do things. But it’s the same problem
with these guys that have all been buying
line arrays for the past five years. They don’t
know what they’re doing with them
www.fohonline.com
7/28/05 7:49:19 PM
A lot of guys are
buying it because it’s
the new hip thing.
BH: Yeah, but that’s my complaint
about the industry in general, really. The
thing is that we really are getting into a
realm where physics does matter now.
And that Midas is a constant. It’s a proven.
And I’m comfortable on it and I love the
way it sounds. That’s the one thing I’m
not gonna sacrifice, because even if you
told me that you could have something
lighter, faster and all that stuff, if it doesn’t
sound the way that I particularly like
something, then that defeats the whole
purpose. That is the end result. (Turns to
face Adair) And the other thing is, your
damn console is only six inches shorter
than mine in the case! I looked at it the
other day. I know the XL4 is heavy—1,000
lbs. or so. But I looked at that thing and
went, “It’s not that much smaller!”
JA: With the 1D, now if you go with a 5D,
it’s all built-in, all one piece. The only thing
external is the power supplies.
There is no
magic bullet.
BH: That’s what I was trying to say.
JA: Because the basic fundamentals
still apply, no matter what kind of console
you’re working on, you know? It’s about
the mic selection, the mic placement, your
gain stages, your EQ’ing.
BH: It’s still funny to me that we
take all of this wonderful technology, and
then hang it in warehouses and sheds and
tents and parking lots. That’s amazing to
me, but I think part of it is that you can’t
forget that. That’s your environment, and
that environment is such a variable. No
piece of technology is going to take
the humidity out of the air, and if you
haven’t learned to adjust, then you’re in
for quite a surprise because it’s brutal out
there. It really is. Everybody loves it, but
what’s a great night one night is a disaster
the next.
Things disappear in bad environments, which is amazing. You might
have the most tricked-out digital reverb
you’ve ever heard, and you turn it on
somewhere and you can’t even tell it’s
there. It’s fun, but you can’t get rid of
the human factor either. You could really think that you’re having a great night
and somebody else doesn’t. Or worse,
you could think you’re having the worst
time of your life and somebody says,
“That’s great!”
I’m not a snob about my desk and about
digital consoles. It’s a comfort level and
you should have that variety. One console
isn’t going to do it for everybody. I mean,
there are guys out there on 4Ks that
they’ve been using for 10 years and they
love them because they’re comfortable.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with
that, but I think everyone wants to sell
you something that is the magic bullet,
and it doesn’t exist. But this happens
every five years. We hit this new thing
and everyone gets all excited, and then
we all come back right around to the
same thing.
I heard somebody say
one time that the problem with being a pioneer is you get a lot of
arrows in the back.
Some people take those arrows better
than others. I don’t have anything to sell,
so that’s why I don’t have a vested interest.
I want to go have fun.
Does it ever enter in
on the promoter’s side
that you’re taking up
too much space?
BH: No, only because I put racks together that could easily fit under the desk.
I’m really only down to the size of the desk
and the power supply rack. But I did that
intentionally because I knew what I was
getting into over these last few years. And
I would love to have the big doublewide
nice wooden racks, but I don’t want to
have to cram that stuff in and out of different places.
There’s a difference, especially with
the PM stuff. You’re getting into a realm
of the sonic quality and that quietness,
that clarity is really important. I’m still in
a world out there where a little buzz and
a little hiss—you’re not going to hear
it. You’re just not. So, as far as a selling
point, it wasn’t the idea that it’s quieter
and cleaner, because that’s relative to me.
Again, I’m not opposed to it at all. It’s just I
know how I like to work.
JA: It’s about what makes for a great
performance, and the ease of the performance, and there’s certainly nothing
wrong with the pre’s on a Midas console,
and if I could do it…
Have you used the 5D?
Because everyone tells
me pre’s are a lot
better than the 1D.
JA: Whenever we do fly shows or corporate shows. It’s second on the list. But it’s
a totally separate operating system and
memory card scenario. I was actually lucky
because we anticipated that we were going to have to use the 5D some this year, so
this winter, I set up in a warehouse with the
1D that I’m carrying and a 5D, and channelby-channel, translated everything over to
have a rough starting point.
You know, the digital consoles are great
tools. There’s no doubt about that. I can
remember 20 years ago, sitting on a bus
going, “Boy, wouldn’t it be great if we had a
piece of gear that could do this?” You could
do six acts in one day on it and share the
console, and everybody could do whatever
they wanted to with it. That’s a great thing,
but I worry that people will view it as the
magic bullet and lose sight…
www.fohonline.com
200.0508.FOHInterview.EP.indd 17
August 2005
17
7/28/05 7:49:38 PM
Product Gallery
Analog Consoles
By BillEvans
Y
eah, all the talk and buzz these days
is on the brave new world of digital
desks, but how many of us actually use
‘em? Given the kinds of gigs and the budgets
most of us work with, it is only the elite 1% or
so who are steering a D5, PM1D or InovaSON.
Most of us will—until prices come down or
pigs fly—be using analog consoles for the
foreseeable future.
But technology and the economies of
scale have radically affected the analog
world, too. Today, it is possible to pick up a
board with pro features and the ability to do
the job at least at the level of the regional
touring act in the mid-$6,000 range.
Like good chili or barbecue, good
analog desks come in lots of different
flavors, and the one I swear by may make
the hair on your neck stand up like fingernails on a chalkboard would. And it’s not
just marketing. Two pros will use the same
console with one calling the mic pre’s
“transparent,” while the other derides
them as “brittle.” You say to-may-to,
say to-mah-to.
The good news is that there is something for virtually every taste and gig
need, and for most reasonable budgets as
well. There are so many choices that we
tried to narrow things down by limiting
entries to consoles with at least 32 inputs
and eight busses.
By the way, we sent out requests for information to every console maker we could think
of, so if you don’t see your personal fave here,
the most likely reason is that they did not
respond to our request. Feel free to call them
and give them hell for not participating.
(Following the same philosophy stated in
last month’s Editor’s Note, any manufacturer
is eligible for inclusion in a product gallery.
Including those who don’t advertise, or even
the ones who owe us money…) And as
long as we are bagging on marketing types,
remember that when it comes to number
of inputs, a rose is not necessarily a rose. In
other words, some folks count every possible
orifice as an input while others limit that number to actual channel strips, and a few even
count only mono channels with stereo strips as
an added bonus. We try to make these charts
an “apple-to-apple” thing, but until marketers
agree on a common language, well, we do the
best we can.
Anyway, the chart that follows lays out
the basic specs, but when it comes to sound,
your mileage may vary. Get your hands on a
few for extensive test drives before signing
on the dotted line.
Company
Phone
Web
Model
Frame Sizes
Ch. VCAs?
Input Jacking
Preamp Gain Range
Insert
Jacking
Ch EQ Corner Freq’s
Ch EQ MF Sweep Range, Filter Q’s
# Ch Aux Sends
(pre/post/
switchable)
Pan Capability
(L-R, L-C-R, Both)
Allen & Heath
866.474.7711
www.allen-heath.com
GL280
24, 32, 40, 48, 56
No
Mic/XLR, Line/TRS
-60 -16db
TRS
80Hz, 12KHz
35Hz - 1KHz, 500Hz - 15KHz
4+4+2
L-R
Allen & Heath
866.474.7711
www.allen-heath.com
GL3800
24, 32, 40, 48
No
Mic/XLR, Line/TRS
-60 - 16dB
TRS
80Hz, 12KHz
35Hz - 1KHz, 500Hz - 15KHz
4+4+2
L-R
Allen & Heath
866.474.7711
www.allen-heath.com
GL4800
24, 32, 40, 48
No
Mic/XLR, Line/TRS
-60 - 14dB
Dual TRS
20Hz - 200Hz,
2KHz - 20KHz
35Hz - 1KHz, 500Hz - 15KHz
4+4+2
L-R
Allen & Heath
866.474.7711
www.allen-heath.com
ML3000
24, 32, 40, 48
Yes
Mic or Line - TRS
-60 - 10dB
Dual TRS
60Hz, 12KHz
35Hz - 1KHz, 500Hz - 15KHz
4+2+2
L-C-R
Allen & Heath
866.474.7711
www.allen-heath.com
ML4000
24, 32, 40, 48, 72, 96
Yes
Mic or Line - TRS
-60 - 10dB
Dual TRS
20Hz - 200Hz,
2KHz - 20KHz
35Hz - 1KHz, 500Hz - 15KHz
4+4+2
L-C-R
Allen & Heath
866.474.7711
www.allen-heath.com
ML5000
32, 40, 48, 72, 96
Yes
Mic or Line - TRS
-60 - 10dB
Dual TRS
20Hz - 200Hz,
2KHz - 20KHz
35Hz - 1KHz, 500Hz - 15KHz
8+2+2
L-C-R
BEHRINGER USA Inc.
425.672.0816
www.behringer.com
EURODESK MX9000
48/24
No
Mic/XLR, Line/TRS
Unity - 40dB
TRS
12KHz, 80Hz
300Hz - 20KHz, 50Hz - 3KHz
6+0+0
L-R
Cadac Electronics plc.
+44 (0) 1582 404 202
www.cadac-sound.com
S-Type
17, 25, 33-slot
Yes
Mic/Line XLR
10 - 60dB
Dual TRS
4 band parametric
60 - 600Hz; 400Hz - 4KHz
10
L-R
1
+44 (0) 1582 404 202
www.cadac-sound.com
R-Type
24-slot*
Yes
Mic/Line XLR
10 - 60dB
Dual TRS
4 band parametric
60 - 600Hz; 400Hz - 4KHz
32
Both
2
+44 (0) 1582 404 202
www.cadac-sound.com
J-Type
up to 256
Yes
Mic/Line XLR
10 - 60dB
Dual TRS
4 band parametric
60 - 600Hz; 400Hz - 4KHz
10
L-R
2
+44 (0) 1582 404 202
www.cadac-sound.com
F-Type and B-Type
26 - 256
Yes
2 x Mic/Line XLR
10 - 60dB
Dual TRS
4 band parametric
60 - 600Hz; 400Hz - 4KHz
8
L-C-R
2
Crest Audio
866.812.7378
www.crestaudio.com
HP-Eight
24, 32, 40, 48, 56
No
Mic/XLR, Line/TRS
2 - 65dB
TRS
80Hz, 12KHz
100Hz - 2KHz, 400Hz - 10KHz, Q=1.5
10
L-R
Mackie
800.258.6883
www.mackie.com
Onyx 80 Series
24, 32, 40, 48
No
Mic/XLR, Line/TRS
0 - 60dB
TRS
80 Hz, 12KHz
100 HZ - 20KHz, 400Hz - 8KHz, Q=1.5
0+0+8 (stereo
linkable)
L-R
4L
Midas
800.392.3497
www.midasconsoles.com
Verona
24,32,40,48,56,64
No
Mic/XLR, Line/TRS
15 - 60dB
TRS
Hi Pass 20Hz - 400Hz
12dB slope
2K - 20k, 400 - 8k, 100 - 2KHz, 20
- 400Hz Q=1.41
8+8+3
L-C-R
4L
Midas
800.392.3497
Siena
24,32,40,48,56,64
No
Mic/XLR, Line/TRS
15 - 60dB
TRS
12dB slope
2K - 20k, 400 - 8k, 100 - 2KHz, 20
- 400Hz Q= 1.41
16 + (up to 8) +2
L-R
4L
Midas
800.392.3497
XL4
48**
Yes
Mic/XLR Line/XLR
15 - 70dB
Dual TRS
and Lo Pass 1k - 40KHz
12dB slope
1K - 20k, 400 - 8k, 100 - 2KHz, 20
- 400Hz Q= 14.42 - .67
24
L-R & Mono
1
Midas
800.392.3497
Heritage 4000
48, 56, 64
Yes
Mic-Line/XLR
15 - 60dB
Dual TRS
12dB slope
1K - 20k, 400 - 8k, 100 - 2KHz, 20
- 400Hz Q= 14.42 - .6
40
L,C,R
Midas
800.392.3497
Legend 3000
24,32,40,48
Yes
Mic/XLR Line/TRS
15 - 60dB
Dual TRS
12dB slope
Dual EQ - FOH 2K - 20k, 400 - 8k, 100 2KHz, 20 - 400Hz HM & LM Q= 4.8 - .67
12
L,C,R
Phonic Corporation
813.890.8872
www.phonic.com
MR4243
42
No
Mic/XLR LIne/TRS
-10 - 60db
TRS
80Hz, 12KHz
100Hz - 8KHz
4+2
L-R
Phonic Corporation
813.890.8872
www.phonic.com
MR4283D
42
No
Mic/XLR Line/TRS
S/PDIF
-10 - 60db
TRS
80Hz, 12KHz
100Hz - 8KHz
8
L-R
2
Phonic Corporation
813.890.8872
www.phonic.com
MR3243
32
No
Mic/XLR Line/TRS
-10 - 60db
TRS
80Hz, 12KHz
100Hz - 8KHz
6
L-R
2
Soundcraft
818.920.3212
www.soundcraft.com
GB8
16, 24, 32, 40, 48***
No
Mic/XLR Line/TRS
5 - 60dB
TRS
80Hz, 13KHz
550Hz - 13KHz,+/-15dB,Q=1.5, 80Hz
- 1.9KHz, +/-15dB, Q=1.5
0+0+8
L-R
Soundcraft
818.920.3212
www.soundcraft.com
MH2
24, 32, 40, 48***
Yes
Mic/XLR Line/TRS
15 - 60dB
Dual TRS
1.2KHz - 20KHz, 30Hz
- 550Hz, Q=1.5
750Hz - 13KHz, 75Hz - 1.3KHz, Q=1.5
0+0+10
L-C-R
Soundcraft
818.920.3212
www.soundcraft.com
MH3
24, 32, 40, 48, 56***
Yes
Mic/XLR Line/TRS
15 - 60dB
Dual TRS
30Hz - 500Hz, 1.2KHz
- 20KHz
5Hz - 1.3KHz, 750Hz - 13KHz,
Q var .5-3.0
12
L-C-R
Soundcraft
818.920.3212
www.soundcraft.com
Series TWO
24, 32, 40***
No
Mic/XLR Line/TRS
15 - 60dB
TRS
60Hz, 12KHz
80Hz - 1.9KHz, 550Hz - 13KHz, Q=1.3
8
L-C-R
Soundcraft
818.920.3212
www.soundcraft.com
MH4
24, 32, 40, 48, 56***
Yes
Mic/XLR Line/TRS
15 - 60dB
Dual TRS
5 - 550Hz, 1.2 - 20KHz
75H - 1.2KHz, 750Hz - 12KHz, Q=.5-3.0
16
L-C-R
Yamaha
714.522.9011
www.yamaha.com
PM5000
28, 36, 52***
Yes
(motorized)
Mic and Line / XLR
-60 +16dB pad = 76dB
Dual TRS
Variable
80 - 1.6K, 400 - 8K, Q 0.5-3
12 Stereo, 8 Mono
Both
18
August 2005
200.0508.ProductGallery.EP.indd 18
www.fohonline.com
7/28/05 8:01:55 PM
Ch
Yamaha PM 5000
Crest Audio 32FX
Soundcraft MH3
Midas Legend 3000
*Frames buss-link together resulting in a user defined and unlimited input size.
** + 16 line returns
*** Frame size does not include additional stereo channels
# Ch Aux Sends
(pre/post/
switchable)
Pan Capability
(L-R, L-C-R, Both)
Channel Metering
# Mute Groups
#of Busses
# Stereo Channel
Strips
Master Metering
Output Matrix Size
Internal PSU?
Power Rating
Dimensions
Weight
Price
KHz
4+4+2
L-R
4 LED
4
8
2
3 - L-R, M
4-out x 12-in
No (dual PSU capable)
300 watts
6.7” x 25.6” x 46.1”
77 lbs
$5,499
KHz
4+4+2
L-R
4 LED
4
8
4 or 8
11 - Subgroups, L-R, M
4-out x 12-in
300 watts
10.8” x 27.2” x 50.4”
92.4 lbs
$7,999
KHz
4+4+2
L-R
4 LED
8
8
4 or 8
11 - Subgroups, L-R, M
4-out x 11-in
300 watts
11” x 29” x 56”
126 lbs
$12,649
KHz
4+2+2
L-C-R
4 LED
8
8
2 or 6
3 - Subgroups, Auxes,
Matrix Outs, L-C-R
4-out x 7-in
No
300 watts
9.9” x 25.2” x 55”
90 lbs
$9,999
KHz
4+4+2
L-C-R
5 LED
8
8
2 or 6
19 - Subgroups, Auxes 9-12,
Matrix Outs, L-C-R
4-out x 11-in
No
525 watts
11.1” x 30.7” x 57”
143 lbs
$20,299
KHz
8+2+2
L-C-R
5 LED
8
8
4 or 8
35 - Subgroups, Auxes,
Matrix Outs, L-C-R
8-out x 12-in
No
525 watts
11.7” x 34.3” x 62.8”
185 lbs
$26,999
KHz
6+0+0
L-R
12 LED
None
8
N/A
Stereo
N/A
No
400 watts
9.45” x 37” x 29.5”
37kg with PSU
$1,249.99
Hz
10
L-R
12 LED, -36 - 18dB
8
26
As required
Custom 12 led bar graph,
-36 to 18dB
10 x 8 configurable
No
Depends upon frame
size
Depends on configuration
Depends on
configuration
$26,100
Hz
10
L-R
20 LED, -36 - 21dB
None
62
As required
Custom 20 seg LED bar graph,
-36 to 21dB
16 x 32 configurable
No
Depends upon frame
size
Depends on configuration
Depends on
configuration
$87,000
Hz
8
L-C-R
20 LED, -36 - 21dB
None
2
As required
Full metering of groups and
matrix
12 x 24
No
Varies upon size of
console
Varies upon size of console
Varies upon size of
console
$60,900
KHz,
8
L-R
12-LED, -30 to peak
None
8
N/A
12 LED -30 to peak
N/A
No
240 watts
52” x 22.7” x8”
68 lbs
$2,999.99
, Q=1.5
10
L-R
Peak meter
4
8
5
N/A
2-out x 11-in
Yes
N/A
Varies
Varies
$4,499 - $7,699
z, Q=1.5
0+0+8 (stereo
linkable)
L-R
4 LED, -20, 0, 10, OL, -4
4
8
8
Main-stereo 12-segment LED;
Solo-stereo 12-segment LED
10-in x 12-out
Yes, and optional
external redundant
supply
200 watts
9.4” x 60” x 29.6”
113 lbs
$4,299 - $6,699
8+8+3
L-C-R
4 LED, -18, 0, 12, 18dB
4
8
8, 14
Yes
8 x 12
Yes (with backup
internal supply)
240 watts with spare
supply
42” to 90” x 30.75” x 9.25”
99 to 209 lbs
$14,043 - $33,883”
16 + (up to 8) +2
L-R
4 LED, -18, 0, 12, 18dB
5
8
0
Yes
0
Yes (with backup
internal supply)
supply
42” to 90” x 30.75” x 9.25”
99 to 209 lbs
$17,725 - $42,765
Hz, 20
7
24
L-R & Mono
11 LED, -25 - +18dB
8
24
Up to 16
Yes
8 x 48
No
1400 watts
85.75” x 44.5” x 16.75”
505 lbs
$208,595
Hz, 20
6
40
L,C,R
11 LED -25 - +18
10
24
As required
Yes
27 x 8
No
1,500 watts with spare
supply
89.25” to 110.875” x 41.50”
x 23.625”
562 to 661 lbs
$150,450
- $203,745
8k, 100 = 4.8 - .67
12
L,C,R
7 LED -18 - +12
10 FOH,10 Mon or VCA
and 99 Acts/99 Scenes
8
4
Yes
6 x 12
No
(dual external in 2 RU)
supply
52 .875” to 86” x 36.25” x
13.875”
156 to 251 lbs
$36,335 - $52,000
4+2
L-R
12-LED
4
4
4
6 x 12-segment LED
2
No
70 watts
45.57” x 4.15” x 21.42”
35.24 lbs
$1,279.99
8
L-R
2 LED, -20dB, peak
4
8
4
MS/ST/GROUP
4-out x 22-in
No
80 watts
45.6” x 4.2” x 21.4”
35.9 lbs
$2,099.99
6
L-R
2 LED, -20dB, peak
4
4
2
MS/ST/GROUP
4-out x 22-in
No
65 watts
34” x 4.2” x 21.4”
30.8 lbs
$1,029.99
.5, 80Hz
1.5
0+0+8
L-R
4 LED
4
11
4
12-LED
11 x 4
Yes
N/A
26” x 7” x 57”
77 lbs
$6,399.99
z, Q=1.5
0+0+10
L-C-R
12 LED
6
11
4
12-segment LED
11 x 4
Yes
300 watts max
10” x 30” x 59””
147 lbs
$13,495
12
L-C-R
12 LED
8 groups, 128 scenes
11
4
12-segment LED
12 x 4
No
N/A
11” x 32” x 66”
176 lbs
$18,865
z, Q=1.3
8
L-C-R
12 LED
11
2
12-segment LED
11 x 2
No
N/A
10” x 28” x 49”
88 lbs
$7,695
Q=.5-3.0
16
L-C-R
12 LED
11
4
12-segment LED
20 x 8
No
N/A
14” x 32” x 67”
196 lbs
$29,999
12 Stereo, 8 Mono
Both
9 LED, -25 - Peak
35
4
39
4 Mono, 8 Stereo
Outputs X 37 Inputs
No
1,100 watts
13 3/4” X 43 5/8” X 84 1/2”
460 lbs
$74,000, $79,000,
$93,000
lter Q’s
Hz, 20
Hz, 20
KHz,
5-3
www.fohonline.com
200.0508.ProductGallery.EP.indd 19
August 2005
19
7/30/05 3:58:26 PM
200.0508.Ads.ss.indt 20
7/28/05 9:41:48 PM
200.0508.Ads.ss.indt 21
7/28/05 9:42:46 PM
Production Profile
Bigfoot Found and Captured!
French Array Avoids Radar!
By NortJohnson
N
ot a line array? A tangent array
system? Maybe they should just call
it French.
The new NEXO GEO T speakers are not
boxes, as we would typically assume a
speaker enclosure to be. They look more like
something out of a futuristic Spielberg movie. They are small, very small, and shaped like
a mini stealth fighter. The rigging looks weird,
very weird, but extremely functional. Like
stealth fighters, they are light and weigh less
than 100 lbs, or 45 kilograms, as the French
would have it (that’s 99.2 lbs). Radar does not
bounce off them, and they have been flying
over the United States undetected now for
sometime...
Given the opportunity to check out the
NEXO GEO T system on a stop at the UIC
Pavilion in Chicago with Oasis in early June
2005, FOH had no idea what it was in for.
Bruce Johnston of Johnston Audio Services was there to man the Front of House
duties. Also, a crew from Thunder Audio and
Firehouse Sound were moving and shaking
the system into position for the evening
performance. We sat down with Johnston in
catering just after load-in. His company’s history goes back over 20 years in Melbourne,
Australia, and worldwide, and credits include
Oasis, Midnight Oil, Crowded House and
Silverchair.
Over coffee and something that looked
like eggs, Johnston explained his NEXO experience, the digital age with a DiGiCo D5 and
the decision to use the French fighter. “When
NEXO launched the GEO T about two years
ago, they gave us the first system,” Johnston
related. “I thought it was really impressive,
so I bought some for my company. When
I was given this tour with Oasis, it seemed
like the natural thing to do. I wanted to see
22
August 2005
200.0508.ProdProf.JH.indd 22
how it would sound with
a band like this. This band
stretches the boundaries
between pop and heavy
rock. So far, it’s working
quite well.”
I asked Johnston what
he was using at FOH and why. “For this tour,
I bought a DiGiCo D5. I just figured it was
time to move into the digital age. I’m starting
to like it. It was a bit
different sounding
at the start. Oasis is
pretty much a meat
and potatoes band; just
throw up an XL-4 and
a few compressors, and
off you go. That’s their
sound,” he said.
So, how does he like
the onboard effects
in the D5? “If you look at my rack, it’s very
small, and you’ll notice I only have one
reverb. That’s my drum reverb. I didn’t have
the time before the tour left to fool around
with the drums and the D5. With that said,
sometimes it’s better to go with what you
know,” he said.
What about the two opening bands? What
are they using?
Johnston replied: “ The D5 too. It came in
quite handy on the first three weeks of the
tour, with the club shows. We put them all on
the D5 and we’re taking up very little floor
space. To fit the opening acts on other desks,
we would have taken up at least three or four
times the floor space, if not more.”
In an age when promoters are trying
to squeeze every available seat out of the
house, leaving a smaller footprint at FOH is
making a lot of people happy. The days of
the concert patron who bought great seats
in the middle of the main floor, only to get
rerouted and told that their seats have been
moved, could be a thing of the past sooner
than we think. What are the other advantages to “smaller is better”?
Johnston went on. “To be honest, we’ve
done four festivals with this desk, and it’s
very easy to get the D5 into the festival. Generally, I haven’t carried mixing boards into
festivals because of the logistics. Having the
D5 there has made a big difference to both
myself and the band.”
I asked Johnston if he thinks the console
holds up well on the road.
“We had a drink spilled on the desk and
channels one through eight went down,
So, what in particular does Johnston like
about the GEO T? “I know from using GEO
T and about every other line array on the
market the difference between GEO T and
the rest. Being a lighter system it tends to
have some pretty good top end in it. One
advantage is that they are half the weight
of any of the other P.A.s on the market for
the same SPL. A lot of the manufacturers
are making half-size line arrays, but not with
the output of the
big boxes,” he
says. “These GEO T
enclosures are light,
small and the P.A.
bends when you
fly it like no other.
Because it opens
-Bruce Johnston, FOH of Oasis right up, it has the
capability of bending way more than
but within 10 to 15 seconds, we were able
any of the other P.A.s when you fly them.
to re-route them and brought them up on
They are not boxes. They are shaped differently, so they arc more in the air.” Johnston
the other half of the board. Not only that,
but DiGiCo has been unbelievable with their
paused, then blurted out, “Let me show you
backup. Any type of problem has been fixed
something!”
on the spot. That’s good to see in this day
Johnston leapt to his feet, and we headed
and age!”
out to the arena floor.
“We had a drink spilled on the desk and
channels one through eight went down, but within
10 to 15 seconds, we were able to re-route them and
brought them up on the other half of the board.”
www.fohonline.com
7/28/05 8:00:33 PM
He opened what I thought was an FX or
amp rack case. It was like a Cracker Jack box,
and there was a surprise inside. When the
top was removed, there sat three little GEO
Ts comfortably in a road case. The case didn’t
reach waist-high.
Johnston went on, “It seems to be that
the other good thing about it is the underfill
part of this P.A. has been designed with the
whole P.A. hang in mind. Near fill wasn’t an
afterthought in the design. It tends to be one
of the best under hangs I’ve heard. It really
does cover 90 degrees. It seems like it’s closer
to studio monitors in its sound than other
systems. If you’re good at your job, the GEO T
system can reward you with results that you
won’t get out of the other systems.”
Lack of exposure and a high price in the
tightly competitive American market has
made these systems somewhat scarce on
U.S. soil. That in itself has made a lot of Yanks
skeptical. A good friend, Stan Doty (FOH for
Wilco), commented about his NEXO experiences. “I‘ve had the opportunity to use these
GEO Ts over in Europe with Wilco, and I really
like what they do—though they do take a
little getting used to. I guess you could say
that about any new system. The fidelity they
release is incredible. Not to mention the
control that you have once you know what
they can do,” Doty said.
Johnston reaffirmed that statement. “It
can be a very hard P.A. to jump on straight
up. When I use it over in Australia, it takes
most engineers a bit of time to get used to
it. It’s so clear and it’s so accurate that it does
put a few people off. They’re used to having
the box column of sound of your typical P.A.
With GEO T’s cardioid approach, it tends to
make this P.A. really clear. It brings out all the
nasties that you’re not used to hearing on
other P.A.s.”
So, does size really matter? “I think so!” said
Johnston. “The whole arena P.A. with the CD
18 subs takes up about 35 feet of truck. Also,
it’s a flat pack, like a pan.”
Watching the rigging go up was interesting. They started with a bump of five
enclosures, and from there, it was three at a
time rolled in and under. Four pins in, and up
they went. It took a little over 24 minutes to
fly the system at the UIC Pavilion. That’s not
counting the side fill
hangs. It can rig in a
tension mode and a
non-tension mode
with a cam system
with 12 enclosures
per side. The P.A. flies
dead straight, and
they have a pickup
point on the bottom
of each box with a
cam that controls the
pitch, curve and splay.
There are levelers on
the boxes that tell
you at which pitch
degree they are
flying.
Then there are the
subs, which are best described on the NEXO
Web site: “NEXO R&D has used the advanced
DSP power of the digital NX242 TD controller
to develop an extremely compact and highly
efficient method for controlling the disper-
sion of very large acoustical waves. The CD18
uses a pair of long excursion neodymium
18-inch drivers, two amplifier channels and
two channels of DSP processing to generate
a cardioid or supercardioid pattern with up
to -15dB of attenuation at the rear. Yet, the
enclosure is no larger than is required for
proper loading of the transducers. CD18s
deliver high-impact sub bass energy to the
audience while keeping very low frequencies
away from open microphones and reflective/reverberant surfaces. The end result is a
much more controlled and coherent foundation for the mix, as compared with conventional subwoofers.”
During sound check, I became a believer
of what this French array could really do.
Standing about six feet in front of the CD 18
subs and about 10 feet off to center stage
from the GEO T hang, I heard nothing but
pure high fidelity. I moved directly under the
hang, at the same distance from the subs,
and got the same effect. I can only contribute
this to an acoustical illusion. Then, back up
200.0508.ProdProf.JH.indd 23
in the highest sky seats of the arena, the low
end was not only there, but sounded as good
as it did on the floor
You don’t see a lot of NEXO GEO T systems
in the States. The cost has been the main factor. With the new alliance between Yamaha
and NEXO, this certainly should change
things (see page 32 for the report on Yamaha
and NEXO by Dan Daly).
The bottom line is, the designers at NEXO
set out to build a smaller, lighter and better-sounding enclosure than the rest. They
used companies in Europe like SSE Hire to
painstakingly come up with something better than the best. With all things considered,
they might have done just that. As for the
DiGiCo D5? This is just the beginning —as
these digital machines and tools are refined,
it means a smaller footprint in the house
and a smaller one in the air! Concertgoers,
promoters and artists are staring the future
in the face. With systems like these, it could
very well mean a better concert experience
for all involved.
23
7/28/05 8:01:02 PM
Making It Happen
By David JohnFarinella
Making it Happen at the Temecula
Valley Balloon & Wine Festival
T
here are a lot of obvious uses for the
space in front of a stage at an outdoor
music festival. Band-watching and
dancing jump to the top of the list, yet at
the Temecula Valley Balloon & Wine Festival,
those two activities just round out the top
five. There, that space is used for the earlymorning launch of hot air balloons.
While the situation might not provide a
sonic challenge for the Murrieta, Calif.-based
Star Way Productions, it does provide a
dramatically colorful backdrop for the bands
playing one of the two stages at the festival.
The festival celebrated its 22nd anniversary
this year, and Star Way handled all aspects of
the sound, stage and lighting.
The festival features two stages, explains
Star Way CEO and production manager
Alex Sukhov. The main stage featured Eddie
Money, Starship with Mickey Thomas, John
Waite and Lou Gramm this year, and local
acts played the Wine Stage. “It’s classic rock
with good smooth stuff,” he explains. “It’s a
good combo.”
“The Wine Stage is still a huge area, maybe
a 700-foot radius,” Sukhov adds. “The stage
is at one end, and all the wineries are on
the outskirts of the radius.” To cover that
radius, Star Way relies on a Meyer MSL-3 rig
with Acoustic 2X18 subwoofers, powered by
Crown 3600s and 2400s. The FOH console
was a Yamaha PM3000. Monitors—JBL
wedges—were mixed through a Yamaha
M3000 and powered by QSC 6.0 and 4.0
amps. Delay towers outfitted with another
set of MSL-3s were flown via a pair of Genie
ST25 towers.
Over at the main stage, the Star Way team
set up a QSC Audio ISIS WideLine line array
rig (16 per side, 32 total) that was powered
by QSC 9.0 and 6.0 amps. Extra sub power
came via eight Acoustic 2X18s, and side
fill responsibilities fell to Sound Image
G-5 cabinets. The FOH console was a Yamaha
PM5D-RH, and the monitor board was a
Midas H3000. Main stage monitors were
Sound Image G2s, powered with QSC 6.0s
and 4.0s. The standard cadre of outboard
gear from Yamaha, Eventide and Lexicon
24
August 2005
200.0508.MakingItHappen.EP.indd 24
John Graves (QSC), Gary Sanguinet (Star Way) and Brian English (QSC) at the FOH position
“He just brought his disc
and popped it in. All he
had to do was tweak it
for about ten minutes
and he had a mix like you
wouldn’t believe.” –
Alex Sukhov on Eddie Money mixer Jeff
Weirick and the Yamaha PM5D
was found at FOH and monitor for
both stages.
The choice of a PM5D came in handy for
Jeff Weirick, who has been mixing FOH for
Eddie Money for almost a decade. “He had
his whole mix already stored on disc and
was real happy to hear that the 5D was there
because he just brought his disc, popped it
in and everything came up generally where
it should be,” Sukhov recalls. “All he had to do
was tweak it for about ten minutes, and he
had a mix like you wouldn’t believe. He never
went out there during sound check.”
According to Sukhov, one of the most
exciting aspects of this year’s show was
using the WideLines. “This was our outdoor
debut of the WideLine boxes,” he reports.
“We’ve done several indoor shows with the
cabinets over the past three months. It was
quite a pleasant experience for us because it
went above and beyond my expectations in
an outdoor situation. The elements are very
challenging at this event and this cabinet cut
through like no other cabinet has.”
The WideLine also solved another problem
that Sukhov has faced in the past—adequate
side coverage with a long-enough front
throw. In the past, Star Way turned to either
a JBL VerTec rig (Sukhov: “But it wasn’t wide
enough”) or EAW 750s (“Those didn’t throw
far enough”).
“It was getting the width okay, but it
wasn’t getting past that 200-, 300-foot mark
with any kind of crunch,” he says of the
EAWs. “The WideLine has accomplished all
that. There are no side delays, and no mid
delays are needed. We were out 600 feet,
and those things were crystal clear with
very little dB lost.”
Yet, not everyone was originally so excited
to see them. “When we rolled them out, the
promoter walked up and said, ‘No. This is not
the P.A., is it? Are these like the monitors?’ I
told him these were the mains, and here it
was, one in the afternoon on Friday and the
show is in five hours, so there was no turning
back for anybody. The look on his face…” He
pauses to chuckle. “He called the people over
from the festival, and this was their attitude:
‘If this thing works, we’ll be amazed.’ That’s
been the fun of these cabinets—people look
at them and go, ‘No way.’ Then you fire it up
and they go, ‘Oh my God!’”
For the acts that didn’t arrive with their
own team of mixers, Star Way provided
the talents of Gary Sanguinet for FOH and
systems tech, and Owen “Doc” Thomas for
monitors. There was also a pair of deck hands
on the scene at all times.
While this year was a success, Sukhov
can’t wait for when the festival will kick off
again next June. “Next year, they’re looking
to maybe do Journey as the main act for
closing on Saturday night,” he reports. “That’s
always been our path. We’ve had the Doobie
Brothers in the past. We’ve had Brian Setzer.
Their lineup is unique every year.”
www.fohonline.com
7/28/05 7:54:07 PM
200.0508.Ads.ss.indt 25
7/28/05 9:43:40 PM
Installations
Two Words...
Monitoring
Swimming with Le Rêve at Wynn Las Vegas’ Aqua Theatre
By MaureenDroney
L
e Rêve: A Small Collection of Imperfect
Dreams debuted in April at the fabulous
new Wynn Las Vegas, Steve Wynn’s
$2.7 billion entry as the latest and greatest
on the Las Vegas Strip. Created by Franco
Dragone, formerly of Cirque du Soleil and
the man behind such legendary shows as O,
Alegria and Celine Dion’s A New Day, Le Rêve
is an acrobatic water show that pushes technology and technologists to new heights—
and new depths.
Played in the round under a soaring dome,
the production features a pool as its centerpiece , which is 27 feet deep at its middle
and filled with one million gallons of water.
The 2,087-seat theatre itself is also trisected
by channels of water that branch from the
main pool and flow beneath three massive
platforms housing the production’s live band.
No seat is more than 42 feet away from the
action, and due to the theater’s circular design, there is neither a backstage nor wings.
Instead, performers and sets appear from
the depths below and fly from the space
above. Lights reflecting off the water, along
with projection and special effects, create
a multitude of environments from peaceful
to frightening, complete with rain, snow
and fire. In the pool, a series of lifts rise
and lower, joining at times to form a stage
and—for the finale—a giant fountain.
Approximately 175 technicians and other
staff support the show’s 68 performers,
26
August 2005
200.0508.Installations.EP.indd 26
many of whom are immersed in water for
much of the show.
Le Rêve’s sonic challenges are mind-boggling; not only is there a combination of
live and recorded music in 5.1 surround
sound (composer Benoit Jutras’ haunting
score includes a mixture of live singing and
recorded choral music from Serbia), but
underwater monitoring is required for both
the performers and the scuba divers of
Wynn’s aquatic department.
Provider of the sound system (as well as
the infrastructure for both sound and video)
for this unusual production was the Las
Vegas office of SPL Integrated Solutions. Not
long after the show opened, FOH caught up
with Peter Aaronson, SPL’s general manager
of Western operations, and project manager
Paul Turner for a chat about the project. We
also spoke with Pascal Von Strydonck, assistant designer for Dragone and head of audio
for the Wynn Las Vegas Aqua Theatre.
“Water is the stage,” explains Aaronson,
who worked on the project for close to three
years. “But, in addition, there are the platform
elevator lifts and concentric rings around
the center that allow for movable staging.
Overhead are six projection screens and
the mechanical means for actors to fly,
and to make entrances and exits through
the ceiling.”
Aaronson adds that the show results from
an incredible collaborative effort between the
director, the producer and the cast members.
Franco Dragone, the overall producer and
designer, provided the visions, and his technicians came up with the means to realize
them. Daniel Leon was the audio specialist on
Dragone’s staff who came up with the overall
sound system design and functionality. The
actual sound design was a collaboration
between Daniel and Pascal Van Strydonck.
Synchronized audio visuals are a large
component of the show. The designers
wanted the capability to use only live band,
only playback or a combination. To provide
the most creatively flexible environment
possible, a full recording and playback studio
was included in the design. Fitted with
Avid/Digidesign gear, including two ICON
consoles and two Pro Tools HD systems, the
studio provides the capability for building
audio and video programs within the theatre
itself as the show evolves.
Audience seating is broken up into six
trapezoidal areas within each section, which
are served by their own 5.1 surround systems
that also comprise the main house system.
“The sound is mixed to give the entire theatre the overall program,” explains Aaronson.
“But each of the seating sections is also
designed to have a surround sound impact.”
The Meyer Sound Lab house system is
flown through the open grid ceiling, which
also has openings for lighting portals. Each
of the six seating sections has four MSL4
enclosures, two each on the left and right for
front, with UPM1Ps for rear speakers, MSL6s
forcenter speakers and a cluster of four Meyer
650Ps positioned at each screen location
as .1 subwoofers.
An LCS (Level Control Systems) VRAS (Variable Room Acoustic System) system uses six
UPM1Ps dedicated to VRAS and also accesses
the rest of the system to provide, Aaronson
says, “a very convincing portrayal of different
ambiences from small to large rooms as well
as different outdoor effects. Depending on
the intent of the composer, or the director,
the system can directionally highlight screen
imagery, musical imagery, or the actors. It
can direct and focus the sound, and the
audience’s attention, to various points in the
room. Not only is it extremely versatile for
this show, the designers made it so the room
can be configured for other purposes.”
Of course, as everyone knows, sound
systems and water don’t mix. Except at
Le Rêve, they do. So how is all that moisture
dealt with?
“There’s a significant ceiling height, 55
feet at the center of the dome,” comments
Turner. “So no matter how high something
may splash from the performers, the water
won’t get too close to the cabinets. But there
is a very high humidity factor, and the MSL
center channel speakers are—literally—just
a few feet away from a misting system that
sends a cloud down the center of the dome.
www.fohonline.com
7/30/05 2:13:01 PM
It was necessary for virtually all of the speakers [and also much of the rest of the sound
package, i.e. beltpacks, microphones, Clear
Com boxes. –Ed.] to be weatherproofed.”
FOH and monitor consoles are Yamaha
DM2000s. The band, comprised of five
musicians and two singers, is split into three
locations, and their personal monitors are
Sennheiser SR3056 in-ears. “Using a system
of MADI RME ADI648 units (provided by Brian McAll of Synthax) we bring, in and out of
each of those locations, 64 audio lines,” says
Van Strydonck. “So there are 128 lines total
on each of the three locations. The lines go
to a central point, from which three identical
splits are sent to the FOH console, the monitor console (manned by Steve Weiss), and
a Pro Tools rig. The monitor console sends
back, via MADI, mixes to the five musicians,
each of whom is equipped with a Yamaha
DM1000 where they can combine a stereo
monitor mix with feeds of talkback mics, click
track, ambiences and sound effects.”
According to Von Strydonck, show control
is switchable so synced sound effects can follow the actors. Sometimes, video sends MIDI
to trigger audio events, and sometimes MIDI
triggers a video effect. “Daniel Leon came up
with an amazing, really unique design,” he
says. “I’m working with three different parallel front ends while I mix the show. I have the
DM2000, a Pro Tools rig and the LCS system.”
“In combination with projection and effects, that provided quite a challenge in the
digital domain with continuity, fiber optic
and clocking issues,” notes Aaronson. “It took
a tremendous collaborative effort among the
Wynn audio technicians, SPL engineers and
outside vendors to come up with a hybrid
system where all the components would talk
to each other. Ultimately, the MADI system
provided the solution.”
Now, about that intricate underwater
monitoring system (remember, sound travels
faster through water than through air!),
which was custom-built in-house by the
Wynn audio department: Aqua performers hear the soundtrack (and, if necessary
for emergency page or other reasons, the
aqua managers) through a combination of
speakers. Divers use helmet and face mask
communication.
“A DM1000 gathers stem mixes of the
main musical portion of the show from
the main monitor console,” explains Von
Strydonck, “along with signal from ‘Neptune
mics’—the equivalent of a ‘Voice of God’
theatrical cue announce mic—which only
speak under water. Those provide the show
cues for the artists and technicians. They can
also hear click track and the alarm tone for
when the lifts will be moving. We matrix the
system into four discrete underwater zones,
comprised of 30 Clark Synthesis tactile drivers—basically big shakers—that are delayed
to match the P.A. slap.
“So the music plays under water, there’s
a click track and there are multiple zones
where microphones duck the music, or
music ducks the microphones, depending
on where we are in the show. All of this is
aligned with SIA-Smaart software, using a
DPA 8011 hydrophone.” [Trust us, it’s a lot
more complicated than this, but we’re out of
space. –Ed.]
An extensive underwater video network
is also part of the system, with cameras
linked to a video control panel where the
divers’ stage manager can observe what
the divers are seeing underwater, with
the ability to communicate with them all.
Controlling all of this is an aquatic managers’
platform in the ceiling grid, where an “aqua
console” of 13 monitors, built by SPL, is capable of tuning into whichever underwater
camera the safety manager needs
to observe.
“This is for safety,” Turner emphasizes. “In
addition to the fact that they are performing,
and making entrances and exits underwater,
there are oxygen issues with the scuba apparatus. There’s also all the elevator machinery.
Without clear vision, lighting and pathways,
none of the machinery can move for fear of
injuring the performers.”
“Every manufacturer we dealt with was
terrific,” notes Turner. “Everybody pulled
together and offered suggestions and
information. There were a lot of things done
here that hadn’t been done before, and everyone went out of their way to help us out.
Implementing a system of this complexity
in the field, there of course had to be some
adjustments to configure with the realities
and contingencies of the staging and how
the show needs to be supported. In the end,
it’s really a technical marvel.”
Project manager Paul Turner (left) and Peter Aaronson look over Le Rêve plans.
200.0508.Installations.EP.indd 27
7/28/05 7:52:40 PM
200.0508.Ads.ss.indt 28
7/28/05 9:44:27 PM
The Anklebiters
ON THE BLOCK
New
KID
D
ear Sirs,
I don’t have my own sound
company. I don’t even have a
job working for a sound company. I am
currently graduating high school and
volunteering at my local church, but I have
aspirations of one day owning my own
company. However, I currently have very
little experience and would appreciate
any advice you can give me on what are
the most important things to consider
when mixing live sound. I am an Anklebiters fan and I want to thank you for
considering my request.
Sincerely,
Steve Shafer, Pasadena, CA
Jamie: Steve, I have been thinking about
your question for a better part of a week
now. Mainly because I want to give you a
bit of information that is useful, but not
too complicated. So, here I go: First, consider taking a class on recording or sound
reproduction or whatever is available at your
local community college. I took a couple of
courses on recording when I was in school
and they have proved their value throughout
my career.
also need to learn what that sounds like.
Steve, if you have a one-third octave
graphic EQ at your church, memorize each
slider position. Then learn what that position sounds like. If you don’t have one, get
your church to buy one, or go online, search
frequencies and listen. Music is just frequencies, and it is essential for you to be able
to differentiate between them. If you want
to bring out the richness and stringiness
of an acoustic guitar, you must know what
frequencies to add or subtract. If you want
the bass to be punchy and not flabby and to
blend with the kick drum, you will have to
learn where they lay in the tonal landscape.
The more you hear and understand what you
are hearing, the more fun your job will be.
That, my friend, will make you a real value to
your church. It will open your ears and your
mind to what good sound mixing is. And it
will let you know if this is really a career for
you. This is a great industry to work in, Steve. I
wish you all the best.
Tim: Steve, first of all, I’m impressed with
the fact that you just graduated from high
school and you already know what you
want to do. I’ve personally had a couple kids
graduate from high school who were still un-
By JamieRio & TimWilliams
to any event, whether it’s a concert in the
park, a high school graduation or a band
performance at my child’s school, I’m paying
attention to the details of the sound—what
equipment is being used, who’s running it,
from where, is it working, what I would do to
improve it, etc.
Church can be a good place to experiment
with EQs, speaker delays, miking techniques
and placement, signal processing and
compression. Experiment walking around
to different areas and get familiar with
how the audio sounds with different environments, acoustics and surrounding
materials. Work toward total coverage
of the room or area. Familiarize yourself
handle the job you’ve been hired to do. So
familiarize yourself with all aspects of the job.
I also suggest that you remain open-minded and look for opportunities to increase
knowledge of sound/audio and practice
those skills Jamie and I mentioned above.
Honing your “ear,” learning how to make the
best use of your equipment and understanding the principles behind sound are a must!
But there are characteristics you may not
learn from textbooks that I strongly urge you
to put the time and energy into developing. And these facets are important for any
profession you decide to pursue—have a
positive attitude, have integrity and always
be prepared.
“The most important thing to your client
is confidence that you can handle the job
you’ve been hired to do.” – Tim Williams
with the spectrum of how far a speaker
can throw, how wide it can cover and so on.
I would also suggest working for a sound
company to learn about handling equipment, system management and how the
chain of signal works. It’s good to understand electrical and electronic theory,
matching impedence and matching amps
to speakers. The most important thing
to your client is confidence that you can
These are characteristics that you can
develop on a daily basis while you’re
studying sound, volunteering at your local
church or lounging around at home. If
you’re able to master these attitudes, and
develop your audio skills, you’ll be much
more employable.
Need advice? Contact the Anklebiters at
[email protected].
“The more you hear and understand
what you are hearing, the more fun
your job will be.” – Jamie Rio
decided about what they wanted to do with
their lives, and it’s been rough for them to
decide how to invest their time and money.
It’s always easier to get somewhere when
you have even a little direction of where
you’re going. So I commend you on pursuing
what you’re passionate about.
In order to give you some advice, I’m
trying to figure out where you got your
inspiration and enough experience to influence you to make a decision to pursue a
sound company. I’m going to have to assume
you got it from your high school experience, perhaps being a sound technician for
drama, band or vocal departments, possibly
being the AV guy at school or even providing sound needs at church or local events.
Whatever the case may be, those opportunities are just as important as the ones to
come. Look at every job as an opportunity
to practice your sound skills. Every time I go
www.fohonline.com
200.0508.Anklebiters.EP.indd 29
But before you run off to enroll in a class,
let’s look at the equipment you are using.
Understand the mixer you are working with
inside and out. Read the manual and familiarize yourself with the signal path. What I
mean is, start with plugging in a microphone,
follow the cable to the snake or your mixer
and see what channel it’s plugged into. Learn
everything on that channel strip and then
continue to follow the signal path to the
main section. Once you leave the mixer, do
you go through any compression? EQ, or
other outboard gear? It’s very important to
understand what path the signal takes as it
travels from the mic to the speakers. Next,
you need to begin to train your ears. If I tell
you that we are getting a rumble off the
stage at 80 Hz, your ears need to know what
that sounds like. Or if I asked you to push the
graphic EQ at 630 Hz in order to get a little
more punch out of the vocalist, your ears will
August 2005
29
7/28/05 7:41:58 PM
Road Tests
The DAS Compact Series
By JamieRio
I
love the word “compact.” My whole company is compact. For that matter, I don’t
know anybody in this biz who doesn’t
want better sound out of smaller, more
compact gear. If I had my way, my cabinets
would be the size of a pack of cigarettes
and sound like they came straight from
heaven (or hell, depending on the artist).
But I digress. In reality, I was very happy to
review the DAS Compact Series powered
speakers. I received two Compact 218 Sub
2000s and two Compact 2 full-range cabs.
The Gear
Let’s start with the subs. What DAS has
done here is loaded a 40x27x32.5-inch
Birch plywood box with two 18-inch
low-frequency speakers and two 1,000watt Class “D” amplifiers. Each speaker
has its own amp, and what’s cool is that
you can run one amp and one speaker, or
both amps and both speakers. (Though
the implementation of that ability could
be better. More later.) The speakers sport
a four-inch voice coil and are pushed
by neodymium magnets. They are very
compact, but still weigh in at 205 lbs
(ouch—my back!). So, the four heavy-duty
casters and six handles come in handy. But
the casters could be a little more heavyduty—one blew up on me as I was wheeling a sub along a hotel loading dock.
I used these subs with the Compact 2
speakers but you could use them as bass
reinforcement for a full-range passive
system or other full-range powered cabs.
The Compact 2 is designed to stand alone
as a full range, bi-amped, three-way
system, or to be used with the powered
subs. These cabs incorporate two 500-watt
Class “D” amplifiers, a 15-inch speaker
with extended low-frequency response,
a 10-inch horn-loaded speaker and a
high-frequency compression driver.
DAS mounts all this stuff into a birch-ply
trapezoidal cabinet measuring 34x23.5x25
inches and weighing a mere 150 lbs. There
are Man and eyebolt fly points (not a fan
of Man flyware, but DAS says that all
current production units use the beefier
Ancra L tracks), handles and tilt-back
wheels to help get these babies around.
And as with the subs, we see neodymium
magnet structures throughout. Both the
subs and the 2s get a super-duty paint
coating and they are ready to go. (Paint
versus tuff-coat seems to be one of the
things that differentiate European and U.S.
cabs, and DAS has wisely switched to tuffcoat since the review cabs were shipped.)
The only other thing we noted prior
to the gigs was that the “one amp per
speaker” scheme, while very flexible, could
be a bit easier to use. The current design
has two amps with separate control
panels, AC and audio inputs. In other
words, you need two Neutrik Powercon
cables for each cab and a short XLR patch
cable to go from the “thru” output of one
But small issues aside, DAS has built
some very rugged cabinets here. They’re
obviously designed to project quality
sound but also constructed to take some
serious abuse without crying about it.
And a dual 18-inch sub with dual 1,000watt amps is a hell of a value. So, let’s see
just how much sound we can got out of
these compact components.
The Shows
amp into the input of the second amp to
get the same signal to both amps. There
are two, count ‘em, gain controls—one for
each amp. Without a detent position (and
the pots do not appear to be calibrated),
the only way to be sure both amps are
running at the same level is to run them
both wide open. Internal switching of
the amps (A, B or A+B) and a single gain
control would be a nice touch.
My first event was a large corporate
awards show luncheon. Actually, it was the
Image Awards, which take place every year
in Los Angeles. There was a sit-down meal
for about 400 guests along with track and
dance acts of the hip-hop genre and, of
course, a parade of obligatory speakers. I
also had a solo acoustic piano player who
was setting the ambiance of the room as
the people arrived. At first, this seemed like
a lot of sound gear for such a small and
relatively quiet show. So, I only ran 1,000
watts per side with the subs. I didn’t think
I needed all that much thump for this
size of an event. What surprised me right
from the start was that the piano player
sounded great though the system even at
a very low volume. I had expected to have
to push some decibels through the speakers in order to get a good tonal response,
but I was pleasantly surprised. The whole
system sounded excellent for the track
acts, dancers and the speakers, which
made the event a success.
My next outing was also a sit-down
corporate gig, but with more than 900
people. I powered up both amps on each
sub, which gave me to total of 4,000 watts
of bottom. We had a country act for the
main entertainment along with a long
line of speakers, video clips (with lousy
sound) and an auction. The DAS Compacts
handled the speakers, auctions and video
sound with ease, and when the main band
took the stage, the sound system had
plenty of punch for everyone in the room.
I got a thumping kick drum sound and a
fat bass without compromising the guitars
or the vocalist. The lead singer was playing
an acoustic guitar that sounded rich and
stringy through the Compact 2s.
Probably the nicest thing about these
speakers is that they sound good right
from the start. You pretty much plug ‘em
in, and away you go. Both shows with the
DAS speakers were a great success. Of
course, I know when I have a good show,
but I really gauge a gig by whether or not
I get booked again. And yes, I got the two
events next year. The only problem is that
I won’t have these sweet DAS Compacts,
but who knows what DAS will have out
by then?
What is it: Self-powered compact
subs and satellite speakers
Who it’s for: Sound companies,
bands and installs.
Pros: They’re powerful and
sound great.
Cons: They need stronger wheels,
internal switching would be better
than the current format.
How Much: Compact 2: $4,201,
Compact 218 Sub-2000: $5,099
Mackie Onyx 80 Mixing Consoles
I received the flagship Onyx 4880
mixing console, but the Mackie Onyx 80
series consoles come in 24-, 32-, 40- and
48-channel versions so not everyone has
to deal 81.3 inches of desk girth and 149
lbs. of heft. Sporting 48 mono input
channels, eight stereo input channels,
eight aux busses, eight subgroups and a
10x2 matrix, the Mackie Onyx 4880 boasts
30
August 2005
200.0508.RoadTests.EP.indd 30
What it is: Mid-Market
Mixing Console
Who it’s for: Users wanting a rugged and ergonomic console with
excellent sounding signal paths.
Pros: Good looks, plenty of value,
sounds great.
Cons: Some control legends
not present.
How much: Mackie Onyx 4880
$6,699 MSRP
Ligh
consoles in this price range have those indicators on the back next to the input jack,
which makes them hard to see). A nice bit
of design, and an example of the ergonomic thinking involved in this console.
Up with the zero to 60dB preamp gain
knob are switches for phantom power,
100Hz low-cut filter, polarity and line/mic
input jack selection. Each channel gets an
XLR mic input and a balanced TRS line input, plus the TRS insert jack. And the direct
outputs are grouped eight to a D-subminiature 25-pin connector for convenient
personal recording system hookups.
After the insert jack, you will find one
of the best equalization sections I have
ever heard. The low-frequency control
continued on page 38
www.fohonline.com
7/30/05 2:28:31 PM
g
ting
pro features and design at a mid-market
price point.
Starting at the channel strips, I was surprised to see green LED indicators across
the top of the console where the phantom
power switch was activated (some other
Stagin
I
f you grew up on a Mackie mixing console, and the two of you parted ways as
you matured, I believe the Mackie Onyx
80 series is going to make you at least think
about coming back. Yes, it was a long time
coming, but not only did Mackie get it right
on the electronics and feature set, but the
rugged construction and the painstaking
attention to ergonomic detail puts to shame
other mixing consoles with price tags four
times as much.
Sound
By MarkAmundson
B
You
reso
for
edu
LightViper 1832 Snake
By JamieRio
W
e have all used and most of us
are still using traditional copper
conductor snakes. I can remember
doing early gigs without one and stringing
miles of cable, and later wondering how I
had done without a snake after buying my
first. But the LightViper 1832 is a very different type of snake. (Just so we stay on the
same page, this review is not a comparison
between the LightViper fiber optic snake
and a traditional one. As a matter of fact, the
LightViper has about as much in common
with a traditional snake as modern man has
with a Darwinian ape.) And, like that “aha!”
moment the first time you used a snake, after
going digital, you may wonder how you ever
made do with that big, heavy reel of copper.
Enough said, onward.
The Gear
g
Sound
Ligh
Stagin
ting
The LightViper is a 32x8 audio snake
that transmits light instead of audio
through what looks like (but is not) a
guitar cable. On one end of this tiny cable,
you have a powered stage box, and on the
console end, a powered mixer box. Each
input of the stage box employs a Neutrik
XLR/TRS combo connector. The box is laid
out in five banks of connectors (eight per
bank). The first four banks are inputs and
have their own switchable phantom power (you do not use the phantom power on
your console). The last bank is reserved for
the eight outputs. Each of the inputs has
three selectable gains settings (0, 26 and
46) and a clip indicator light. Zero is for line
level instruments (keys, CD player etc.), 26
is used with a condenser mic or a hot dynamic mic. And 46 is used for low-output
condenser mics and dynamic mics.
The top of the stage box also sports the
all-important sync LED. This light indicates
the status of the fiber optic link. Without
getting into things like word clock and
which device is the master, just remember
this simple phrase—green is good, red
is bad.
On the side of the stage box, we have
the fiber connections. Two tiny prongs
carry the entire 32x8 signal. It will blow
your mind when you look at this thing.
Also next to the primary fiber connections,
we have a split connection and room for
another split. Of course, you need additional cable and mixer boxes, but having
What is it: Fiber optic
audio snake
Who it’s for: Sound
companies, installs.
Pros: Quiet, light as a
feather, tough.
Cons: Need to label mixer end
XLRs one through 32.
How much: $8,646 MSRP as
configured, w/ 300 feet of fiber
all of this at your fingertips makes the
snake a very versatile and useful tool. You
also get a control circuit connector using a
RJ-45 data plug that provides six singledirection (mixer to stage box) CMOS or TTL
data lines.
At the other end of the snake is the
mixer box. All analog signals exiting this
unit are at line level. Exiting the mixer box,
the sends from the stage box are set up in
four groups of eight. Each group uses an
interconnect cable with a DB-25 plug at
one end and eight XLR connectors at the
other. The analog return uses the same
DB-25 plug and eight XLRs, and you have
the option of switching between analog
and digital. (However ,if you use the digital
option, you must use the Clock I/O. The
mixer box acts as the clock master.) There
are also 16 digital sends (via 2 DB-25 connectors ). These can go to a digital recorder
or console skipping one more D/A/D conversion. Next, we have the fiber connector.
Same deal, just the other end. And again
the control circuit connector.
Well, there you have it, more features
than you can imagine. Now let’s see (and
hear) how well they work.
The Show
The gig was with a nine-piece R&B
band. I think there were nine pieces. I
generally count inputs not musicians.
Plugging everything into the LightViper
was like my regular snake except for the
keyboards. Instead of using two direct
boxes I ran two quarter-inch cables from
his submixer right into the stage box. This
was a nice change.
The fiber optic cable is so small and
light I could have run it to my console in a
variety of different ways. If I’d needed to fly
it, that would have been a piece of cake.
Anyway, I ran into a little glitch back at
the mixer. The sends from the stage box
exit the mixer box in four groups of eight
XLR cables. Each group is numbered one
through eight. That’s great for the first
eight, but then nine through 16 are still
one through eight, as are 17 though 24.
My mind had great difficulty accepting
this and so did my tech’s. However, we
did manage to get everything plugged
in properly. (Though when we had a
problem later, it made hunting down the
right input more of a chore than it should
have been.)
Now, I only had to adjust the different
stage box input gain settings to match the
various mics. This step was not as cut and
dried as the manual would lead one to
believe. I had three condenser mics for the
brass section that should have run at 26
dB, but operated better at zero dB.
The lead singer also had a dynamic
condenser mic that wanted to run at
zero dB rather than 26 dB. I realize that
the LightViper people can’t take into
consideration every microphone out there,
but dialing each one individually can be
time-consuming.
Once I had everything up and running,
the snake became sonically invisible. You
really don’t want to think about a snake
and certainly don’t want to hear it once it’s
hooked up. The Viper is immune to RFI and
EMI and is truly quiet as a church mouse.
For that matter, it would probably do
very well as a permanent install piece in a
house of worship. Oh yeah, did I mention
that the fiber cable is just about bulletproof? Somehow, the cable got under a
leg of the stage toward the back line area.
This location would have crushed the life
out of a weaker cable, but had no ill effects
on the LightViper. Even with a rather stout
keyboard player sitting right over it.
There is no doubt that more and more
of the live audio world is going digital, and
the LightViper is just one of about a halfdozen digital snakes on the market with
more coming. Yes, they are more expensive, but this 32x8 snake with 100 meters
of interconnect fits in a case not much
larger than your average briefcase and
weighs maybe 20 lbs. Can you take your
copper snake on a plane as a carry-on?
The whole digital snake thing is an area
to watch, and the LightViper is quiet, easy
to use and one to really look at if you are
ready to “go digital.”
BOOKSHELF
1
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resource
for continued
education.
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August 2005
31
7/28/05 8:03:50 PM
The Biz
YAMAHA
Makes a Major Move
T
he ongoing consolidation of the audio
business took another giant step forward in June when Yamaha announced
that it had established a joint venture with
French line array and live sound technology
developer NEXO. The agreement calls for the
two companies to join forces in future product development and gives NEXO’s line arrays and other high-end PS products a much
deeper reach in the critical American and
Asian markets via Yamaha’s distribution and
marketing capabilities. Good for NEXO, which
has long made what many in the industry
feel is a quality, competitive product that has
been hamstrung by a marketing culture out
of its depth here.
Good for Yamaha too, as that company
apparently seeks to give the Harman International a run for its money as the big turnkey
solutions provider to the live sound and
installed audio businesses. Yamaha has always
had a foot in both the MI and pro audio
domains—the convergence of those two over
the last decade was a blessing for Yamaha,
enhancing what was already good synergy.
At many music technology retailers, there’s
an ongoing debate about whether the new
generation of keyboard-based digital audio
workstations are synthesizers or studios-in-a-
box. That kind of blurring of the line works in
Yamaha’s favor.
The Japanese company also embedded itself more deeply in the changing pro
audio landscape with its acquisition last
December of
Steinberg, maker
of softwarebased recording
system
Nuendo, the
only significant
challenger to the
hegemony of
the ubiquitous
Pro Tools. A few
months later,
AVID acquired
Pinnacle,
former owner
of Steinberg.
It’s this kind of
large-scale corporate chessboard that the
industry is morphing into—AVID/Digidesign
enters the live sound sector via their wellreceived VENUE touring console; any number
of other company product lines, from Mbox
to Pro Tools, help support that move; Yamaha,
already a major force in live sound with its PM
series consoles, among other products, fills
in a key hole in its lineup with a top-tier live
sound speaker maker.
(Ironically, Yamaha, whose NS-10 was
arguably the most widely-used two-way
speaker in
recording
studio history,
never
was able
to follow
up on that
success
in the
professional
transducer
domain. But
the current
paradigm
in global
industry is
if you can’t
develop what you need yourself, then you
buy someone who can.)
Then there’s Harman Pro, whose brand
family, with few exceptions, has been the
gold standard in live and installed sound.
Harman’s HiQnet inter-brand operational
protocol is as much a perceptual coup as
The current paradigm in
global industry is if you
can’t develop what you
need yourself, then you
buy someone who can.
32
200.0508.Biz.JH.indd 32
August 2005
By DanDaley
a technological one. It’s one further step
along a path that they, Yamaha, AVID/Digidesign and to a lesser extent, other companies,
including the Telex Group (E-V, Klark-Technik,
Midas) and Peavey (MediaMatrix, Crest), have
embarked down—to become single-source
systems providers.
It’s worth noting that another couple
of major pro audio moves lie outside these
particular boundaries. Solid State Logic (SSL)
has been plucked from the brink by two
investors, recording/performing artist Peter
Gabriel and broadcast audio entrepreneur
David Engelke, and AMS-Neve has been
acquired by Tom Misner, the owner of
multinational multimedia education
conglomerate SAE. There had been plenty
of speculation that either company (or both
of them) would have fit nicely into one of
these same turnkey conglomerates. Both
have top-tier technology and world-class
brand names. What neither has is a major
live sound product. You couldn’t ask for a
more stark delineation between the fortunes
of the studio and live sound sectors of the
music business.
You could, however, ask for a few more
companies, and that’s likely what you’ll get.
This kind of industry-scaled consolidation is
classic regardless of which industry it’s taking
place in, and it creates voids in the middle
of markets. Historically, that’s a good thing;
the start-ups that fill the market gaps left in
the wake of consolidations often grow into
much larger companies themselves, renewing the creative and financial landscape.
That said, there’s never been a landscape quite like this one before—just
ask Alan Greenspan, who readily admits
he can’t account for the continuing gap
between the 10-year Treasury note and
mortgage rates.
The real 600-pound gorilla in this room
is China, which is, when you factor in all
global transducer manufacturing, the world’s
largest manufacturer of speakers. It already
makes the chips that power most of the
world’s pro audio mixers and DSP boxes. In
case you wondered why the cost of trusses
has gone up in the last 18 months, it’s
because more of the steel has been bought
by China for other products. By the time you
read this, it’s possible China may already own
Chevron’s oil assets.
The Yamaha/NEXO deal is significant, but
it takes on greater significance when seen in
the context of a changing global economy.
But for the consumers, two or more
conglomerates is always better than one in
the end. Between Harman and Yamaha, and
USA, Inc. and China, Ltd., there’ll be enough
innovation at affordable prices to continue
to drive an industry.
www.fohonline.com
7/28/05 7:42:57 PM
In The Trenches
Dennis Cooper
Production Manager
Production Support Group, Inc.
Tallahassee, FL
850.562.1070
[email protected]
Quote: One hundred feet away and in the
dark, they’ll never know the difference.
Services Provided: Full service production
company. Sound, lighting, stage, AV.
Clients: 53rd Annual Florida Folk Festival,
Celebrate America 4th of July featuring
Andy Griggs, Florida State University’s
Last Call Before Fall featuring Jimmy Eat
World, Freightliner and Kohler Industries
sales meetings and trade shows, Swamp
Stomp
Personal Info: Old. Worked my first band
in 1977. Degree in speech and theater arts.
I have worked theatre, television, film, live
music, corporate theatre, theme parties and
gas pumps. I have worked with the same
production company for 20 years. Married,
two kids.
Hobbies: Fishing, sleep
Equipment: Thirty-two cabinets of QSC
WideLine line array. All Powerlight amps
under QSControl. EAW SB1000 subs. Allen
& Heath 48-channel ML 4000 and GL 4000
consoles. Klark EQs throughout and EAW
wedges. Shure and Audix mics.
Don’t Leave Home Without: Q-Box, CD wallet, aspirin
Rob Mondora
Production Manager City of Largo
Largo Cultural Center/Largo Special
Events
Largo, FL
727.587.6740, ex. 5122
[email protected]
many others. His responsibilities also include
organizing the annual Largo Music Festival,
which recently featured Survivor, Three Dog
Night, Don McLean, Lee Greenwood and The
Florida Orchestra.
Hobbies: Motorcycles, watersports, skiing,
travel, eBay
Quote: You’re only as good as your last gig.
Rob Mondora is a 40-year-old production
manager who has been in the entertainment
business for 20 years. He has spent the majority of his career in Florida working for the
USF Sun Dome Arena, Anheuser-Busch Entertainment, Walt Disney Company and the
Largo Cultural Center. Mondora is has skills in
sound, lighting and rigging, and enjoys putting together a solid team of technicians. He
runs a mid-sized performing arts center for
the City of Largo, Fla., and organizes production for special city events. The Largo Cultural
Center has recently hosted talent such as Eric
Burden & the Animals, The Fixx, The Atlanta
Rhythm Section, The Little River Band and
Console: Midas Verona
Speakers: Renkus-Heinz TC-3
Monitor Speakers: EAW JFX-560
House Amps: Renkus-Heinz P3500
Monitor Amps: Crown 24 x 6
Mics: Shure, AKG, Sennheiser, Crown
Processing: Lexicon, Ashley, Behringer, dbx,
Rane, Yamaha
Don’t Leave Home Without: Some cash to
buy pizza.
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 information.
Welcome To My Nightmare
ALL
I
WET
learned the hard way to never lend out gear to your friends. My
good friend came to me to borrow my new FOH board and new
monitor mixer. He needed it for his friend who was doing a show
out of town, so I said “OK, but I need it back in time for my show on
the following day, at the exact time I am to set up.”
The day of the gig, they rushed in, dropped off the boards and
took off right away, which was curious. My head tech pulled the board
out of its road case to find it dripping with water, and the case itself
had absorbed a lot of water as well. My tech phoned me where I was
working on another job, and I had to rent my old board that I had
just replaced with the new board, the one that was now soaking wet.
I was so embarrassed. Especially after bragging to the customer on
how good the new FOH board was and how the built-in effects were
just beautiful for what they needed. Boy, did I have egg on my face.
To make matters worse, my new monitor board, which I had also
just purchased, was also wet, but not as bad as my FOH board. For a
company that works from show-to-show, this was one blow to the
business that we did not need. To get the FOH board replaced and
keep a good friend was a new challenge. Nevertheless, the show went
on and the band was impressed with how professional we acted
under the circumstances we found ourselves in.
Grant Armstrong
Everlasting Sound
Regina, Saskatchewan
Gigs from Hell. We’ve all had ‘em and the good
folks at FOH want to hear about yours. Write it up
and send it to us and we’ll
illustrate the most worthy. Send your
nightmares to [email protected] or
fax them to 818.654.2485
http://go.to/tonygleeson
www.fohonline.com
200.0508.TrenchesNight.rg.indd 33
August 2005
33
7/28/05 8:13:27 PM
HTTP://GO.TO/TO
Theory & Practice
Rack Case
Design

I
believe the role of road cases is critically
important to the profitability of a sound
company. But not every case made out
there is really road-worthy. A lot of my anklebiter friends think I am insane to pay $600
or more on semi-custom rack cases to haul
power amplifiers and signal processing gear.
I look at it as cheap insurance to keep the
gear performing throughout its scheduled
life, and to put more gear on wheels instead
of having my back do the lifting. So this
month’s installment is about rack road
cases, and a guide to getting them built
and maintained.
Ruggedness
I am sorry to say it, but if you’re going to a
music or typical pro audio store to buy a rack
case, you’re falling prey to the idea of road
cases, and not the spirit. With the exception
of some smaller 3/8-inch wood signal processing rack cases for guest engineers, all the
lesser-shelled cases are just pieces of junk
chasing after your foolishly spent dollars. I
believe we all go through that phase with
quarter-inch plywood or blow-mold plastic
rack casing while learning the ropes, but
sooner or later you have to bite the bullet
and move up to professional half-inch
plywood under laminate casing. Yeah, it is
heavy, but behind all the wood and aluminum extrusions is a rack case that stands
to stick around for more than a decade of
road abuse.
Shock-Mount
or Pullover
All professional rack cases are “shockresistant” to a certain degree, but the
rack case designs typically come in two
versions—shock-mount or pullover. Shockmount rack cases look like music industry
(MI) rack cases, but have a surround of
foamed rubber a couple inches around
with an inner rack and an outer shell in
between. Typically, the bottom foam rubber
will be stiffer so it can handle the weight of
the inner rack and gear attached to it. And
shock-mount rack cases will obviously be a
little larger in dimensions, and have less rack
space efficiency inside.
Pullover rack cases do not have front and
rear lids, but instead have a single latched
seam at the bottom to come apart as a
The inner rack may also be constructed of
laminate-based wood and aluminum, or
epoxy-coated wood.
Rack Rails
The heart of the case is the front and
rear rack rails. These L-shaped steel pieces
with 10-32 taped holes follow the nearly
century-old telephone company specification for mounting 19-inch-wide rack gear in
1.75-inch height increments. Most professional racks will have a modest inch or two
rail recess from the inner rack wood or aluminum for clearance of control knobs, switches
and gear handles.
There may also be one or two sets of rear
rack rails for gear rear attachment, as heavy
gear needs to have some of its weight supported to avoid bending the faceplates on
“Sooner or later you have to bite the
bullet and move up to professional halfinch plywood under laminate casing.”
wheeled tray and a pull-over top, which
hides the inner rack during transportation.
Like shock-mount rack cases, the tray has
stiffer foam that the inner rack rests on, but
the top’s interior has a softer foam inner
lining that fits nicely with the inner rack.
By MarkAmundson
I hate to say it, but I agree with Henry Ford
when it comes to color. Satin black (between
gloss and flat) is my choice in laminate color
when it comes to rack cases. Not only to
hide dirt and dust, but it gets back to stage
psychology—anything black tends to be ignored by human eyes. Now, I understand that
you may choose a different primary color for
finding your cases during festival shows, but
in corporate gigs, black hides better backstage from a show planner’s perspective.
To maintain rack cases, periodic rag
dusting in the shop goes a long way. Spiders
and other critters just love collecting below
the castor boards if you give them a few
days. And I recommend a yearly treatment
of the roadie’s secret weapon, WD-40, to
maintain the satin look and to beat back
corrosion on the steel and aluminum
hardware. Do not lube the castors unless
they squeak, as every bit of oil or grease
lubrication will collect dust and dirt. Have a
can of silicone or graphite spray around for
lubrication when needed.
the front rack rails during rough transportation. Typical front-to-back rail-to-rail spacings
are 11, 14 and 18 inches, depending on
whether you have signal processing or short
or deep power amplifiers to contain within
the rack. A second, more rearward set of rails
may be installed for connector panels or fans.
Truck Packing
Most professional rack cases will be accessorized with hardware to facilitate the packing of many rack cases side by side. Little
things like recessed handles and latch plates
(spring-loaded) take up less air once inside
the truck or trailer. And having a 3/4-inch or
heavier wood castor board on the bottom
of the rack case is a necessity for case and
wheel attachment. Well-designed castor
boards should also have pairs of handgrip
holes on the edges for roadies to lift the rack
case when necessary.
Castors should be the four-inch (or larger)
rubber-wheel types. I believe most of us
know the thrill of dragging heavy rack cases
through soft sand or small gravel, and it is
next to impossible to do that with smaller
wheels. You do not have to buy the nice
Guitel swivel castor wheels, but the $15 to
$20 you will spend on each really is worth it.
If your truck or trailer is not equipped with
sidewall strap features—to hold the cases
captive during transportation—then I would
recommend upgrading the two rear castors
to locking types for minimizing movement
on the road. And locking castors are also
handy when they are placed on tilted surfaces or used as step stools.
34
Color My World
August 2005
200.0508.TheoryPrac.EP.indd 34
Build or Buy
I recommend everyone should at least
attempt to build some kind of roadcase just
to get an idea of the time and effort required.
This way, you will either enjoy it and take
on roadcase building as a sideline, or get
wise and pay someone handsomely for their
expertise. After building a pair of drum hardware cases, I learned quickly that the amount
of scrounging, gluing, screwing and riveting
was not for me anymore. But neither were
the cheap cases coming from the stores.
To find a good road case builder, do a little
networking to find out what other soundcos
are using. There are the national brands—
some of which advertise here in FOH—and
smaller road case shops that market by
word of mouth. Save the discount cases for
the musicians, buy quality rack cases with
half-inch or better wood construction from
good case builders and you may only have
to buy casing once. Buy once, cry once; buy
cheap, cry twice.
www.fohonline.com
7/28/05 8:10:50 PM
On the
Sound Sanctuary
M
any months ago, we discussed the
challenges that churches go through
when moving from temporary facilities to permanent locations. This is typically
a challenge, both in adjusting operational
methods and taking equipment out of road
cases and bolting it down (or hanging it up)
properly, safely and efficiently. I’d like to take
one look even further back and see how we
got the gear going in the first place.
I’ve recently been asked to provide designs and quotes for several churches that
are just starting out and require system mobility. The general requirements are typical:
• High portability (one van)
• Fast and simple setup (three volunteer
techs in 30 minutes)
• Professional quality sound for about 500
people (101dB at the back)
• Minimum of four channels of personal
monitors
• Minimum of two channels for stage
wedge monitors
• Minimum of four channels wireless mics
(one lavalier)
• Minimum of 24 channels of mix w/eight
subgroups
• Minimum four channels of comp/limiter
• One basic reverb/effects unit
• One gaggle of mics, stands, direct boxes
and mic cables
In most cases, budgets were tight, but not
completely unrealistic—maybe a maximum
of $20,000 delivered and ready to go.
Speakers are always where the electricity
meets the air, and you should never compromise any more than what you absolutely
have to there. I was never a big fan of molded boxes, but I must admit that there are a
few substantially good models available that
provide excellent tonal quality, portability
and the ease of powered speakers. They also
provide something that looks good once
you wipe it with a damp rag.
Having said that, I still prefer the sound of
a quality wood enclosure, but you will have
to listen to several speaker types to make
your own decision. If you are thinking about
installing the boxes permanently within
a year or two, spend a little more and get
speakers with real flyware that are designed
to do so.
Notice how I mentioned powered speakers. I have my preferences for permanent installation, but for portability, powered is the
you’ll get good storage and portability in four
smaller units that the volunteers can muscle
around much more safely when needed, and
stack them up to create a well-positioned
mix height. Break down your racks logically
by equipment type and purpose, maybe one
for wireless and mic storage and one for FOH
effects. This will also keep your interconnect
cables simple.
If you plan it out well, you’ll never have to
do anything but set the console case in
position, pop off the top lid and make one
main connection. Don’t settle for something that doesn’t fit right—you need your
console to work every time!
way to go. Typically, you’ll eliminate cabling,
save weight, simplify setup and save time.
In the meantime, you will have to carry the
darn things, so plan to have dollies or hand
trucks. If you must have subwoofers (and you
should), try to resist bolting cheap casters
directly to the cabinets. This will eventually
tear up the integrity of the framing, and you’ll
go nuts chasing rattles while the worship
team plays.
Think creatively, and either way, you could
easily expect to get five to 10 years out of
a decent speaker with no problems (much
more if you pamper them).
Racks—do not skimp too much here. Good
casters and overall construction will last a
couple decades, if the racks don’t fall off the
truck! If your ins and outs are simple and driving distances are short, don’t worry too much
about vibration isolation—although those
racks are infinitely better, they will be slightly
larger and much more expensive. I also suggest using several different racks instead of
trying to stuff every last bit of gear into one
or two 24-space units. If you think it through,
Everyone has their preferences for mix
consoles, but this piece of equipment is
basically the hub through which everything
passes on its way to live output and recording. Once you hear the difference between a
$3,000 console and a $599 console, you will
never go back to the bargain units. Typically,
the better units are well worth the extra
money, and with an overhaul every six to 10
years, will outlast their cheapie counterparts.
By RichardRutherford
Road cases for your console can be
simple enough, but my experience is that
spending an extra $50 to $100 for a “doghouse” lets you leave the pigtail of your
main snake patched in and stored in the
case. This simplifies (and speeds up) setup
time for the typical volunteer, and saves a
lot of wear and tear on connectors as well. If
you plan it out well, you’ll never have to do
anything but set the console case in position, pop off the top lid and make one main
connection. Don’t settle for something that
doesn’t fit right—you need your console to
work every time!
Unless you have an enormous 48-channel console, avoid wheels on the case. Use
a dolly if you must for rolling down the
hallway, but side or end casters mean that
the console always seems to get rolled into
storage and left just waiting to be tipped
over. It happens all the time.
Bargain hunt for utility cases if you must,
but be sure to get some at some point. You
will have extension cables, snakes and stuff
you never thought of! Again, get several
smaller units that can be moved by an enthusiastic (but small) volunteer if needed.
And here’s a hint: Labeling cases plainly
will also take the stress out of those early
Sunday mornings. And the bigger the casters, the better!
Pack it right, pack it light and get
it moving.
Move
800.890.1073
www.kangaroocases.com
www.fohonline.com
August 2005
35
200.0508.Ads.ss.indt 34
7/30/05 3:46:54 PM
200.0508.Ads.ss.indt 37
7/28/05 8:31:10 PM
Mackie Onyx 80 Mixing Consoles
continued from page 30
is a shelving type at 80Hz with +/-15dB of
range. Similarly, the high-frequency control
is a shelving type at 12KHz and +/-15dB
of range. And two swept mid-frequency
controls are nicely done with 100Hz to 2KHz,
and 400Hz to 8KHz ranges and +/-15dB of
boost/cut adjustment. Besides the EQ bypass
switch, each channel has 4-LED metering
post-EQ and pre-mute with -20, 0, +10 and
overload indications.
The eight auxiliary sends are grouped
in pairs (2+2+2+2) with switches for prefader selection. Also added are companion
switches for stereo implementation of each
pair of aux sends, with the second control
becoming a L-R balance control. For panning, a basic L-R control is provided with
assign switches for 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8 and
mains selections. Sandwiched in-between
the fader and pan control are the four mute
group switches. I like this cluster mute group
design, in that you cannot get the channel
assign and mute group switches confused
with each other.
The channel fader is a quality 100-millimeter type with 50% of its taper in the +/-10dB
range. Clustered with the fader is the 4-LED
metering, channel assigns, large mute switch
with LED and PFL switch with LED. What
I like about the Onyx 80 switches is that
they spent the extra pennies to bi-color the
switches, so that switches up show a white
stripe on the switch shaft, and single button
color when down. This makes the switch
position indication nice and obvious, so you
are not over-thinking the channel
strip configuration.
Master Section
The Onyx 80 series master section includes
the eight stereo input channels, each with
fixed frequency four-band equalization and
a 60mm fader with four-LED metering, mutes
and PFLs. While not a 100mm fader, it does
help with effects returns and the +/-20dB
gain controls help a lot for effects and various types of playback deck interfacing. The
auxiliary send master controls are pretty
much the normal rotary control surrounded
by mute and AFL switches. The eight subgroup faders are much the same with mute
and AFL switches, but get four-LED metering,
main mix assign switches and pan controls
for positioning the groups in the stereo main
mix. And nicely located are the fader-flip
switches to swap aux masters with
corresponding subgroups for monitor
mix function.
Master metering is basic with four groups
of 12-LED bar graphs, two dedicated for
L-R masters and the other two assigned
for PFL and AFL selections. This may not be
enough for picky monitor mix users, but good
enough with all the four-LED metering at
the channels and aux/subgroup faders. The
talkback section is basic, but adequate with a
gain control, latching talk switch and assign
switches for auxiliary bus pairs, subgroups
and mains routing. The four mute group masters included a LED grouped with each switch
for prominent display of status. Monitoring is
straightforward with a mains to headphones
switch, solo level control and separate headphones and monitor master send controls.
I especially liked the tilted headphone jack
grouped with the monitor section that makes
it extremely easy to remove the headphone
plug. Nothing’s worse than breaking out the
Leatherman pliers to pull out the headphone
plug because there is too little connector grip
area around the recessed headphone jack.
In The Field
Before getting out to the gigs, I did the
shop checkout of the Mackie Onyx 4880
console. I really liked the rugged but
smooth feel and lines of this console. The
4880 has three four-pin XLR Littlelite sockets
across the top of the console, so control
surface lighting is easy to procure and get
plenty of illumination across the work surface. My first checks were with a CD
player and TS plugs checking the channel
strips and master signal flows by way of a
half-insert signal injection, and immediately
fell in love with the channel EQ sections
and the way the master circuits kept the
signals unmolested.
Rechecking with a vocal microphone,
the preamps worked as advertised. Out at
the gigs, the Onyx 4880 worked like the
professional desk it really is. The intelligent
layout, good ergonomics and clean signal
processing made the shows a joy to set up
and run. And plenty of compliments from
the listening audience confirmed what I
had heard.
Going through my notes, and looking for
niggles among all the praise I was gathering,
I only found one. That niggle was that the
aux sends and some gain controls did not
have center point legends, or no clue where
unity gain was, or in some cases, the gain
range. It is not a big issue as more of us mix
with our ears than our eyes, but having that
little extra information on our gain structure
would help.
SoundBroker.com
(702) 736-3003
Sales of prosound and lights, new and used
38
August 2005
200.0508.Index.ss.indd 38
www.fohonline.com
7/30/05 2:26:04 PM
AES
A-Line Acoustics
Anvil Case Crest Audio
D.A.S. Sound Products dbx
DiGiCo Consoles
Digidesign
Fiberplex ISP Technologies
JBL Professional
Kangaroo Cases
Level Control Systems Mackie
Meyer Sound
Phonic
Power Plus
Radian Audio Engineering
Rane Corporation
Roland
Rutherford Design
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URL
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Sound Productions INDEX
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For advertiser information go to www.fohonline.com and click on Instant Info.
Shure Mourns Loss of Three Employees
continued from front cover
love for music by playing drums in a band
outside of work. “Despite involvement with
his well-known band Silkworm, he never
slacked on the job,” said Mike Lohman with
Shure. “He was a talented writer who was
always willing to go the extra mile.”
Glick, 35, started with Shure in June 2001 as a senior marketing specialist, and
Lohman said that his dedication to the job
was indicative of his passionate, curious
personality. “His co-workers were always
surprised by how much he knew about a variety of subjects and his willingness to
learn more,” Lohman said.
Meis, 29, had been employed with Shure the longest, starting in his position as a customer service specialist in Decem-
ber 1998. Lohman noted that Meis was a
popular people person around the office. “He was the person in the customer service department who everyone always counted
on for help, whether it was a computer malfunction or a service problem,” Lohman said.
Shure held a company-wide memorial
service on July 20—and Lohman indicated
that the mood at Shure was still griefstricken
10 days after the accident—but that wasn’t
the only commemoration of the victims.
The local paper Skokie Review reported
that Heather Whinna, a friend of Dahlquist’s,
held a memorial service in her home music
studio, which attracted 400 mourners.
Friends and family of the victims have
also been gathering at hearings for the
woman who allegedly rammed her car into
the three while they were sitting at a stoplight. Jeanne Sliwinski, 23, of Morton Grove,
Ill., has been charged with three counts of
first-degree murder and is being held without bond.
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200.0508.Index.ss.indd 39
August 2005
39
7/30/05 2:26:42 PM
FOH-at-Large
There’s No
Crying
in Monitors!
By BakerLee
M
y friend Abby, who is Cyndi Lauper’s
tour manager, called me the other
day and asked if I would like to do
a one-night stand minding the monitors for
Ms. Lauper and her band. The show was to be
at the new Time Warner Center in New York
City, and we were to play The Rose Theater
as part of the Pride Week celebration. Ms.
Lauper and her band were to close the show
with three songs after a variety of acts from
Broadway singers to dancers, all backed by
a small orchestra. Rose Hall, which holds the
theatre, is a brilliant architectural structure
that can supposedly shape-shift and transform into the perfect venue for any style of
gig. I think the intention was that it could
morph into a larger or smaller jazz venue,
and not necessarily a rock ‘n’ roll venue.
I was informed that on the day of the
show there would only be about an hour
to do a soundcheck, but that the technical crew could get into the theater the day
before to set everything up in advance. In the
past, I had been involved with other Cyndi
Lauper shows and was aware that, while she
performs well, she tends to be a tad excitable
at times. Throwing all caution to the wind,
as I am wont to do, I accepted the chance to
spice up my normally boring life by assuming the monitor position.
Masque Audio provided the audio
equipment at Rose Hall, and Luis Lojo was
the system tech overseeing the care and
well-being of the gear. The provided console
was a Soundcraft MH4, and onstage, I had
five mixes of PMs, a pair of JBLTT129 wedges
downstage center for Ms. Lauper, a JBL
wedge for the guitarist, JBL6215 sidefills run
in stereo and a JBLTT149 drumfill. Because
none of the band members could make it
to the theatre for the setup, I dialed in my
drum sound while the drum tech played. I
rang out the wedges and fills, and dialed in
a phantom mix for everyone based on how I
imagined they might sound. Satisfied that all
necessary lines and busses were operative, I
left the theatre with full certainty that on the
following day, all would be revealed.
The next day, when I was introduced to
Ms. Lauper as her monitor engineer du jour,
she bypassed the formality stage and went
right for the familiar. In her signature voice,
she stated as a matter of fact: “Remember,
there’s no crying in monitors!” Anyone
familiar with the great Tom Hanks baseball
movie A League of their Own will remember
the scene where his character, the frustrated
manager of an all-female baseball team,
yells at one of his players: “Are you crying?
There’s no crying in baseball! There’s no
crying in baseball!” Being a sucker for anything baseball, I related immediately to Ms.
Lauper’s forewarning as she and the band
started pitching me curve balls.
Anybody who has assumed the position
behind a monitor desk should be aware
that the title of “monitor engineer” is often
synonymous with the title of “whipping
boy,” despite the fabulous skill and professionalism they might display at their chosen
40
August 2005
200.0508.FOHatLarge.JH.indd 40
career. A monitor engineer
must—at all times—be
detached yet totally
involved in what is taking
place. They must recognize
that the star of the show
and the band have immense
pressures weighing upon
their little musical shoulders—if the star cannot
hear properly and puts on
a lousy show, or if the band
plays disjointedly because
of a poor monitor mix,
nobody is going to leave
the venue thinking, “Her
monitor engineer must have
screwed up.” Even the Front
of House engineer can get
testy with the monitor engineer because most people
in the audience will blame
them for every little squeak
and squeal coming from the
stage.
Getting back to the
baseball analogy, a monitor engineer has to treat
every show as if it were
the seventh game of the
World Series. Not just that,
but they’re up to bat in the
bottom of the ninth inning
with their team down by
one run. The tying run is
on second and the count
is three balls and two
strikes. A base hit will tie
the game, a home run will
win it and one more strike
is unacceptable. That said, I stepped into
the batter’s box and waited for the pitch,
despite the fact that in the monitor world,
there are always two strikes against you.
My training has always been to watch
the person who is paying me as if my job
depended upon it. So I did. Ms. Lauper
started off by yelling at me to turn up the
wedges: “More piano, louder. Turn up the
sidefills, louder, more, OK! Turn up my voice
in the ears. It sounds terrible, boost 600Hz,
now! Boost 3k, now! Turn it up, now!” I tried
to comply, and no matter what I thought of
her demands, I was determined to give her
what she needed. Unfortunately, the rest of
the band was not to be ignored, and I began
receiving demands from the violinist, the
pianist, the drummer and the guitarist all at
the same time. The bassist didn’t even care
to wait and came to the board to inform
me that he had mixed Ms. Lauper’s records.
He began to dial in his own mix, which was
fine with me, though if it were any other
time I might have rushed the mound, totally
enraged by the blatant brush-back pitch.
Normally, I would have brought everything
to a halt and just gone around the horn one
musician at a time. But due to the limited time
we had for a sound check and my newness on
the job, I wanted to make sure I read all the sig-
nals correctly to avoid getting into any power
struggles. Fortunately, Ms. Lauper made the call
herself, and starting with her, I went around the
stage until everything was dialed in properly
and the team was comfortable. By that time,
the stage manager was pacing up and down,
trying to get us off the stage so that he could
get the ground crew working on the finishing
touches before the doors opened to the public.
Our allotted time was up!
When we finally took the field to close
out the game, the three-song show went
smoothly, and despite some directives to
make a few changes during the performance,
I didn’t strike out. As a matter of fact, I got on
base and drove in the run, which was no easy
feat with all the curves, cutters and sinkers
that were thrown at me. I do appreciate the
great teamwork provided by Luis, Russell and
the rest of the crew at Rose Hall. They too
seemed to realize that while each player on
the team is important, it is the monitor engineers that are in a league of their own. While
the monitor position is as tough as guarding
home plate against a bean-ball pitcher, the
main thing to remember in situations such
as these is to keep cool, don’t take anything
personally and don’t charge the mound
And last, but not least, in the words of
Cyndi Lauper: “There’s no crying in monitors!”
Coming
Next
Month...
• Production Profile
How do you mix the room
when you are getting 99 dB
off the stage from backline
and monitors? We get the
answer from the guys on the
current Robert Plant tour.
• FOH Interview
How far is heaven? When your
manning monitors for Los
Lonely Boys, it looks pretty
close.
www.fohonline.com
7/30/05 2:24:05 PM
8/5/05 9:33:11 AM
7/28/05 9:48:02 PM