Mixing To The Next Level

Transcription

ATK AudioTek Takes Control of Chaos at
Superbowl, Grammys and Oscars
By Breanne George
ThE NEws MagazinE For LivE Sound
MARCH 2008 Vol. 6 No. 6
Mixing To The Next Level
VALENCIA, CA — As sound company for three of the highest profile events in
entertainment — The Superbowl, Grammy Awards and Oscars — this time of year is
certifiably insane for ATK Audiotek.
“It’s just become a really hellacious
period for us — and that’s just the big
profile shows,” says Scott Harmala,
vice president of engineering and coowner of ATK Audiotek in Valencia, Calif. We’re doing six or seven substantial
shows simultaneously.” (The company
also works on American Idol, Dancing with
the Stars and a number of award shows,
including the MTV Movie Awards).
ATK, with the help of FOH Entertainment Engineer Patrick Baltzell and FOH
Stadium Engineer Jack Bowling, was in
charge with not only the pregame entertainment and halftime show, but also
So, Neil Rosenbaum hears the
the sound during the game and postphone ringing in his office one day last
game activities.
August and his boss is on the other side.
The mainstay of the gear included
The Jobbing.com Arena production
two Yamaha PM5D consoles and a
manager picks up to hear the order to
Ya m a h a M 7 C L .
continued on page 6
completely revamp the audio system.
Good news. Bad news? It’s got to be
done by Oct. 4 when the arena’s prime
occupant, the Phoenix Coyotes of the
NHL, opens its season. Rosenbaum,
who had been on the job for about a
By Breanne George
year before that call, knew that it was
FARMINGDALE, NY — Back when big
coming based on the gear that was in
hair was all the rage, Culture Club was
the building. “As soon as I came to the
exploding on the music scene and DiGibuilding, it was very apparent that the
Co was Soundtracs, Jack Kelly, Bob Doyle
sound system was budget constructed,”
and David Webster worked together
he states. “There were some corners cut
at Klark Teknik. Eventually, Kelly went
with the sound system that was put in
on to form pro audio distributor Group
the building.” There were issues with
One Ltd., while Doyle and Webster broke
intelligibility, energy and consistency.”
away and turned Soundtracs into what
Check out if Rosenbaum made the tight
is today known as digital console manutimeframe on page 28.
facturer DiGiCo. Today, the Trio is once
again reunited in a recent distribution
agreement between the two companies
Wither Monitors?
— Group One is now the exclusive U.S. 24
We uncover the latest monitoring trends
distributor of DiGiCo products within
from self-mixing to multiple consoles.
the U.S. and Puerto Rico.
Although this will be the first busiRoad Test
ness venture between the two compa- 34
LiveWires personal monitors get road
nies, Kelly, who is president of Group
tested at the Fremont Street Experience in
One, has known Webster and Doyle on
Sin City.
and off for more than 20 years. “I knew
Regional Slants
the characters involved and felt very
We take a trip to audio paradise with Bruce
comfortable working with them,” he 36
Sandler of Hawaii’s Village Audio & Lighting.
says. “We tend to think
continued on page 8
What a Job at
Jobbing.com Arena
DiGiCo, Group One
(Re)Unite
You might never look at video games the same way again. Video Games Live transforms
the solitary and immersive act of playing a video game into an entertainment-packed
spectacle attended by thousands. An orchestra and choir play the scores of popular video
games, as both random and preprogrammed game playing takes place on a jumbo screen for
the crowd to watch — and cheer for. (Don’t you wish you had this setup in your living room?)
The show is a strange culmination of classical and rock music, but the linear concert vibe
switches to an unpredictable score once members of the audience are brought onstage to
play a real-time game. The music follows the player’s actions for an unpredictable rhythmic
roller coaster complete with sound effects. You can imagine how that makes the audio crew
sweat. Get your game on and turn to page 22.
Queens of the Stone Age Perform Underground
SONDERSHAUSEN, GERMANY — California desert rockers Queens of the Stone Age went for
a radical change of scene recently when they performed an exclusive one-off gig for 300 fans in
a German salt mine.
Billed as the world’s deepest gig ever, fans were transported 2,300 feet underground to hear
Queens of the Stone Age perform through a Crest Audio Pro 200-powered sound system supplied
by audio rental and production specialists Complete Audio Berlin.
Complete Audio’s André Rauhut admitted that the Sondershausen salt mine definitely
ranked at the top of his “most unusual venue” list, and was pretty close to
continued on page 8
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CoNtENts
MARCH
2008, Vol. 6.6
FOH Interview
What’s hot
Feature
Features
22 Production Profile
Video Games Live transforms the solitary
act of playing video games into a musical
spectacle unlike anything FOH has seen
before.
24 New Trends in Monitoring
18
We take a trip to monitor world with Parnelli
runner-up Kevin “Tater” McCarthy.
28 Installations
38 Sound Sanctuary
When it comes to sound level, one church’s
whisper is another church’s roar.
39 The Bleeding Edge
Do you UNdrstand Wut EyeAm Saying?
Learn the secret to successful “spoken
word” events.
40 The Biz
It’s tax time again…ugh. Here’s some tips
every sound guy should know.
What a job — the install at Glendale, Ariz.’s
Jobbing.com Arena required a good,
strong roof to hang a six-array system 100
feet above.
42 Theory & Practice
30 Vital Stats
FOH begs the question — how much are
you worth?
We ask Digidesign’s Robery Scovill some
prying, thought-provoking questions —
like what cartoon character he would be…
Regional Slants
What’s hot
FOH checks out the latest trends in monitoring, including multiple engineers and
consoles, mixed systems, self-mixing and
other wacky stuff.
Columns
We give you round two, on soldering
that is.
48 FOH-at-Large
Departments
32 Buyers Guide
We look at some valuable tools that
make life a breeze when using personal
monitors.
34 Road Test
LiveWires personal monitors get road
tested at the Fremont Street Experience in
Las Vegas.
35 Road Test
36
Bruce Sandler went to Hawaii on vacation 15
years ago… He’s still there today. We chat with
the owner of Village Audio & Lighting about
another day in audio paradise.
FEEDBACK
We spotlight an unsung hero in the live
sound world with Community’s SONUS
series of loudspeakers.
2
4
5
12
14
15
16
44
Feedback
Editor’s Note
News
International News
On The Move
New Gear
Showtime
In the Trenches
44 Welcome To My Nightmare
Don’t you hate it when a wise-guy “kid”
thinks he knows everything? This sound
guy does too…
training the Faithful
Jamie,
Been reading your articles for a while in FOH. The one in the Feb. 2008 issue forced
me to write this e-mail. EXCELLENT article and so right on!!!
I am a former worship and media pastor [40 years]. We started our company in
2001 to mostly serve churches, since this is something we understand from the inside
out. You have an awesome grasp of what the market is all about. This whole thing of
"Training the Faithful" is so important. By the way, your person from the Pasadena
church must have a bunch of brothers or cousins all over the Southeastern portion
of the U.S.
I am also currently teaching lighting/sound/video to church music and music ed
students at the Baptist College of Florida once a week. I am very interested in the
training you do with churches in the areas of EQ that you mention in the article. Would
you be willing to share any of that material with us?
We also do training in the churches both for our install and just to hold a tune
up training. This includes our coming in early in the day with SmaartLive and going
thru the sound system and tuning. Then in the evening we have a class for their crew.
I usually begin with signal flow and move forward from there and usually do training
and a hands-on mixing session in the same evening in the churches. The hands-on
portion involves bringing in the band and praise singers or whatever type of small
groups the church has and teach the volunteers how to mix with me assisting them as
they have their hands on the desk. I like your idea of having several classes and also
going back for a checkup.
Thanks again for your writing in the mag!
Greg Hochstetler
President
GNH Productions, Inc.
Gainesville, FL
greg@gnhpro.com
Editor’s Note
By BillEvans
Here Kitty Kitty…
Publisher
Terry Lowe
tlowe@fohonline.com
T
here is a famous thought exercise in
quantum physics known as Schrodinger’s Cat. You probably already
know it, but here’s a quick review for the
rest of us. Erwin Schrodinger was an opponent of quantum theory. The theory holds
that until an even is observed or measured,
all possible outcomes exist equally — an
idea Schrodinger found ridiculous.
The thought exercise was to place a living cat into a steel chamber, along with a
device containing a vial of cyanide. There
is, in the chamber, a very small amount of a
radioactive substance. If even a single atom
of the substance decays during the test period, a relay mechanism will trip a hammer,
which will, in turn, break the vial and kill the
cat. The observer cannot know whether or
not an atom of the substance has decayed,
and consequently, cannot know whether
the vial has been broken, the cyanide released, and the cat killed. Since we cannot
know, the cat is both dead and alive according to quantum law. It is only when we break
open the box and learn the condition of the
cat that it becomes one or the other (dead
or alive). This situation is sometimes called
the Observer’s Paradox: The observation or
measurement itself affects an outcome, so
that the outcome does not actually exist
unless the measurement is made.
So why the talk about the cat? More
recently has come the discovery of something called the Zeno Effect. Physicists have
discovered that they can slow down subatomic activity (the Zeno Effect) or speed
it up (the Inverse Zeno Effect) just by measuring it. The way they measure, what they
measure and when they measure determines whether subatomic processes will be
accelerated or impeded. The measurement
system and philosophy in play will have a
significant impact on the outcome.
The point is that the way we measure
things can have a real influence on our
success. Sometimes, we have to go deeper
than the “I did X gigs in 2007 for a net of
$Y. If I do better than that in ’08, I have succeeded. If not, I have failed.”
The truth is that given current conditions, many of us will do fewer gigs for less
money this year and next than we have in
the past. But does that mean we are failing? In a recent article, Kim Marcille looks
at how we can accelerate our success rather than impede it just by changing how
we measure things. (Kim is the founder
of Possibilities Amplified, Inc., former vice
president of new initiatives for the Miami
Herald Media Company and the author
of the forthcoming, Amp It Up! And Other
Secrets from Science for Creating the Life of
Your Dreams. (PossibilitiesAmplified.com
or e-mail Kim@possibilitiesamplified.com)
Here are four of her steps for applying the Inverse Zeno Effect to measuring
business success. (Warning: We are talking
sales here, something many of us look at
with disdain. Call it sales or “booking a gig,”
it is the same thing.)
1. Change the context
Measurement in sales is usually associated with judgment. By shifting the
purpose of the measurement system from
administering judgment to creating value,
the conversations around the numbers
can change. What can be learned from the
measurements you’re taking? How can you
apply this information to create new opportunities?
2. Change the focus
We have a tendency to focus on the
numbers that mean trouble, rather than
the numbers that spell success; a sure
formula for applying the Zeno Effect and
impeding results. For example, we look at
the missed gigs and the lost clients rather
than looking at the gigs we actually did.
Why were those gigs successful? Were
they all in a specific niche? Was there more
frequent contact with the client, or less?
Focus on what went right and how to recreate it.
3. Pick the right measures
Are your measurements selective
enough? For example, if gigs from existing clients are declining, measuring overall
jobs in a given period won’t help, whereas
measuring the number of sales to new clients will.
4. Look forward, not back
Reviewing the past has limited value.
Instead, plan future growth in different areas by specific amounts in given periods.
Working those plans will return greater results, because by making this shift in focus,
you will have inspired your staff with a vision of a better tomorrow.
It may just come down to looking
past the areas in which you have traditionally been successful. Maybe your focus has been corporate gigs and installs
— two areas almost sure to be down in
the near future. Have you looked at gigs
that are less affected by economic conditions? Have you gone after things like
city- and county-sponsored events? How
about events and venues where entertainment and production are considered
so crucial that they are part of the basic
budgeting and not really subject to economic reality? Those kinds of gigs do exist and small, but smart companies have
made a good living for a lot of years by
serving them.
Bottom line is that we are likely in for
a bumpy year or two, but the way you
measure your success can make all the
difference. Be creative. Look for opportunities where they are not obvious. Remember, until things actually happen, all
possibilities exist. It is all in the way you
look at it. Kind of like that cat.
Editor
Bill Evans
bevans@fohonline.com
Managing Editor
Breanne George
bg@fohonline.com
Technical Editor
Mark Amundson
mamundson@fohonline.com
Contributing Writers
Jerry Cobb, Brian Cassell,
Dan Daley, Jamie Rio,
Steve LaCerra, Nort Johnson,
David John Farinella, Ted Leamy,
Baker Lee, Bryan Reesman,
Tony Mah, Larry Hall,
Ken Rengering
Photographer
Steve Jennings
Art Director
Garret Petrov
gpetrov@fohonline.com
Production Manager
Linda Evans
levans@fohonline.com
Graphic Designers
Crystal Franklin
cfranklin@fohonline.com
David Alan
dalan@fohonline.com
Web Master
Josh Harris
jharris@fohonline.com
National Sales Manager
Dan Hernandez
dh@fohonline.com
National Advertising Director
Gregory Gallardo
gregg@fohonline.com
General Manager
William Hamilton Vanyo
wvanyo@fohonline.com
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MARCH 2008
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News
Electro-Voice Produces CD Compilation to Support
Families and Survivors of Bridge Disaster in Minneapolis
BURNSVILLE, MN — Pro audio equipment manufacturer Electro-Voice, and parent company, Robert Bosch North America
LLC, have organized and released a 3-CD
compilation of national artists to benefit
Minnesota Helps Bridge Disaster relief effort. Exclusive studio and live tracks comprise the lineup of the now available 3-CD
benefit compilation — Musicians for Minneapolis: 57 Songs for the I-35W Bridge Disaster
Relief Effort. One hundred percent of proceeds raised through the sale of the CD will
be donated to the Minnesota Helps: Bridge
Disaster Fund.
The compilation features both released
and unreleased tracks from Los Lobos, Dick
Dale, Steve Vai, DJ Spooky, Howe Gelb, Sparklehorse, Calexico, Les Claypool, Joey DeFrancesco, Jim Lauderdale, Joe Bonamassa, George
Clinton, Lee Scratch Perry and many more.
The benefit originates from Electro-Voice’s
historic and current artist endorsement program and the global philanthropic efforts of its
parent company, Robert Bosch North America
LLC, a division of Bosch.
Tom Hansen, Bosch Communications
Systems vice president, Americas, remarks:
“In keeping with the Bosch tradition of phi-
lanthropy, we decided to turn this wellmeaning concern into charitable action,
inviting friends of Electro-Voice from
across all musical genres to participate in
a benefit CD Project: Musicians for Minneapolis: 57 Songs for the I-35W Bridge Disaster Relief Effort. We’ve also partnered with
major music retailers and hope to make
a significant financial contribution to the
relief fund. Electro-Voice (EV) has been a
part of America’s musical community for
80 years, so it’s great to see such a wide
range of artists join forces to support EV’s
I-35W bridge disaster in Minneapolis
local community in a time of need.”
They Disagree
On Everything
Except their
Microphones
NILES, IL — massAV of Billerica, Mass.,
managed an event staging for John McCain
during the heated presidential campaign.
Steve Shepard, the firm’s chief audio engineer, used Shure’s UHF-R Wireless Microphone System. “John McCain can be fairly
soft-spoken, and he doesn’t have the best
mic technique, but with UHF-R you can still
get what you need out of him and his voice
comes across clearly, even if he occasionally wraps his hand around the transmitter’s
antenna,” Shepard says.
Working on the other side of the political spectrum at times, Stan Dickerson
of OSA International used a good portion
of its 20 channels of UHF-R with Shure’s
subminiature WL51 lavalier microphones
for L.A. campaign stops featuring appearances by Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. “The candidates need to hear
themselves, and both the live audience
and those watching the broadcast need
to hear the candidates,” he says. “Any deviation from that plan would be disastrous.
Being able to rely on your microphones
and wireless systems without worry frees
you up to concentrate on other pressing
matters at hand, which there always seem
to be plenty of.”
Both John McCain and Barack Obama using Shure mics at
campaign events
www.fohonline.com
2008 MARCH
5
News
ATK AudioTek Controls Chaos at
Superbowl, Grammys, Oscars
continued from cover
The PA system comprised 72 JBL VerTec
4889s, 40 VerTec 4880 subwoofers, in addition to ATK’s M2C and M5 custom-designed
stage monitor speakers. The crew included 45
professional sound engineers and about 65
volunteers to get the stage assembled in such
a short timeframe. “It’s kind of a controlled
chaos condition during those five or six minutes because you have so many people with
so many things going on in the same space,”
Harmala says. “Then boom — it’s time to do
a rock show — and then 12 minutes later, it’s
the same kind of controlled chaos disassembling and taking everything off the field.”
According to Harmala, this year’s halftime show — Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers — was one of the smoothest to date
and relatively uneventful compared to previous years. “I think, all in all, people had
low expectations for Tom Petty being able
to carry a halftime show. He’s been around
forever, he’s got a million hits, but I don’t
know if he’s thought of as a halftime event
like Prince or the Rolling Stones. But everyone I talked to, and certainly for ourselves,
it was an enjoyable concert despite the fact
that it was only four songs.”
Alicia Keys warmed up the crowd as the
opening act, while American Idol season sixwinner Jordin Sparks sang the National Anthem.
Both performers used Shure UHF-R wireless
and Sennheiser G2 wireless personal monitoring systems. In addition, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers also used G2s and sang through a halfdozen Neumann KMS 150 microphones.
“The Superbowl is a whole different animal
— it’s completely different than anything else
we do,” Harmala says. “The award shows are
quite similar; they are both very scripted and
orchestrated and take place in more conventional venues such as arenas and theatres. You
don’t have to be a magician to deploy something from nothing in five minutes.”
The 50th Annual Grammy Awards, known
throughout the industry as “Music’s Biggest
Night,” celebrated 50 years with a mix of today’s
hottest performers and music industry legends
at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. With 20 live
performances, the award show is always a balancing act for ATK, which has to deal with each
artist and his or her particular needs.
“While most artists are receptive to the
fact that it’s a major show and they are just
one aspect of it, flexibility and a heavy foot
are often necessary to tell the artist, ‘no, we
need to make this work for the entire show,’”
says Michael Stewart, vice president of special events and co-owner of ATK.
Harmala echoes Stewart’s statement: “It’s
obviously unique for them. When they tour,
they’re the kings of the universe — the stage
and equipment are the way they want it. That’s
6
MARCH 2008
www.fohonline.com
Getty Images
Alicia Keys kicks off the Superbowl using a Shure UHF-R wireless mic.
why it’s also important to give the artists what
they need to achieve a proper performance.”
According to Stewart, the house audio
comprised a JBL VerTec system powered
by QSC amps. The four main clusters included a dozen VT4889 line-array cabinets,
augmented by an array of 12 JBL VT4880A
subwoofers flown above the center of the
main stage. QSC PowerLight 4.0 amps
fired the HF/MF cabinets with PowerLight
9.0 models for LF cabinets and subs. Three
clusters of delay loudspeakers comprised
a total of 22 VerTec 4889 Line Array elements, plus a dozen ATK C-6 three-way
cabinets. XTA DP226 processors provided
system equalization and routing.
Carrie Underwood performed “Before He
Cheats” using a Shure SM58/UH-R and Alicia
Keys performed “Learnin’ the Blues,” a virtual
duet with the late Frank Sinatra using a Shure
KSM9/UHF-R wireless. Rihanna, Kanye West
and Aretha Franklin, among others, performed
using Audio-Technica’s Artist Elite 5000 series UHF wireless system. Rihanna, Beyoncé,
Fergie, Josh Groban and Andrea Bocelli used
Sennheiser’s MD 5235 dynamic capsule in
combination with the SKM 5200 wireless microphone. Amy Winehouse used Sennheiser’s
wired evolution e 935, and the Foo Fighters’
Beyoncé uses a Sennheiser MD 5235 and the SKM 5200 wireless mic.
Dave Grohl favored the classic MD 431 II.
From a logistics standpoint, Harmala admits the Grammys is less chaotic than the
Superbowl. “The format that the Grammys undertook a few years ago when they moved to
arenas from theatres allowed the show to have
a stage right, stage left and sometimes a center stage area. The show now has the freedom
to do a lot more musical performances and not
kill the tech crew,” Harmala says (laughs).
Carrie Underwood uses a Shure SM58/UH-R.
News
Miley Cyrus Gets Best of Both Worlds On Sell-Out Tour
with Future Sonics Ear Monitors brand
personal monitors and supporting the
company’s new “Bigger Sound @ lower volume” campaign to help educate
audiences about the importance of
proper listening for the “iPod Generation.”
Future Sonics has teamed up with
H.E.A.R., along with other performers,
engineers and audiologists, to promote the new campaign. Vish Wadi,
monitor engineer for Cyrus, reports
Miley Cyrus, a.k.a. Hannah Montana on her “Best of Both Worlds”tour
that the Disney star of Hannah Montana realized how much she was missBRISTOL, PA — Miley Cyrus performs on ing from other products once she made the
her sold out “The Best of Both Worlds” tour switch to Future Sonics Ear Monitors.
“This is the sound that Miley was hoping
for and Marty Garcia’s team at Future Sonics
delivered.” Like her father, Billy Ray Cyrus, who
is a 15-year Future Sonics client, the long-term
hearing questions were an important consideration for his famous daughter. “I wasn’t getting the sound that I wanted before,” reports
Cyrus. “Future Sonics has everything I want
so that the music sounds really incredible on
stage or just listening to my music player, and
I don’t need to make it too loud.”
According to Jason Morey, Cyrus’ manager, who was looking for the best approach
to sound quality, hearing health and an experienced audio team to meet the challenges of
a range of tour dates and appearances, “Look-
ing at the ‘big picture,’ we want the right solutions for the long-term as well as today and
Future Sonics delivers every time.”
“This is an important time for anyone
who spends a lot of time listening with any
earphone product, but we know that proper
use of these items and a better quality of
sound are steps that can help a lot in reducing the potential for hearing fatigue and loss,”
states Marty Garcia, founder and president of
Future Sonics. “We are proud to have the support of so many significant people -- both on
stage and off -- to let people know that there
is much more to it than just cranking up the
volume. In fact, they are probably missing out
on so much that way.”
The Venetian TAO
Beach Club Gets
Star Treatment
LAS VEGAS — Dynacord’s star continues to
rise in the entertainment capital of the world
thanks to an installation at the Venetian’s new
TAO Beach club, designed and installed by Bob
Athey and Frank Heinrich of FBP Group.
The installation, featuring Dynacord Variline
VL262, Cobra subwoofers, D-Lite D 12 and system drive via IRIS-Net control, has caught the
attention of every restaurant, lounge, bar and
club executive on the strip, thanks to a balance
of aesthetic and performance values.
A new addition to the mega-hotel’s popular
TAO nightclub, TAO Beach is the top pool party
in Vegas, featuring a DJ booth, bar, lounge and
luxury cabanas surrounded by palm trees and
opulent drapery. A serious club sound system
was necessary to maintain TAO’s high standards,
which attract international DJ stars like Erick
Morillo and Paul Oakenfold, and A-list celebrities like Mariah Carey, Kanye West, Heidi Klum,
Jay-Z and Jessica Simpson. To keep the aesthetic ambience intact at TAO Beach, big, black
15-inch two-way boxes were not an option. The
solution? A system design including the new
Variline loudspeaker line from Dynacord.
The dual high performance neodymium
6.5” woofers and 1” compression driver in the VL
262 provide clarity for heavy-duty, high SPL applications, along with multifunctional hardware
accessories for fixed and mobile applications
designed for ease-of-use and versatility.
The complete Dynacord system solution at
TAO Beach blends well with the design elements
of the space. For this installation, the speakers
are color matched and nestled discreetly in the
drapery, but fill the entire pool area with sound.
Six Dynacord Cobra-2 Subs provide additional
low-end support; 12 D-Lite D12 full range cabinets supplement the surrounding VIP areas
and hot tub deck. Powered by five Dynacord
Power-H 5000 remote control DSP amplifiers
with RCM26 modules, FIR presets optimize each
loudspeakers performance, and continuously
monitor every voice coil in the system to ensure
reliable operation.
TAO Beach club at the Venetian in Las Vegas
www.fohonline.com
2008 MARCH
7
News
Queens of the Stone Age Perform Underground
earning “most challenging,” as well. The
first task was to bring all the components
underground, where they were left for 36
hours to adjust to the climatic conditions of
the underground chamber. Then his crew
handled the massive reverberations coming
off the walls. Throughout it all, Rauhut said
that his Crest Audio Pro 200 Series amplifiers
were an important part of the signal chain.
“It doesn’t matter how well-tuned your
P.A. setup is if the amplifiers massacre the
signal before it gets to the loudspeakers,” he
remarked. “The Crest Pro 200 Series amplifiers
provide clean, powerful and reliable sound
reinforcement with plenty of headroom for
strong peaks. In short, this was a world-class
system that produced stunning results in
challenging acoustic surroundings, and we
have the live digital recording to prove it!”
The band’s fans, who were required to
wear protective helmets throughout the
underground concert experience, were
equally appreciative, and will, no doubt,
be looking forward to reliving the event —
and seeing themselves in helmets — on the
forthcoming DVD.
Queens of the Stone Age perform in a German salt mine as fans rock out in protective helmets.
DiGiCo, Group One
(Re)Unite
the same about the market and products
and how they should be represented.”
“I’ve known Jack since 1980,” Webster
says. “I was working at Klark Teknik as a test
engineer and he became part of the organizations, handling their U.S. distribution. Even
at that point, I noticed how many more boxes
started going out of the door as soon as he
became involved. It meant I had to work harder, but the rewards were certainly worth it.”
Kelly said discussions began last September during PLASA when he inquired
how DiGiCo’s distribution was progressing
in the U.S. He learned that the company
was in the process of closing down its U.S.
distribution company to seek independent
distribution. Kelly then began a series of
negotiations with DiGiCo CEO Bob Doyle
to work toward an agreement.
“We are set up as a distribution company and our particular philosophy is to
seek out partnerships with companies that
we can operate as their U.S. distributor on
a long-term basis,” Kelly says. “Our motivation here is to work with DiGiCo so that the
brands and the products achieve the level
of success in the U.S. that we believe the
brand is capable of.”
New distribution means inevitable
change, however, the former full-time
employees of DiGiCo’s U.S. effort are now
employees of Group One and will continue
to call on the customer base. DiGiCo will
also handle the physical distribution of the
products to end users from the company’s
facility in the UK.
“We basically help the customers determine what the configuration of the console will be, prepare the quotes, negotiate
the deal and organize everything that goes
along with getting a console billed, shipped
and training the individuals who will be using the console,” Kelly says. “The only difference is the end product gets delivered to
the customer by DiGiCo, not by us.”
Group One is also the U.S. distributor
of Celestion, Professional Products, MC2
Audio Ltd., XTA Electronics Ltd. and Blue
Sky International. Kelly acknowledges the
long-term nature of these partnerships,
noting that Group One has been the exclusive distributor of Celestion for 10 years
and XTA for 15 years.
“Jack has proved himself time and time
again in the intervening years with highend professional products and I’m very
much looking forward to working with him
again,” concludes Webster.
8
MARCH 2008
www.fohonline.com
News
Babeville Radiates Righteous Sound
Babeville, Buffalo, N.Y.’s newest music venue
BUFFALO, NY — Singer/
songwriter Ani DiFranco recently played the opening
nights of her hometown’s
newest music venue, Asbury Hall, a 1,000-capacity
performance space within
a 19th century church in
downtown Buffalo, N.Y. The
Church facility and Asbury
Hall — known collectively
as Babeville — are actually
the latest grand-scale DIY
project for the folksinger.
DiFranco and her part-
ner in Righteous Babe Records, Scot Fisher,
who saved the church from demolition by
purchasing the historical site from the city
of Buffalo. Klondike Sound specified and installed a sound system, made up primarily
of L-ACOUSTICS components, including the
KUDO line array.
Klondike Sound Owner John “Klon” Koehler began working with DiFranco in 1996,
a pivotal year for his company. “We made a
leap of faith in ’96 to buy an L-ACOUSTICS
V-DOSC line array, and there’s still nothing
better,” Klon says. “The decision I made back
then has led me all the way to this incredible installation. Ani has always understood
10
MARCH 2008
www.fohonline.com
how art and science come together — that
a full-fidelity sound system would help
her deliver her message. When we started
touring regularly with Ani, we began using
the V-DOSC system and people all over the
U.S. and Canada were commenting on how
amazing her shows were. In the 10 years
since, L-ACOUSTICS has always been our
loudspeaker of choice.”
Klon got involved in the Asbury Church
restoration in January 2002, being called on
to assess the suitability of the sanctuary for
live performance and to make recommendations regarding rigging points, electrical
power distribution, stage size and access,
and to begin designing a sound reinforcement system. “Scot Fisher understood how
important it is to the success of a show to
accommodate the needs of touring production,” Klon shares. “Basically, a show
starts and ends on the loading dock and if
you don’t have a reasonable flow of equipment, building services and accommodation for tour personnel, the show will suffer.
The objective here was to provide the best
possible production conditions.”
Once the roof-off renovation was completed and the building could be safely occupied, Klon addressed the acoustic challenges. “I sought the opinion of my friend,
Sam Berkow, who came to the church with
me in September 2006 and made some recommendations, which we followed to the
letter,” Klon reports. “We wanted to preserve
as much of the 19th century aesthetics that
this venue had, but bring it to a 21st century level of production quality. Sam did a
great job of specifying acoustical treatment
in places where it wouldn’t be noticed and
brought down the adverse reflections in
the room considerably.”
Conceived as a multipurpose venue,
though primarily for standing-room-only
music shows, the Asbury Church performance space needed a sound system to suit
multiple venue seating arrangements. Klon
summarizes: “There are 31 L-ACOUSTICS
loudspeakers in the room, all very carefully
time-aligned and aimed to serve a variety
of seating configurations with no compromise for concerts. We went to L-ACOUSTICS
with architectural drawings
A pair of 112XT coaxial loudspeakers
covers the tips of the horseshoe balcony,
out of the pattern of the main speakers, and
a small cluster of three dV-DOSC enclosures
serves just the rear balcony; both are powered by a total of two L-ACOUSTICS LA17a
amps. The front-fill system consists of four
L-ACOUSTICS 8XT coaxial speakers, on the
front lip of the stage, powered by an LA4
processor/amplifier. Another eight 8XT on
custom brackets are installed on the underside of the side balconies, spaced about 15
feet apart down the length of the room and
powered by another LA4. Four L-ACOUSTICS
112P self-powered speakers round out the
loudspeaker complement and can be used
as additional front fills or stage monitors.
According to Klon, Berkow’s acoustical
recommendations and the L-ACOUSTICS
system has truly optimized Asbury Hall as
a concert venue. “The hall had a ‘soft-opening’ without a proper audio system almost
a year ago and had developed a reputation
as being inappropriate for amplified music,”
explains Klon. “But, within 24 hours after
the opening, there were three promoters
in Buffalo already to produce shows there
based on rave reviews from the audience
and press.”
International News
Tree of Prosperity Show Blooms at Wynn Macau
Tree of Prosperity Show at the Wynn Macau
MACAU, CHINA — Electrosonic Systems
Inc. provided audio, master show control, an
intercom system and a closed-circuit video
surveillance system for the complex Tree of
Prosperity Show in the Wynn Macau, which
opened in 2006. Electrosonic’s audio complement, consisting of Crown amps and JBL
speakers, was fairly extensive with eight main
speaker positions and subwoofers installed
on the mezzanine level to play the music for
the attraction.
Four effects speakers, which play back
sounds like shimmers, are linked through a
slip-ring connection. Three additional effects
speakers are suspended from a cruciform
structure, which also supports the chandelier plus four tweeter effects speakers that
move as one with the light. Electrosonic engineered and installed the components for
the attraction.
“Hands down this was one of the best
clients I’ve ever had,” says Electrosonic Project Manager Marcelo Videla. “Everyone was
incredibly competent and knew how to get a
complex job done. So everything went very,
very smoothly and was done on time.”
Housed in the atrium of a new wing of
the casino, the Tree of Prosperity Show begins
when music starts playing. Soon a 20-meter
wide ceiling iris, with the Chinese horoscope
sculpted on it, opens to reveal an LED display
of abstract video. The tree rotates to the music until the show ends and all the mechanical
elements return to their home positions.
Electrosonic also supplied an Alcorn McBride
master show control system, designed by consultant Joel Gread Associates, and a Crestron touch
panel, which cues the internal system and vendor subsystems and triggers the audio, lighting
and mechanical elements of the Tree of Prosperity Show. A Clearcom intercom system keeps the
tech staff in close communication during every
step of the show’s execution. A comprehensive
closed-circuit video surveillance system also ensures that the attraction is working as it should.
Mechanical engineering for the Tree of Prosperity Show was done by McClaren Engineering,
with fabrication and installation by Show Canada in Montreal. The automation systems are by
Stage Technologies. Les Hill was Electrosonic’s
systems sales engineer for the project.
Beijing Rings in
Chinese Olympic
New Year
The Award and Variety Show for Traffic Safety
BEIJING — In preparation for hosting
the 2008 Summer Olympics, China has
been cleaning up and modernizing its
transit system in Beijing. To honor those
who made a valuable contribution to
traffic management in the previous year,
the city held The Award and Variety Show
for Traffic Safety for the Chinese Olympic
New Year. Adamson partner Hunan Tian
Yin Art Performance Company provided
the Adamson system for the show.
The company’s head engineer, Mi
Ning, was the FOH engineer for the
event. The main flown system comprised
of eight Y18s per side. Two ground stacks
consisting of six Spektrix and two Spektrix subs on each side of the stage were
used as side fills for the lateral seating
areas. All Adamson speakers were powered with eight Lab.gruppen fP10000qs,
two Lab.gruppen fP3400 and six Lab.
gruppen fp6400 amps. Processing was
handled by Dolby Lake controllers.
The function was organized by the
Beijing Traffic Management Bureau and
the China Central Television (CCTV) at
the Beijing Worker’s Stadium, which
is also scheduled to host the football
quarter-finals and semi-finals during the
upcoming Summer Olympics. The venue
was at capacity with a crowd of 6,000,
which included the management team
of the Beijing government and the Ministry of Public Security.
Many Chinese pop stars, most notably Twins and Sun Nan, as well as the
artist who will perform the 2008 Olympic Theme Song “Forever friends,” and
Mr. Wang Yifu, the head coach of China’s
National Shooting Team, participated
in the event. The show was nationally
broadcast on the CCTV (China Central
Television) program “Happy in China” on
the Eve of the Chinese New Year.
12
MARCH 2008
www.fohonline.com
International News
Slovakia’s Version of American Idol Takes Center Stage
BRATISLAVA, SLOVAKIA — Amex Audio
recently provided JBL VerTec line arrays for
the televised broadcast of Superstar III. The
third season of Slovakia’s popular live music
television series, the show is similar in format
to American Idol in the United States.
Superstar features many of Slovakia’s
emerging entertainers and aspiring pop
stars. The performances were televised live
from the 4,500-seat Incheba Expo Arena in
Bratislava, Slovakia. In addition to the competing performers, the production featured
a full-live band on stage, with one segment
including a 40-piece symphony orchestra.
Amex Audio deployed a JBL VerTec line array
system that included 28 VT4889 full-size line
array elements for the main clusters, supplemented by four VT4887 compact line array
elements used for in-fill coverage.
Supporting subwoofer arrays powered by
Crown MA-5002VZ power amplifiers. System
signal processing was handled with three
BSS Omnidrive Loudspeaker Management
Systems. Amex Audio’s project started with
pre-installation in the Incheba Expo Arena.
With television lighting brought in for the
production, and numerous scenic set pieces
to support different acts, very close cooperation was required with the venue's temporary
stage builder.
The VerTec VT4889 system was set up as
three separate arrays, each independently
processed and equalized. The center array included four additional VT4889's to cover upper balcony seating areas in the center of the
venue due to the building’s architecture. Supporting subwoofers were hidden beneath the
audience's seating risers.
"We had one week for setup and finetuning the system," noted Ladislav Demcak,
president of Amex Audio. "Adjusting the
signal delay time between the main clusters
and the subwoofer arrays is very important in
this venue. Complete synchronization of all
elements in the system was especially critical, including stage monitors and special fill
speakers for the jury that would be judging
the talent. It is only thanks to the predict-
able coverage and precision directivity of the
VT4889 arrays that we could achieve the best
possible results for both the studio audience
and the talent judges."
Demcak noted that during rehearsals, the
audio team played back crowd noise from a
CD to help train the aspiring entertainers onstage, so they would have some experience
and be ready for the first on-air live performances with a live audience.
"At the last minute, the show's Chief of Production Jana Lamosova confirmed that tickets
were selling out quickly and they needed to
expand the seating areas on the sides of the
stage to allow maximum space in the left and
right audience areas," recalled Demcak. "So, to
accommodate this, we reconfigured
part of the system with only one day
before the show was to open. VerTec's
simple, flexible suspension system
made this process go smoothly."
“All in all this was a very good
challenge for our live audio crew,"
noted Demcak. "The audience was
quite excited and therefore, very
loud. And though much of the talent
on stage included aspiring artists,
some of the best players were quite
demanding and difficult to accommodate under these conditions. So,
there really was no room for error
with a live televised production.”
Slovakia’s Superstar television series
CORRECTION:
In the Regional Slants article
“Klondike Sound Makes Magic” in the
February 2008 issue, we said Klondike
Sound is located in Portland, Maine.
The correct city and state is Greenfield,
Mass. We also incorrectly identified a
staff photo. The people in the photo
below are (L to R): Justin Anderson,
Darin Pawlus, Klondike Koehler (behind
mailbox) Karen Sise and Chris Kelly.
We regret these omissions.
www.fohonline.com
2008 MARCH
13
On The Move
American Music
& Sound has
announced the
appointment of Michael Palmer to the
position of national
sales manager for Allen & Heath products
in the United States.
Michael Palmer
is a 20-plus year vet- Michael Palmer
eran of the audio industry having held positions as director of sales and marketing for
Radian Audio Engineering and previously
as a sales management executive at Guitar
Center Inc.
Audio Visual
Solutions has
announced the
promotion of Paul
Casey to director
of sales for Freeman’s Orlando Audio
Visual branch.
Having majored
in television production at Columbia Paul Casey
College in Chicago, Paul began his career
writing and producing corporate videos for
many major companies, like HP and Abbott
Labs. He joined the company in 1997, as show
coordinator at the Chicago branch and held
many positions before transitioning to a national sales manager role in Orlando.
Bosch Communications Systems
welcomes EDA Pro to its family of sales representatives. EDA Pro will be responsible for
(L-R): Tommy Dubose, Mark Adams, Gary Gunn, Connie
Perkins, Steve Land and Heidi Pickens
Harman Pro Group announced the promotion of
Michael MacDonald to the newly created position of executive vice president of marketing & sales. Based at the Group’s
Northridge, Calif., headquarters, MacDonald will continue to
report directly to Blake Augsburger, president & CEO of the
Harman Pro Group.
MacDonald first became part of the Harman team in 1996
when he joined JBL Professional as vice president of Installed
Sound. He spent six years there developing products and strategies to improve equipment that serves both the production
and fixed installation sectors. He served the last four years as
president of JBL Professional.
Live Technologies has announced the
appointment of David Curtis as the new director of systems integration. Curtis possesses a 27-year background in information technology experience, along with more than 20
years of management experience.
The addition of Curtis marks the first
significant transition after Live Technologies’ new partnership with A & S Investment
Group LLC.
Michael MacDonald
Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.
EDA Pro is a new pro audio sales company
formed by EDA Marketing, a rep firm specializing in video technologies that celebrated its
10th anniversary in 2007.
EAW has announced the appointment of
Marshank Sales as the new EAW independent
sales representative for Southern California
and Southern Nevada (Las Vegas). The announcement was made by Scott Pizzo, EAW
director of U.S. sales.
Carvin has announced the appointment of George
Dreyer to the position of acoustic designer. In his new capacity, Dreyer will be
charged with overseeing all of Carvin’s
loudspeaker design
initiatives. Prior to his George Dreyer
new position with the company, he served
13 years with Carvin in a variety of related
engineering disciplines — most recently as
senior engineer.
The board of
Electrosonic Group
has announced the
appointment of Jim
Bowie as president.
Bowie now oversees
the global operations and strategy for
Electrosonic’s combined businesses in
the United States, Jim Bowie
Europe, Asia and Middle East.
With this change of leadership, the Burbank office becomes the group operational
headquarters. Bowie replaces Kyle Carpenter,
who began his tenure in 1996. During the past
11 years, the company has grown five-fold,
posting $150 million in turnover in 2007.
Crown International has announced that Phil
Celia has joined the
company to serve
as eastern regional
sales manager. Celia
reports to Deb Frantom, Crown’s director of U.S. sales.
Operating out of Phil Celia
a satellite office in Hanover, N.H., Celia oversees Crown’s independent representative
network handling the manufacturer’s eastern
territory, stretching from Maine to Florida.
Harman International Industries, Inc.
announced that Robert V. Lardon will join
the company as vice president, strategy and
investor relations. He will report to the chief
financial officer and serve as the company’s
chief investor relations official.
The company also announced that
John Stacey will join the company as vice
president and chief human resources officer. He will report to the chief executive
officer and serve as a member of the Group
Executive Committee.
Meyer Sound
announced that Gina
Giachetti has joined
the company as its
manager of public
relations. Giachetti
is taking over media
relations responsibilities from Susanna
Corcoran, who will Gina Giachetti
continue to work with Meyer Sound as a communications consultant on special projects.
Giachetti brings more than 10 years of
agency public relations experience to the job,
working with clients such as Yahoo!, Cisco,
IBM and HP.
Meyer Sound
Germany has appointed Peter Schaedel to the position of
sales manager, business development. A
14-year music industry veteran, Schaedel
is the latest addition
to the company ’s
growing sales team, Peter Schaedel
managing some of the existing accounts and
pursuing new markets for Meyer Sound’s pro
audio equipment in Germany.
Symetrix Inc., provider of signal
processing technology for the installed
sound, broadcast and recording markets
through its Symetrix, SymNet, AirTools
and Lucid brands, has appointed EDA
Pro Group of Snellville, Ga., to represent
all of its product lines in the Southeast
United States.
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New Gear
AKG Acoustics HiQnet Software Upgrade
AKG Acoustics
h a s announced the debut of the newest version
of its HiQnet System Architect software running
AKG’s HUB 4000 Q Network
Concentrator,
enabling
new possibilities for audio
system networking and
Hub 4000 Q Network Concentrator control. This software up grade allows the AKG IVM 4 and the HUB 4000Q network concentrator to create the
world’s first computer-controlled in-ear monitoring system.
The Harman HiQnet system enables compatible components from different Harman Pro
Group manufacturers to be connected to the same network through standard computer interface devices, including wireless. The System Architect software offers a single graphic user interface for the HiQnet network, through which users can control and configure complex audio
systems. Monitoring tools enable control over all connected audio devices.
The HUB 4000 Q empowers the SST4 (IVM 4) wireless in-ear transmitter and the SR4000 (WMS
4000) wireless receivers with full HiQnet functionality, so now, when these systems are connected
to the HUB 4000 Q. They can be fully controlled over a HiQnet network through the new software.
With the software update installed, several HUB 4000 Qs can be hooked together to control a
large wireless system. For the first time, the IVM 4 and WMS 4000 can be used and controlled on the
same network. The new Auto Setup gives users quick tools for easy RF frequency configuration.
Martin Audio Blackline+ Series
Since its introduction, the Blackline Series has been known for sound
quality and reliability for live music
venues, nightclubs and installations
worldwide. Martin Audio is now introducing Blackline+, which features
improvements to provide a higher
level of performance.
Drivers and crossover networks
have been redesigned so that all of the
low-frequency drivers in two-way systems now feature aluminum demodulating rings to minimize the variation in
Martin Blackline Series
voice coil inductance as the coil moves
in the gap. This is designed to improve midrange clarity and reduced intermodulation distortion at
high excursions, so sound balance and quality are maintained even at high levels.
In the development of Blackline+, attention has also been given to matching the directivity
of the low-frequency drivers to the HF horns in the crossover region. This has been achieved by
the choice of LF cone profiles, together with improvements in crossover design.
The new design ethos for Blackline+ has been applied to eight full range cabinets and four
complimentary sub-bass enclosures, which will begin shipping in March 2008.
www.martin-audio.com
QSC SC28 System Controller
www.akg.com
Danley Sound Labs SH-LPM
Danley Sound Labs has introduced the SH-LPM, a compact, low-profile, full-range floor monitor. The latest addition
to Danley’s Synergy Horn product line, the high-fidelity SHLPM has a wide dispersion, horn-loaded system that offers
performance, clarity and low-profile aesthetics in a birch ply
enclosure with a robust steel grill and a fully enclosed and
protected connector panel.
The large horn mouth offers directivity through 110 degrees of conical dispersion with front-to-back rejection and
greater gain before feedback, a critical factor in many stage
monitor applications. The SH-LPM is capable of a maximum
SPL of 120 dB continuous or 123 dB program, with a sensiDanley Sound Labs SH-LPM tivity of 95 dB SPL (-1 dB 70 Hz – 20 kHz, measured as 28.3V
input free space at 10 meters). Power handling is 400 W continuous, 800 W program.
The SH-LPM houses an eight-inch coaxial transducer in a braced Baltic birch enclosure measuring just 13.7” (347 mm) high by 21.5” (545 mm) wide and 18.3”(464 mm) deep, and weighing
42 lbs. (19.05 kg). The low-profile wedge operates across a frequency range of 65 Hz – 20 kHz (+/3 dB; 50 Hz – 24 kHz +/-10 dB) and offers high-frequency coverage that is smooth throughout the
dispersion pattern. The Danley Sound Labs SH-LPM low-profile floor monitor costs $1,995.00.
Housing preset tunings designed to optimize the performance of QSC loudspeakers, the
new SC28 System Controller facilitates quick and easy system setup. A two input, eight output
DSP device, the controller additionally offers user-adjustable EQ and delay.
The SC28 is rooted in 48 kHz, 24-bit A/D and D/A conversion technology with 32-bit, floating-point DSP offering wide dynamic range and low distortion. Balanced, line-level, analog XLR
connectors are provided at all inputs and outputs, while all DSP tunings incorporate IIR (Infinite
Impulse Response) as well as FIR (Finite Impulse Response) filtering.
As used within the SC28's circuitry, FIR filtering offers what QSC system engineers refer to
as “intrinsic correction” of loudspeakers used with the device. Providing a drive signal to the
amplifiers and loudspeakers with accurate acoustical magnitude, frequency and phase domain
performance, FIR filtering and its intrinsic correction compensates for inherent transducer and
waveguide magnitude and time-based response anomalies.
System tunings can be selected by scrolling through a list of QSC loudspeakers found
on the SC28's front LCD panel and selecting the desired configuration (two-way, threeway, etc.). A nearly identical process is used to select the QSC amps being used, as well as
each amplifier's input sensitivity.
www.danleysoundlabs.com
www.qscaudio.com
QSC SC28
24/7 access to
1,000s of companies
www.EPDweb.com
The EPD is used year-round by:
Event Producers
Touring Shows
Corporate Producers
Rental Companies
Production Managers
Fairs & Festivals
Promoters
Production Companies
Production personnel
Facility Managers
Personal Managers
Producers
Basically, anyone who is involved in
live event production will use the EPD.
www.fohonline.com
2008 MARCH
15
Showtime
YC Manitoba – Rebecca St. James, Tree63, Drentch
Venue
GEAR
Calvary Temple
Winnipeg, Manitoba
CREW
FOH Engineer: Kelly Kimo
Monitor Engineer: Chase Tower
Systems Engineer: Chase Tower
Systems Techs: Garrett Breckin, Brian
Metcalf
Soundco
Axe Productions
FOH
Console: Soundcraft Series Five 48 +4
Speakers: 16 - EV XLC DVX, 4 - EV Xi1152,
8 - EV XSub
Amps: EV P3000 RL, EV P3000
Processing: 4 EV DX38, 2 BSS FCS960,
TC D-Two, M-OneXL, Yamaha SPX 990,
SPX 2000, BSS DPR404, 504, dbx 160A, KT
DN514
Power Distro: Motion Labs
Rigging: 2 CM 1 Ton
Breakout Assemblies: Ramtech
ST
Snake Assemblies: Ramlatch
MON
Console: Midas XL250
Speakers: EV Xw12, EV MTL2, Shure
PSM600 w/ custom UE molds
Amps: QSC PL2
Processing: 6 KT DN360, Xilica 4080, Lexicon PCM91, Yamaha SPX990, dbx, Aphex
622
Mics: Shure, AKG, Sennheiser
Soundco
Clearwing
Productions
U.S. Army All American Bowl 2008
ST
Venue
The Alamodome
San Antonio, Texas
CREW
FOH Engineer: Andre St. Pierre and Guests
Monitor Engineer: Stew Wilson
Systems Engineer: Joel Harris, John Bryant
Systems Techs: U.S. Army Soldiers
...Thank You!
GEAR
FOH
Console: Yamaha M7CL
Speakers: V-DOSC and SB218 Subs
Amps: Lab.gruppen FP6400
Processing: XTA DP226
Mics: Shure UHF-R, Shure
Breakout Assemblies: Clearwing Standard
Snake assemblies: Whirlwind Concert 56
International Association of
Jazz Educators Conference 2008
Soundco
Sound Art
Toronto Inc.
MON
Console: Yamaha M7CL
Speakers: Meyer UPA-1P, Martin LE
700, Mackie SRM 450, Shure PSM
700’s
Amps: Crown VZ2400, VZ3600,
VZ5000
Processing: Crown PIP Cards
Mics: Shure UHF-R, Shure
Production Manager: Larry Carrico
Venue
Metro Toronto Convention Center,
Fairmont Royal York hotel,
Intercontinental Hotel
Toronto, Canada
CREw
FOH Engineers: Scott Bauer,Bob
Mcfee,Steve Tolve,Mark Knox,David
Hallock,Keith Corning,Bryan
Farina,Christian Cooke,Mark Baker,Geoff
Kent,Corey Kennedy
Monitor Engineer: Russ Wilson
Systems Engineer: Jamie Howieson
GEAR
FOH
Consoles: 1 Midas Heritage 3000, 1
Midas Heritage 1000, 1 Soundcraft MH4,
1 Soundcraft MH3, 3 Midas Venice 320, 1
Midas Venice 240
Speakers: Electro-Voice XLC-DVX,
XLD281, Xsub, Xi-1152,Zx5, Zx1
Amps: EV TG5, TG7, P3000RL, QSC PL218
Processing: Iris Net 1.4, EV Dx38
Mics: Earthworks, AKG, Shure,
Sennheiser, EV
Power Distro: Sound Art Proprietary
16
MARCH 2008
www.fohonline.com
Rigging: CM Lodestar
Breakout Assemblies: Ramtech
Snake Assemblies: Ramtech, Digiflex
MON
Console: Midas XL250
Speakers: EV XW12a, Zx5
Amps: QSC PL218, PL230
Processing: Xilica DLP4080
Mics: Earthworks, AKG, Shure,
Sennheiser, EV
Power Distro: Sound Art Proprietary
Rigging: CM Lodestar
ST
Soundco
Show Systems Inc.
Gator Growl
ST
Venue
GEAR
Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL
CREW
FOH Engineer: Frank Snipes
Monitor Engineer: Michael (Veto) Vick
Systems Engineer: Mark Thompson
Production Manager: Jeff Chenery
Tour Manager: Arthur Portnoy
Systems Techs: Eric Satre,Kristin Miller,
Nicholas Stainer
FOH
Console: PM5D-RH
Speakers: Meyer 40-Milo, 16-MSL4,
16-650P, 16-700hp
Amps: Meyer Self-powered
Processing: Meyer Sound Galileo
Mics: Shure
Power Distro: Skjonberg Controls, Inc.
Rigging: 4-CM two-ton Motors, Motion
Labs
Breakout Assemblies: Whirlwind - Custom
Snake Assemblies: Whirlwind
MON
Consoles: 1-PM5D-RH / 1-M7CL48
Speakers: Meyer 4-MTS4-A,
12-UM1P
Amps: Meyer Self-powered
Processing: M7CL-48 On Board
Mics: Shure
Power Distro: Skjonberg Controls
Inc.
co
Arizona Association of Student Councils State
Conference 2008
Soundco
ADI Productions
Venue
GEAR
CREW
FOH
Console: Midas Venice 320
Speakers: 6-QSC HPR181i Powered Subwoofers, 6-QSC HPR152i Powered Loudspeakers: 6-QSC
HPR122i Powered Monitors
Processing: DBX Compressor/Limiters, Ashley EQ’s
Mics: Shure U4-UHF Beta 87
Power Distro: ADI 400 amp Distro
Ironwood High School
Glendale, AZ
FOH Engineer: J. Glasrud
Production Manager: Jon Glasrud
Systems Techs: Tim “Jumbo” Martin, Todd Sais
Rigging: Jon Glasrud
Stellar Awards Trail Blazers Luncheon
Brantley Sound
Associates Inc.
Venue
Rocketown
Nashville, TN
CREW
FOH Engineer: John Roberson
Monitor Engineer: Wade Kilgore
Systems Engineer: Joe Calabrese
Systems Tech: Ryan Schatz
GEAR
FOH
Console: Allen & Heath GL4000
Speakers: (8) EAW KF850’s
Amps: (9) QSC PL-Series
Processing: dBX, Yamaha,
T.C. Electronics, BSS, Aphex
Mics: Shure, Sennheiser, AKG, Audix
Power Distro: BSA Custom
Snake Assemblies: LK, Radial
ST
MON
Console: Yamaha M7CL-48
Speakers: 12 EAW SM200iH’s
Amps: 12 Crown MacroTech 24x6
Processing: 6 BSS FDS-310
Mics: Shure, Sennheiser, AKG, Audix
Power Distro: BSA Custom
We
Want You!
FOH wants your gig
shots, horror stories and
resume highlights! Go to
www.fohonline.com/submissions
to send us your Showtime
pics, Nightmare stories and In
The Trenches stats. Or e-mail
bg@fohonline.com
for
more
info.
We
cover
the
industry
— and that means
you!
Soundco
ST
www.fohonline.com
2008 MARCH
17
FOH Interview
A Trip to Monitor World with Kevin “Tater” McCarthy
No, we didn’t change our name to MON magazine, but this month we recognize the art of monitor mixing.
By Ken “Pooch”Van Druten
T
he OTHER end of the snake: A place
so foreign to most of us FOH personnel that just the very thought of going
there makes us shudder with anticipation of
horrible-yelling rock stars in a relentless barrage of insults and abuse. In fact, as a FOH engineer, the closest I ever want to get to that
world is to check mic placement on stage.
I am, however, in the unique position of
an FOH engineer who occasionally mixes
monitors and started my career as a monitor
engineer. So, when I see a talented engineer
over there in the heart of the war zone, I have
a lot of respect and admiration for them. I
have had the good fortune to work with
some of the best monitor engineers in this
business, and have even learned a lot about
how to communicate with that elusive, temperamental beast known as a pop star from
them.
When Bill Evans asked me who I thought
should have the monitor engineer profile in
the first ever issue of FOH devoted to the art
of monitor mixing, I immediately said Kevin
“Tater” McCarthy. In his 20-plus years in this
industry, he has seen it all as an assistant to
some of the most famous monitor engineers
in the business, and as an engineer in his own
right who has worked with numerous multiplatinum-selling bands. Bill also said, “Hey,
Kevin “Tater” McCarthy
why don’t YOU interview him?” Wiping the
sweat from my brow, I agreed and said, “well,
this could be the worst decision you have
ever made as the editor of FOH, but I’ll give
it a shot.” As this is my first foray into journalism, I am as nervous as a monitor engineer
that keeps throwing 2K brain darts at his artist, but here goes:
Let’s start from the beginning. What artists or records changed your life and made
you want to be part of this business?
Kevin “Tater” McCarthy: Black Sabbath’s first record introduced me to music,
and Van Halen made me want to get into the
music business. I went to see many VH shows
and that is how I learned about Showco for
which I worked for from 1987 to 1997. But
my first concert was Elvis at the Pontiac Silverdome in 1977, though I do not remember
much of it.
Was there a definitive moment that you
can remember when you said, ‘Mom and
Dad, medical school is out of the question… I want to tour with rock bands’?
No, medical school or ANY other school
was not in the equation for me. I was the only
person in my class not to apply to a college.
At least that is what my principal said.
So, the history. Where does it all begin?
Were you a musician? technician? Car
mechanic?
Car mechanic, I think that is a Detroit
joke. I was an awful bass player in a rock
band during junior high and high school.
But I got more involved with the PA system than practicing the bass. The guy
who did our sound, Jeremy Wyatt, moved
to Dallas from Detroit after high school
because his dad got transferred. He, on
a whim, went and applied for a job at
Showco as a bench tech and got the job
that day. He was then instrumental in getting me a job there.
You have worked with some of the best
engineers in this business (and probably some of the worst). What have
you learned or taken away from those
experiences?
Great question. You learn a little something from all the people you work with
and take a little from each. What TO do,
and what NOT to do. This business is a job
and a lifestyle, so most of the things that
I have learned are not audio related. This
job is so much more than audio. For example, I still remember the guy who taught
me how to pack a truck properly.
So one of the favorite past times of roadies is
to sit around telling old stories of past tours.
Without incriminating yourself, what is
your favorite road story? (And, yes, you can
change the names to protect the guilty.)
Where do I start? My whole adult life is a
road story. I have forgotten more stories than
I can remember.
As a monitor engineer you often work
closely with artists. What is the single
most important tool you have developed
over your career to work so closely with
them?
I would have to say listen to what the artist
has to say. You are out there as an employee
to mix their sound — you are not hired to be
their friend or someone to hang out with. You
have two ears and one mouth for a reason.
You need to listen twice as much as you talk.
This is one of the smallest little industries
in the world. It seems that there are a
small group of people getting most of the
work. What is your “secret weapon” that
has made you part of that elite group?
Elite group. I like that. I have no secret
weapon, though I never worry about getting
work. I think as soon as you worry about it,
the work will stop coming. I have been lucky
“I get my satisfaction out of mixing sound to the artist. People do ask, ‘When are you going to
move out to FOH?’ I am not. I am a monitor mixer.” — Kevin “Tater” McCarthy
18
MARCH 2008
www.fohonline.com
FOH Interview
“You have two ears
and one mouth for a
reason. You need to
listen twice as much
as you talk.” — Kevin
“Tater” McCarthy
of Klark 360s. Though in many situations gear
that you want to use will not work for many reasons (size, weight, expense, endorsements, etc.)
other than audio. So, you have to be ready to
change. When you are constantly working, it is
very hard to get your hands on new gear. Many
manufacturers these days are great with sending demos, loaners or even bringing consoles
down to where you are at.
enough to work with some great people,
bands and companies that have not lost my
phone number yet.
What is the most common mistake that
young monitor engineers make either
sonically OR politically?
Sonically, not working with the FOH sound
as part of their stage sound. Know your console.
A monitor mixer looking at his desk all the time
and not the band is not doing his job. Politically,
I would say that the most common mistake is
opening your mouth at the wrong time. Especially when discussing audio with people who
clearly do not understand the logistics, etc.
What would you have done differently in
your career, if anything?
I have to say not much at this point.
Have you ever mixed FOH and why do you
like being a monitor engineer over being a
FOH engineer? What are the pros and cons?
I have mixed FOH twice for Alice Cooper
when the FOH mixer could not do the show.
I get my satisfaction out of mixing sound to
the artist. People do ask, ‘When are you going
to move out to FOH?’ I am not. I am a monitor
mixer.
We always make the joke - “FOH engineers
have L&R to mix and monitor engineers have
32+ mixes.” There is no question that being
a monitor engineer is hard. What tools do
you use to keep track of all that audio?
There is only one tool — your ears.
What is your favorite piece of gear right now
and why?
Right now, I would have to say digital consoles. I did once say, ‘I will quit this business before I use one of those,’ but I would have it no
other way now.
It takes a certain amount of Obsessive
Compulsive Disorder to do what we do.
What other qualities do you have to have
to be a good monitor engineer, and how
have you exploited those qualities in yourself to further your career?
20
MARCH 2008
Well, if anyone has been near my monitor
world, Obsessive Compulsive would be one
way to describe it. I hate a messy and unorganized work area. Staying calm as a monitor mixer is the best quality to have and I try to use that
as an advantage.
Wedges versus in-ears? In your career, you
have seen it go from ridiculous loud wedges, to quiet stages with pristine PM mixes.
Which do you like to mix? Both have challenges — what are they?
Two totally different animals entirely. I
love them both for different reasons. A lot of
things we do on the stage end usually do not
have good audio practices in mind, which
lead to many challenges. For wedges, a common practice now is hanging them under grill
decks. Hanging a wedge and not having a floor
changes the sound entirely, plus shooting thru
metal grating is no help either. In PMs, I would
have to say frequency coordination and fit. Fitting and sealing issues can be very bothersome
and seem to be out of your control. That is why
I carry a fitting kit that I came up with that contains tools and audiologist equipment to refit
the PMs on the road.
it took. Now you have to create a multitude
of pristine sounding stereo mixes, which is
keeping the stage volumes down. The job
has definitely changed — it has gone from
defense to offense. The "combat" now comes
from wireless frequency coordination more
than anything else.
It seems like every five years or so there
are large advancements in technology in
live sound (e.g. analog consoles to digital
consoles). How do you keep up with it and
adapt? Is it a bit like teaching an old dog new
tricks? Do you find that you stick with gear
that you know and love, even though there
is newer technology now?
Yes, I normally stick with gear that I am
comfortable with, but you have to keep up with
the technology. If not, I would still be using a
32-channel Harrison SM-5 with a deep rack full
How about the unique challenge of PMs
AND wedges?
This is pretty much commonplace, at least
for me and the bands that I work with, but for
different reasons. My first gig mixing PMs was
1992 with a band called Trixter. Since then, every band I have done has been with PMs and
wedges. Wedges are used with PMs for pressure, sub, backline and some as just a backup.
So each of the situations change your approach.
The biggest challenge comes from the ONE ear
with wedges combination and having the artist keep his PM volume at a reasonable level —
watts versus milliwatts.
It seems like more and more stages are getting quieter, which seems to make our job
easier. Do you find that the monitor engineers’ job has gotten a lot less “combat” audio and a lot more refined audio?
Of course, when I started doing monitors
just getting the vocal loud enough was all
www.fohonline.com
How much “homework” do you do prior
to working with an artist? Do you listen
to their records or watch previous live
video footage?
That all depends on the time given. I usually
do not like to go in knowing too much. I work
more on getting them to fit into gear configurations that I am successful with. For Linkin Park,
the first time I worked with them I had no time
at all. I did it on a break of a Godsmack tour. I
flew in from Japan right to the rehearsal studio
and the band came in a few hours later.
What is your favorite Tequila and why? As a
professional “mixer,” please disclose your favorite Tequila drink recipe.
I leave all that “mixing” to my assistant Paul
White. Blancos or Silvers are my favorite. Don Ramon, Corralejo, Cabo, Patron and Herradura all
work well with just a half-squeezed lime over ice.
SIDE NOTE: A quick question for Paul White,
Kevin’s assistant for several years…
How do you keep Tater happy?
When I first started working with Tater,
I realized he is a freak about keeping things
the same and in order. To the extreme. Then I
realized that this is the key to his success. But
when he pisses me off, all I have to do is mess
up one of his drawers in his workbox to keep
him in line.
Production Profile
Kevin Loh
Let The
Games
Begin
Michele Lee Willson
If sound for video games is the new film
sound, mixing games live takes FOH
someplace it’s never been before
By DanDaley
P
art rock concert, part “Let’s Make A
Deal” live, part religious experience,
Video Games Live is a 135-minutelong amalgamation of the scores and songs
from popular video games performed by an
orchestra and a choir and set to both preprogrammed and random game playing on
a massive video screen. Perhaps the best
analogy would be Buffalo Bill’s Wild West
Show of the late 19th century, which sought
to recreate the environment of the frontier
west as a traveling circus.
What VGL and its cofounder, games music composer and sound developer Tommy
Tallarico, have managed to do is take the
immersive and often solitary act of playing
a video game and make it a group grope.
Monty Hall would have trouble picking out
the best costumes as attendees — audiences routinely number in the thousands
per show — vie to get picked to play a few
minutes of a game on the jumbo screen
as the huge musical ensemble beneath it
(The Kennedy Center show in Washington, D.C. last year had a 66-piece orchestra
and a 20-voice choir) labors to follow the
unpredictable action of the game.
FOH Mixer Matt Yelton, who has mixed the
show for most of its three seasons, starting
in 2006 with what he called “a true baptism
of fire” at the Civic Auditorium capping the
annual Video Game Conference in San
Jose, Calif., the Silicon Valley epicenter of
gaming technology. Yelton thinks his longtime mixing of the Pixies and its lead singer
Frank Black positioned him well for the VGL
gig. “Clean and loud is what I did with the
Pixies,” he explains. “Lots of dynamic shifts.
I’m not a static mixer — I don’t just put up
the faders and tweak them. I’m playing the
console like a piano.”
That console will vary — VGL’s lighting and video take up an entire Theatrical Media Services semi-trailer, so Yelton
works with the venues’ FOH desks, which
also handle the monitor mixing. When he
does get a digital console, like the Yamaha
PM5D, he can load the shows’ moves from
a flash drive; on analog boards, he gets a
physical workout. “Digital is great for orchestral mixing because you don’t need
analog outboard to warm up the sound —
the nature of the instruments and the hall
do that,” he explains.
“Playing the Console Like a Piano” PP
Mixing an Orchestra — Gasp!
A game audio developer will tell you
that what sets the sound of games apart
from the movies they increasingly resemble
is the fact that in films, the music and SFX
are locked to the linear progression of the
narrative; in games, however, the narrative is what the player creates in the course
of play: If there are three doors to choose
from, the music is going to be different behind each one.
“It’s not a rock concert, it’s not a classical music concert, it’s all of those things
at one point or another every night,” says
In fact, many classical recording engineers would gasp at the notion of mixing an
orchestra, an organic entity that is intended
to balance itself under the guidance of a
seasoned conductor. But VGL brings in the
elements of rock music and sound effects
and thickening pads used with smaller orchestras, stored on a hard drive and played
through a DoReMi front end. “You try to
treat a symphony orchestra like a drum
kit, as one continuous instrument,” Yelton
explains. “You want to let the orchestra balance itself — these are very good musicians
22
MARCH 2008
PP
Micheal J. Trifillis
Video Games Live combines orchestras and choirs for a one-of-a-kind
video game playing experience.
up there. But the show has other elements in
it that need to be balanced with the orchestra. Then there are other things to consider:
The audience is made up of parents, grandparents and kids. The kids want a rock mix
and the older people want it to sound like
a classical concert. That has to be balanced.
Then there’s the politics and peculiarities of
an orchestra. There vare choirmasters and
soloists who are incredibly talented, but
who can approach diva level — someone
wants an extra microphone here or there, or
the vocal soloist who is usually operatic and
doesn’t know how to stay on the [Shure] 58
to stay balanced with everything else going
on. There’s much more to manage here than
a rock show.”
Miking the Orchestra
PP
Yelton is confronted with a new
landscape every night (VGL is up to
about 60 performances globally this
tour): orchestras range from a low of
27 to over 70 musicians, with as many
as 60 choir singers. His approach to
microphones is the same, though: a pair
of large-diaphragm condensers in front
of the choir with two small-diaphragm
condensers to the side, two smalldiaphragm condensers placed in the
center of the violins, violas miked with
a pair of large-diaphragm condensers
placed on either side of the section,
brass and woodwinds caught by four
small-diaphragm condensers, French
horns use a single Shure 57, and so on.
www.fohonline.com
Tommy Tallarico, games music composer, sound
developer and cofounder of Video Games Live
Yelton’s mic chart lists simply the type
of microphone he would like the venue to
place, not restricting the brand or model,
though the piano does get specific. He asks
for Schoeps 414, Neumann KM 184 for top
and bottom, and a Shure Beta 91 or Barcus
Berry PZM as a pickup. For certain instruments like the cellos and bass, Yelton will use
Audio-Technica ATM35 clip-on microphones
that he carries himself on the bridge. Shure
87 wireless systems are used on the conductor, the MC and the featured vocalist.
Microphones are placed on stands as
low as possible over the musicians’ heads
so as not to interfere with sightlines to the
projection screen for the first few rows
a classical music
Michele Lee Willson
concert, it’s not
“It’s not a rock
concer t, it’s all
of t h ose t hings
at one point or
every
— FOH Mixer
Matt Yelton
of seats. “One thing that sets this apart
from a classical concert is that there is a
lot more low end,” he says. “We’ll add a
couple of subs to the system and mic the
basses — the bassists love it.” But overall,
he says, fewer microphones means less
potential for phasing or feedback issues.
(A PA also gives the orchestras a fighting
chance against the crowd noise in some
of the more enthusiastic game cities: “In
Brazil, it was almost impossible to get the
PA loud enough to get over the ‘soccer’
crowd,” he recalls.)
Monitoring, Sort Of
PP
The hard drive stores prerecorded
string and specialized synthesizer parts —
“You just can’s ask a synthesizer to be able
to do Wendy Carlos-types of sounds live,”
says Tallarico — as well as a click track. All
of the above are sent to the conductor’s
podium and to each musician, who wears
a one-eared headset that are hardly hi-fi.
Tallarico says they bought them in bulk
for $2 each. But all they really have to do
is communicate to the musicians where
in an often interactive and unpredictable program they’re supposed to be.
Conductor Jack Wall wears a Sennheiser
EW100ENGG2 lavalier microphone and
using a set of pedals and an eight-channel Mackie mixer at the podium can route
his comments to various sections of the
orchestra. “If the oboe is falling behind,
Jack can zero in and coax him,” Tallarico
explains. It also allows Wall to determine
what each section hears in their mix.
Fabio Santana
night.”
another
The Game Is On
PP
The music moves in linear fashion,
like any other concert, until it gets to a
point in the show where Tallarico brings
up a couple of audience members to
play a game in real-time on the huge
screen. Since game play is anything but
linear, the score for the interactive sections of the show are four folded pages
instead of the usual two, and contain
numerous codas to loop a 16- or 32-bar
phrase for as long as a player is in a certain scene or level. Changes from one
section to another are color coded and
led by Wall with hand signals. For example, when they’re playing the classic
game Frogger, the intro music happens
only once, as the game is booted, then
the orchestra starts with Level One music. “Jack is watching the play, and if the
player dies, he cuts the music off,” says
Tallarico. “There’s a little pause for the
death scenes. If they make it to the next
level, Jack counts it off and the orchestra plays the Level Two music. Just like
in the games, each level and goal has its
own score. If Jack makes a fist, it means
the player’s won and the orchestra goes
to Game Over music.”
The game Space Invaders ratchets
the play up, with a prize of a laptop to
whoever kills the most spaceships in a
1.5-minute play window. The music is
simpler — only four notes played repeatedly — but the tempo changes reflect
how the actual game operated. “The
guy who created Space Invaders started
with the tempo of the human heart rate,
and as enemies get closer on the screen,
there are eight levels of faster tempo that
kick in,” Tallarico explains. “When they
were play-testing the game they told me
that the tempo would actually affect the
players’ heart rates. We do the same on
stage, but without the click. Jack is freeconducting the orchestra.”
Eerie Sounds and Random Pizzicato PP
The sound effects are also live, created
by the orchestra. “The woodwinds and
violins will do 1950’s sci-fi effects, like Theremin-like eerie sounds and random pizzicato,” says Tallarico. SFX is augmented with
synthesized low-frequency drones used
on the Halo section of the show, stored on
the hard drive and sent via an aux to the
subs, along with electronic percussion. The
orchestra will get some of the prerecord-
ed music in their monitor mix and Yelton
will send some of it through the PA when
necessary to, for instance, get a double effect on a smaller orchestra. (Some union
orchestras prohibit the use of music backing tracks on the grounds that it threatens
musicians’ jobs.) He’ll send the backing
tracks to the choir for pitch.
While the SFX for the games is done
live, there is little in the way of effects
processing on the audio for VGL. Yelton
will use a touch of reverb — a plug-in on
a digital desk or a Lexicon 480 L or PCM
70 when working analog — on strings
and the choir. For the choir, he uses four
microphones in a straight array across the
front the choir. But while the two inside
microphones are large-diaphragm condensers, as might be expected, the two
outside microphones — the sides nearest
the orchestra — are Sennheiser clamp-on
dynamics, which he says offer better backside rejection.
VGL has a few other unique things for
the FOH mixer to deal with, like riding the
MC’s narrative over the music and SFX. “It’s
really a thing unto itself,” says Yelton. “It’s
a rock show, it’s an orchestral show, it’s a
game show. It’s a lot of fun to mix.”
Kevin Loh
www.fohonline.com
2008 MARCH
23
Feature
Wither MONITORS?
As FOH has gotten more high tech, so has that slice of
real estate known as monitor world
By BillEvans
O
nce upon a time, monitors meant
a mix or maybe two was handled
from the same console as the house
sound (and some folks — like this year’s Parnelli winner for FOH Mixer of the Year, Tom
Young, still do it that way for acts like Tony
Bennett).
But as personal monitors become the
norm rather than some weird thing you
have to adjust to for some gigs, the game
has changed and that change is sure to continue. For instance, take the one-man approach of Tom Young and contrast it to the
growing number of acts using more than
one monitor engineer.
things that might have once seemed weird,
but are increasingly common. Read on for
Earl Neil’s (Toby Keith) take on using multiple consoles (one for the band and one
for the boss), Drew Cansalvo (Black Crowes
and currently out with Tower of Power) on
a “mixed” stage with some of the band on
wedges and some on PMs, and Nick Sodano, who mixes Barry Manilow on a PM1D
and lets the band fend for themselves.
Earl Neil — When The Boss Doesn’t Like
Digital
I have been mixing monitors for Toby
Keith for going on six years now. When I first
the “dirt” he had grown
so accustomed to. The
band was extremely
happy with the clarity and consistency of
the DiGiCo and made it
known to Toby when he
discussed going back
to analog. I knew that
if we went back totally
analog, we would have
to carry two consoles to
manage the large number of outs. I suggested
that since we would
“ I knew that if we went back totally analog, we would
have to carry two consoles to manage the large number of outs.” — Earl Neil
I first saw this with The Dead, where the
entire band except drummer Mickey Hart
was with one engineer on a Yamaha PM1D,
while Hart’s monitors were mixed by a different engineer on a vintage Gamble desk
like the one used at FOH. Saw it again with
Springsteen, where two engineers handle
each side of the stage. OK, that is a big
band (10 pieces), so it makes some sense
to have two engineers, each handling five
people rather than one on 10. But when U2
last toured, they had three (count ‘em) engineers on three consoles for a four-piece
band. And I have not seen it, but I hear that
ZZ Top tours with monitor guys for a trio.
Monitor World is officially not in Kansas
anymore.
FOH asked a trio of respected monitor
guys to give us their take on some of the
started we were using one Midas H3000.
At that time, our band was a bit smaller
than it is now and we were in the process
of growing. We had a nine-piece band —
three of whom were sharing a single mix
because there weren’t enough outputs on
the H3000.
When we started the “Shockin’Y’all Tour,”
Toby wanted to add three background singers. I suggested going to a digital console so
we could get the number of outs we needed for the additional band members, as well
as needing to add some additional effects
and sends for stage subs.
Toby had issues with the extremely
low-noise floor of the DiGiCo D5 that I had
selected for our monitor console. It was
difficult for him to get used to hearing his
own footfalls on the stage and not hearing
have to have two consoles anyway, that we
keep the DiGiCo for the
band and bring a Midas
back in for Toby.
This is the perfect
set up for Toby Keith and
The Easy Money Band.
The DiGiCo and all its
functionality allow me
to mix the band primarily through the snapshots, which leaves me
free to hand-mix Toby
on our Midas XL3. Toby
enjoys hearing a frontof-house type mix, and
I am able to do that for him because I don’t
really have many changes to make for the
Earl Neil
Toby Keith in concert
band unless something goes awry.
I really like how my world has come
together on the Toby Keith Tour. It is very
Linda Evans
“ We have virtually spoiled our artists. Expectations run much higher than when we
were all just ‘blowin’ air’ around the stage with sidefills and wedges.”
— Drew Consalvo
Drew Consalvo
24
MARCH 2008
www.fohonline.com
Tower of Power
Feature
“If I have one person ask for more hi-hat in the drum mix, I can’t just do it. I have to stop
and ask, ‘Is everyone OK with adding some high hat to the drum stem?’ It becomes a
balancing act.” — Nick Sodano
functional and yet a joy to mix in. I only
wish that it didn’t make my world so large.
My footprint is about 16’ by 20’. This is fine
when playing sheds, but fitting between
the stage and the dasher in a hockey arena
is not always an easy feat.
Drew Consalvo — Mixing It Up
When mixing monitors for established
bands that have some younger PM-wearing members, and some more mature
members who still prefer wedges, an engineer has to adopt a dual-mind mentality
when it comes to his or her approach to the
job. Let’s face it: As monitor engineers, we
have virtually spoiled our artists with the
vast amount of technology at our fingertips these days: PMs, scene-based digital
mixing, reverbs for everyone, etc. Expectations run much higher than when we were
all just “blowin’ air” around the stage with
sidefills and wedges.
For the guys on PMs, I tend to use
parametric EQs on their outputs while any
wedge mix gets a graphic. With the PMs,
reverbs are a necessity, while not so much
the case in the wedges except maybe to
warm up a keyboard or smooth a vocal
in a dry room. Thank goodness for digital
desks and the wealth of DSP they possess
within.
A lot of the “more mature” performers still really enjoy the feel of their pant
legs flapping around with every kick of the
bass drum. The moves you make on the
sends are far more aggressive on wedges
than with PMs. When a player on wedges
requests more snare, for example, I will
usually bump it at least 3 dB to get the
thumbs-up, while it may only require 1 dB
to elicit the same response with someone
on PMs. The moves one makes for the PMwearing members are much more subtle
— thus, the “dual-mind” mentality.
Then there is the issue of the dual
cue buss requirements. Cueing a vocalist’s PM mix at nominal through the cue
wedge can be downright scary and loud
enough to freak out a nearby keyboard
player. One must be able to separate
the wedge cue from your PM cue. While
many desks offer this capability, others
do not, and I have gone so far as to take
the headphone output of the desk and
route it to one of my cues. The dual mind
requires that you are always cognizant
of which type of mix you are adjusting.
This and the right attitude will help lead
to job security.
Nick Sodano —“I mix Barry. The band
fends for themselves.”
Self-mixing is here and the phenomenon is only going to grow. With
the advent of systems from Hear and
Aviom, and just plain wacky stuff like
Jimmy Herring from Widespread Panic,
who has a series of mixes sent to an
army of wedges, which he mixes himself using volume pedals, our jobs may
26
MARCH 2008
www.fohonline.com
increasingly become about educating the
artist and keeping them out of trouble. The
following is from an interview FOH did with
Nick Sodano, monitor engineer for Barry
Manilow at the Las Vegas Hilton, where he
uses an Aviom system for the band.
Says Nick: “The trick is to weed out the
guys that are great musicians that can’t mix,
and then help them out every now and then
because there are guys who took to the
technology like ducks in water, and there
are a couple of guys who can’t mix a drink,
you know? They’re gonna get in trouble every month or so, so I go up and say, “Here, try
this” and it’s all, “Oh, OK. It’s great. Thanks.”
BE: Do you ever find that you have
to take control back? Do you have
the racks where you can take control
back?
Nick Sodano: I don’t ever take control from them unless one of the singers
or somebody does something silly or
something just stupid, like muting their
own vocal, for instance. One of the background singers actually muted their
own vocal and did not know how to
turn it back on — she just hit the wrong
button — and didn’t tell me for three
days. She was almost in tears. “I don’t
hear myself!” I looked at the rack and
was all, “Oh, there it is. Boom. Done.”
Now what does make it harder is
that you’re walking a line, because you
can’t. Normally, my impulse is to grab an
input gain… that impulse has to stop,
because now it’s, “Oh my God, I’m going
to mess up… ”
have to get it somewhere else, you know
what I mean? You have to make sure that
your gain structure is set up such that if you
need more for the Aviom stems, then you
have it without actually grabbing an input
gain. On Barry’s thing… it’s not a big deal if I
were just mixing Barry. I could grab an input
gain and do what I need to do, but it affects
everybody else at that point.
BE: I own a Hearback system, and I use
it for gigs where I have to mix front of
house and monitors at the same time.
But the thing that I’ve found with the
Aviom system, lower on the food chain,
is you can do so much that people are
spending more time tweaking. It’s like,
you’re supposed to be playing instead of
tweaking…
The guys are good about it. Like I said,
some of them took to the technology better than others. The guy on the wedges, the
guy that’s on the stereo wedges is Mike Lepig, the guitar player, took to it unbelievably.
Obviously, he has a studio at home. He’s a
gear-head, so he’s actually taken advantage
of… you have 16 presets, so he’s muting
certain things on certain songs, he’s boosting things on others.
He’s really into it. He’s got scenes. I’m
trying to get the other guys to play with
the scenes more and more. This show can
get rock-concert loud, and all of a sudden,
you’re in a ballad and everything changes
like that. There’s a lot of dynamic range in
this show, so that helps a lot, so the guys
can say, “OK, this is my ballad setting. This is
this song’s setting. This is this song’s setting.”
I’m getting them to start doing that more
and more.
But the challenge is controlling the
stems that you are sending to the stage
mixers. For instance, if I have one person ask for more hi-hat in the drum mix,
I can’t just do it. I have to stop and ask,
“Is everyone OK with adding some high
hat to the drum stem?” It becomes a balancing act.
Sara Zickuhr
BE: Everybody’s mix.
Everybody’s stems as well, just to
correct something for Barry, so you
Barry Manilow
www.fohonline.com
2008 MARCH
27
Installations
Intelligibility, Flexibility and a Good, Strong Roof
Photo by Norm hall
Photo by Norm hall
Getting the audio under control at Glendale, Ariz.’s Jobbing.com Arena
Jobbing.com Arena in Glendale, Ariz.
Two riggers working on the steel grid 100 feet
above the arena floor
By DavidJohnFarinella
S
o, Neil Rosenbaum hears the phone
ringing in his office one day last
August and his boss is on the other
side. The Jobbing.com Arena production manager picks up to hear the order
to completely revamp the audio system.
Good news. Bad news? It’s got to be done
by Oct. 4 when the arena’s prime occupant, the Phoenix Coyotes of the NHL,
opens its season.
Rosenbaum, who had been on the
job for about a year before that call,
knew that it was coming based on the
gear that was in the building. “As soon
as I came to the building, it was very apparent that the sound system was budget constructed,” he states. “There were
some corners cut with the sound system
that was put in the building.” There were
issues with intelligibility, energy and
consistency, he adds.
However, as far as acoustics, the room
sounds amazing. “Every seat is soft, there
are bass traps across the entire ceiling,
there’s perforated steel on every vertical
surface on the building. That’s one of the
corners they did not cut when HOK was
doing the architecture and building,” he
states.
Checking the Options
FOH
The first step in the process, Rosenbaum reports, was investigating the
available options. So, he called around
to his peers who worked at the Honda
Center in Anaheim, Calif., and the St.
Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Fla., to hear
what they had installed. Then he started
(L to R): Jeffrey Heimburger, manager of Production Engineering; AVDB Sales Engineer Jamie Gillespie; AVDB CFO Richard Heuer;
AVDB President Martin Waverley; Nathaniel Hall, AVDB director of Engineering, Production Manager Neil Rosenbaum
to look at different technologies, including planar magnetic technology, ribbon
technology, line arrays and exploded
point and shoot clusters.
He also brought in systems from JBL,
Meyer and Nexo to demo in the facility,
but L-ACOUSTICS’ dV-DOSC system won
the day after his trip to Tampa where he
put it through the paces by turning up
some loud rock music and then screaming into a microphone. “The intelligibility that cut through these speakers was
unbelievable,” he says. “It was so crisp
and clear, it was like you were listening
to two different PAs and one was significantly louder. There was no EQing, no effects, just microphone straight into the
console and straight out. That was what
sold me.”
Shortly after the trip, Rosenbaum
tapped the AVDB Group out of Phoenix
and reached out to L-ACOUSTICS. “We
came up with a six-array design with
two sub clusters to concentrate the audio from the very first seat behind the
glass to the very top standing room
seat, which is about 85 feet above the
floor,” Rosenbaum reports. “The system
puts 115 decibels into every single seat.
Right now, we have more L-ACOUSTICS
gear up than most rock bands have on
tour.” For the record, there are currently
72 dV-DOSC loudspeakers, 16 SB28 and
12 dV-SUBs. L-ACOUSTICS’ new LA-8 DSP
processor amplifier powers the system.
One of the other factors that Rosenbaum had to keep in mind before picking
the dV-DOSC system was that he had to
keep most of the sound off the ice during hockey games. (There are a couple
of boxes that hang off the scoreboard
over the ice for coverage, but those existed before the audio renovation.) The
challenge in accomplishing that is getting the cabinets to aim over eight- to
10-foot-tall pieces of glass in front of the
first row of seats. The issue was solved
by a multiple array design with six arrays
— one on each of the short ends of the
arena and then two on the long ends.
Rosenbaum also called for a Yamaha
M7CL console at front of house. The
M7CL replaced an analog board that
was filled with a number of inputs. “It
gives us a lot of flexibility,” he says of the
new board. “For an arena like us, where
we’re doing kind of the same show every
day, having the digital options helps us
make a cleaner show. The affordability
was the number one component of that
board. It would have been great to see a
PM5D in here, but it’s double the price.
For our needs, the M7CL was more than
adequate.”
Making It Invisible
FOH
In addition to making sure that he
had the right sounding system in place,
Rosenbaum concentrated on making
sure that the system could disappear
when it wasn’t needed. That was especially important, he reports, because
“When we had an architectural study done with the new equipment that we were rigging
off the high steel, the architectural engineers said that we were actually strengthening
the building by attaching the roof onto the building better by adding this weight.”
28
MARCH 2008
www.fohonline.com
Photo by Norm hall
Raising the arrays
The system can disappear when not needed.
Bringing In the Boom
Photo by Norm hall
line and working around arena events at
the same time.”
Reports from around the arena have
been overwhelming, he says. Fans have
sent e-mails telling them to turn it up
louder (the NHL has a strict 95 dB limit),
players have mentioned how much they
enjoy hearing music during warm-ups
and the cheerleaders (Hockey cheerleaders? Wow.) can now hear and feel the
beat. Also, fans are now able to understand what’s being spoken during the
produced talking head pieces aired in
between breaks in the action.
Now that the whirlwind has died
down and he’s checked everything out,
Rosenbaum has been able to sit back and
enjoy the system. “I went around with a
decibel meter for several games and sat
in every single seat,” he says. “I could
not find an inconsistent seat.” His relief
is clear, and it seems he’s not so afraid
when the caller ID displays his boss’
number.
AVDB Group installs the L-ACOUSTICS dV-DOSC system into the arena. The
system is a six-array design with two sub clusters to concentrate the audio.
Photo by Norm hall
more and more acts were coming into
town and playing at the arena. In fact,
over the past year, the venue has hosted
the Foo Fighters, Justin Timberlake, Hannah Montana, as well as Tim McGraw
and Faith Hill’s joint tour. In addition to
hockey and entertainment, Jobbing.com
has been the place where locals come
to see motocross and rodeo events,
and is home to the Arizona Sting of the
National Lacrosse League.
So, a rigging plan was created using the highest steel in the building and
now Rosenbaum is actively letting touring acts know that that part of the job is
handled. The venue boasts certificates for
120,000 lbs for an end show and 90,000
for a surround show. “When we had an
architectural study done with the new
equipment that we were rigging off the
high steel, the architectural engineers
said that we were actually strengthening the building by attaching the roof
onto the building better by adding this
weight,” he explains. “So, not only were
we alleviating about 17,000 lbs of old
PA equipment that we’ve taken down,
but we’ve strengthened the roof. When
we do the next giant in-the-round show,
we might be able to accommodate up
to 140,000, which is important because
we know these shows aren’t getting any
lighter.”
Rosenbaum took the month of August to investigate and work with AVDB
to design the system. In September, he
engaged with L-ACOUSTICS and then
told them the deadline. Rather than
balking, the company made available a
temporary system that could be hung
until the new boxes were built and the
amplifiers made available.
FOH
Then, on Sept. 26, a 135-foot boom lift
was brought into the venue to do about 60
points of rigging. “Without that lift, it would
have tripled our time to have guys climb up
there, get each of these points and run the 12
miles or so of cable,” Rosenbaum reports. “Cable management was another issue that we
had to deal with and we ended up going with
a chain runner system because these clusters
are able to go all the way down to the floor
and all the way up into the air using one-ton
chain motors.”
Three days later, at six in the morning, the job was complete. “We basically
worked 24 hours a day,” Rosenbaum recalls. “We had a crew of local riggers and
hands and the AVDB guys were out here
pulling cable with all of us. It was an all
effort go to meet that opening day dead-
L-ACOUSTICS dV-DOSC line array being hung
www.fohonline.com
2008 MARCH
29
Vital Stats
Digidesign’s Robert Scovill
By KevinM.Mitchell
What: Manufacturer of Pro Tools software
and hardware; ICON control surfaces; and the
VENUE Live Sound Environment.
Where: Daly City, Calif.
ing out, I happened to walk right by the FOH
position. I ask the guy sitting on the riser what
all of ‘this’ was. He invited me up, showed me
around, and I was hooked from that moment
on. I had a similar recording studio experience
not long afterward  and so, my identity crisis was in full swing. Lucky for me, no one ever
told me you couldn’t be a successful recording
engineer and a live sound mixer. Go figure.”
When: Founded in 1984.
“Nothing you’re afraid of right now
will carry any significance in the
long run… forget about it and get
on with it.” — Robert Scovill
Current clients include: Bruce Springsteen,
James Taylor, Radiohead  “too many to list!”
 are all users of VENUE technology.
Recent company highlight: The release of
the new I/O product called Mix Rack.
Claim to fame: 2004 Technical Oscar, 2001
Technical Grammy, 34 TEC Awards, including
2007 for D-Show Profile Mixer and countless
industry awards for technology development.
Claim to fame part deux: Scovill is the winner of six TEC Awards for Sound Reinforcement Engineer of the Year.
PERSONAL
At home: Wife
of 20 years, Mary
Jo; daughter, Carlene; sons, Ethan
and Jackson; and
dog, Deano.
Least cool thing about being me: “I’m so
freakin’ anal about audio and music.”
Most cool thing about being me: “I’m so
freakin’ anal about audio and music.”
What’s in my iPod right now: “Raising Sand”
by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss.
What annoys me most about live concerts
today is… “That I don’t get to mix more of
them.”
If I could be someone famous for a day, it
would be… “Tony Hawk or Travis Pastrana
 it’s the only possible way that
I could convince my boys that I’m
actually cool.”
If I could go back in time and
tell my younger self one thing,
it would be: “Nothing you’re
afraid of right now will carry any
significance in the long run…
forget about it and get on with
it. If you wake up one day finding
you have never made a mistake,
then you’ve never really tried
anything new.”
Robert Scovill at “The Gorge” in George, Washington
In the kitchen, I make a mean…
“Tequila Gimlet… and my super
sec ret rec ip e fo r ma r inated
barbequed pork steak.”
Does he realize he’s saying
this out loud? “People might
be surprised to know I love to
shop for shoes for my wife; I
love shooting handguns; I was
once in a skydiving club; and
I have it bad for Karen Walker on
“Will & Grace.” She gets me seriously
worked up.”
Robert Scovill with David Gibbons, vice president of product marketing
If I was a cartoon character,
I’d be…“Johnny Quest  too cool for
cartoons, no doubt about it, and I would
still watch it today.”
Words to live by: “Imagination is more
important than knowledge.”
– Albert Einstein
All PHOTOGRAPHY GAbe ecHeveRRiA
BUSINESS
Who: Robert Scovill, market manager for
Digidesign’s Live Sound Products.
First gigs: “My first job was cleaning up for
a drive-in theater  not fun. My first gig in
music/engineering was as a sound technician
for Superior Sound in Kansas City, Mo. It was
a great learning experience with outstanding
mentors.”
I knew I wanted to do this when... “I was
about 13 years old. After a seeing a Supertramp
concert in St. Louis, I simply had to know why
it sounded so good compared to all the other
concerts I heard up to that point. As I was walk-
Happy people  the entire staff at Digidesign headquarters in Daly City, Calif.
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The EPD is used year-round by:
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Basically, anyone who is involved in
live event production will use the EPD.
Buyers Guide
The Personal
Monitors Toolbox
By BillEvans
T
he stampede of artists moving from screaming wedges to “personal”
monitors has changed many of the rules. (Before we go any further and in case you
missed it the last 100 times we have explained: Yes, most of us refer to this kind of
gear as “ears” or “in-ears” when we’re doing a gig or talking about gear. But both of those
terms are trademarked and can only be used officially when referring to the products
made by the company that holds the trademark. Hence our compromise term “personal
monitors.”)
Our goal here is not to list every piece of gear used when mixing personal monitors.
Rather, it is to look at some of the peripheral stuff that makes using them easier. So, you
will find no info on earpieces — neither universal, custom-fit — or wireless rigs. Honestly, that is a fight I would rather stay out of, but here is a look at some of the other tools
we have found valuable on the gig.
uncompressed, full bandwidth digital data transmitted via Aviom’s proprietary A-Net
protocol. All inputs are balanced ¼” TRS jacks. There is a Thru jack available for each
input, which allows the AN-16/i Input Module to be inserted into an existing audio
signal path.
The A-16D is designed to distribute the A-Net Signal from either an A-Net input
module or another A-Net Distributor. Each A-16D accepts one A-Net input signal and
provides eight simultaneous A-Net outputs using Cat-5 Cables.
The A-16II allows the performer control over channel volume, grouping, pan, stereo
spread and master volume. Users can save and recall up to 16 custom mixes as presets,
and the stereo output from the Pro16 Monitor Mixing System can be used to drive floor
wedge monitors, headphones or spot monitors.
MSRP (One input module, one hub and four mixers): $4,727.23 • www.aviom.com
Processors
Of course, any processor you can use at FOH or for traditional monitors can also be
used with personal monitors. But there are a couple of mfgs who have packaged some
stuff together for a piece that is really MADE for PMs.
Hear Technologies
Rane MM 42
The MM 42 processes a single stereo mix or two independent mono mixes using
Shelf/Cut Filters, 3-band Compressor, 5-band Parametric EQ, and 3-band Peak Limiter.
An assignable sub (low frequency) output with adjustable bandpass filter is included for
direct connection to powered subwoofers or bass “shakers” without requiring an external crossover. The onboard headphone amp (¼” and 1/8” jacks) and Cue Bus functionality
permit easy setup and monitoring of multiple mixes.
What do we love about it? That sub out is a very nice touch, as is the ability to monitor
any one of a multiple group of processors without having to repatch your headphones.
The other very cool thing here is the fact that it has four inputs that can all be assigned to
either one stereo or two mono mixes. With the level for each input easily accessible from
the front panel, it makes complying with “more me” requests a breeze.
MSRP: $999 • www.rane.com
dbx IEM Processor
I own and use one of these and love it. Less flexible, but simpler to
use than the Aviom, the Hear system combines the input module and
hub into a single rack space that will take its input as analog or digital via ADAT Lightpipe or its own Cat-5 based HearBus. The individual
mixers do eight channels as opposed to the Aviom’s 16 and have no
EQ or scene memory, but I find performers pick up on how to use
them much more quickly and easily.
You can add a lot of flexibility with the addition of the MixBack,
a rackable 16 x 12 x 2 x 2 mixer that will feed two separate HearBack
hubs and their corresponding personal mixers. The onboard limiter
goes a long way in protecting hearing as well.
Hear has also recently announced the release of the FreedomBack
wireless system and a partnership with Future Sonics to market highend universal-fit earpieces, which makes them the only one-stop-shop out there for personal monitor gear.
MSRP (Four-pack of mixers, one hub): $1,895. You can add the MixBack for
$2,995 • www.heartechnologies.com
Speakers Not in Your Head
Some folks just don’t like anything in their ears, but that does not make personal
monitoring an impossibility. A couple of companies have taken the old speaker on a
mic stand concept and put a pro polish on it for
some interesting options.
EV SOS 3.2
Offering many of the same processors as the MM 42, including multiband compression and five-band parametric EQ, the IEM trades some of the MM 42’s cool stuff, including that Cue Bus, the sub out and the four inputs, for a Stereo Adjust control that varies
the “width” of the stereo image. It also includes Lexicon reverbs, which means you may
be able to leave at least one rack space unit in the shop.
MSRP: $2,079 • www.dbxpro.com
Self-Mixing
While any small mixer can be used for the truly anal to mix their own monitors, there
are a couple of systems out there that are specifically made to do it.
This passive system puts the monitor on
top of a mic stand with a connector for a mic
boom so you get the mic and the monitor on a
single stand, which makes for a cleaner stage.
Diver configuration is a pair of 3.5” speakers
and a single 2/4” direct radiating high frequency
driver. Input is a single ¼” input with a pad for
controlling the overall volume of each unit. As
EV also markets these without the mic-stand
adapter and with a sub as a wall-mount speaker
system, they are sold in pairs.
MSRP: $230 • www.electrovoice.com
Aviom
The system consists
of three parts — an input module that converts up to 16 analog
signals into digital, a
hub that distributes the
signal and individual
mixers that are run by
the person using them.
The AN-16/i Input
Module is a single rack
space unit that serves
as the A/D input. It converts 16 line-level analog audio channels into
32
MARCH 2008
TC-Helicon VoiceSolo
Available both active and passive, the
VoiceSolo series takes the speaker on a mic
stand idea much further than pretty much
anything else out there.
The top-of-the-line VSM-300 XT starts
with an I/O box that takes four mic and line
inputs with pass-throughs for the house (the
mic input includes both a mic pre and phantom power) and an output to the VSM-300,
which houses a single 6.5’ driver and gain
controls for each input and an overall EQ.
A mic boom can also snap right onto any
of the VSM models for an all-in-one mic and
monitor solution.
MSRP: $420 • www.tc-helicon.com
www.fohonline.com
Road Test
LiveWires Personal Monitors
By RoddyPahl
The Gear
FOH
Built in Mount Juliet, Tenn., LiveWires
personal monitors feature dual-balanced
armatures (tweeter/woofer), a published
frequency response range of 20 Hz to
18 kHz and a sensitivity of ~126 dB/mw
at 1 kHz. Depending on the accuracy of
the impressions, the isolation range is
between 25 and 28 dB with distortion
less than 0.3%. They also feature a goldplated swivel connection on each ear
bud and a 1/ 8th connector for the belt
pack. This is all packaged into a sturdy
carrying case with a cleaning tool
included.
The Gigs
FOH
As I have mentioned in previous reviews, my night gig is at the Fremont
Street Experience in Las Vegas, where we
have entertainment five nights a week.
This is an outside venue with a wide variety of acts ranging from rock to R&B to
country and disco. The only real drag with
the gig (other than that my PA is very tired
and needs a serious re-cone job) is that I
have to mix FOH and monitors from the side
of the stage. With that said, you can imagine how much I rely on my headphones
for reference. Once I received my custommolded LiveWires, I was very excited to listen to them. I plugged them into my iPod
and just listened to all different types of
What it is: Personal monitor earpieces
Who it’s for: Those who want a custom-molded
earpiece at a universal-fit price.
Pros: Price — sound comparable to decent
headphones.
Cons: Comfort with standard hard surface,
could use more low end.
How much? About $250 plus the cost of
impressions.
Web site: www.livewiresforyou.com
LiveWires custom-molded personal monitors
music. I even watched a few movies, too.
The one thing I have to mention that
just keeps dancing in my head is the comfort factor. Whether I am just not used to
them or what, I had a hard time leaving
them in for long periods of time without
my ears aching. I’m sure if I had the mold
guy right here with me, he could adjust
them and all would be golden. I would
recommend getting the silicone molds for
the extra cost, though — it will be worth
it in the long run. Anyhow, after a few
days of listening to them with many different sources, I decided to just use them
for my next sound check at Fremont.
Things went well and I heard things
that I haven’t heard before with my
headphones. That was very cool. Vocals
were right in my head, and I could really
dial up tones of the instruments as well.
I fixed some of the things in my effect’s
programs I didn’t like that I couldn’t hear
before with just headphones.
During the show, I A-B ‘d the LiveWires
with my headphones and they were very
close. The overall tone of the LiveWires was
good — they are clear and bright. I did,
however, feel like I could use some more
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Resource for
Continued Education
34
MARCH 2008
www.fohonline.com
warmth and low-end in them. (I am a lowend whore, so when they can fit a 15” sub in
each ear bud, I’ll be a happy man.) At first,
I was a little concerned about the swivel
connector on the buds themselves, but I
moved them around and not once did I hear
any kind of scratching or noise from doing
this, so the connection appears solid. My
overall impression is you pay for what you
get. The LiveWires list for around $250.00
plus the cost of the molds. If you’re looking
for some custom-fit personal monitors and
don’t want to spend a lot of money, then
LiveWires are the way to go.
Road Test
Community SONUS-1296 Loudspeaker
By MarkAmundson
C
ommunity Loudspeakers is an
under-sung hero of the live sound
world compared to other brands.
Even though Community’s Bruce Howze
and staff have lent many innovative features to install and portable speakers, too,
many people forget about the advances
they have brought us over the years. It’s
nice to root for an industry “underdog”
when they bring forth a new series of
speakers.
The Gear
FOH
The SONUS series of loudspeakers
from Community — which picks up where
the XLTE series left off — is a “pro-sumer”
of fe r i ng t hat o ffe rs th e s tre n g th s o f
Community’s driver technology from its
wildly popular UC-1 high frequency driver
to its “Cool-Coil” low frequency drivers
with unique airflow director structures
within the voicecoil former. Also, the rest
of the speaker enclosure received upgrades ranging from its rugged polyester
finish over 11-ply birch cabinetry, DYNATECH speaker protection circuitry and M10
rigging hardware, to its jack panel with
bi-amp/full-range selection capability and
both NL4 and phone jacks for inputs.
I received a pair of SONUS-1296 twoway speakers for this review, and was
immediately impressed by the looks. Not
only was each speaker only 36 pounds in
weight, but the textured polyester finish
with rear ergo-grip handle distinguished
itself from a lot of similar offerings. Even
the satin-black wrap-around steel grille
showed its design quality with screws
ensuring that the cabinet will stay intact
through a long road life.
The SONUS-1296 also is distinct in that
it is the only cabinet in the series with
beveled back panels for stage monitor usage. The 1296 model features a full-range
power input rating of 200 watts RMS, 500
watts program and 990 watts peak into
its 8-ohm nominal impedance. In bi-amp
mode, the low frequency 12” driver retains
SONUS family of loudspeakers
the passive power ratings, while the UC-1
high-frequency driver prefers program
power or power amplifier capabilities in
the 100 to 150 watts at a 4-ohm rating per
driver. This 4-ohm HF driver impedance is
something to watch out for when stringing a pair together in bi-amp mode, as
most HF power amps are not normally set
up for 2-ohm loading.
Other key specifications are the SONUS
1296’s frequency response of 100 Hz to 20
kHz and 90 by 60 degree high frequency
dispersion. Given the power handling
ratings and 1296’s 102 dB SPL sensitivity
(half-space), the calculated maximum SPL
ranges from 122 continuous to 129 peak.
In my testing, I found the frequency response specification conservative on the
low end, with a 100 Hz to 16 kHz span in
the 0 to -3 dB based on my SMAART RTA
testing with pink noise.
The Gigs
FOH
I found the SONUS-1296 a pleasurable
speaker to listen to, and the frequency response checking showed a flat mid-band response with just the proper dip in the 2 kHz
to 4 kHz band where human hearing is the
most sensitive at moderate SPLs. According
to Community, this same range can be boosted or dipped with the Music/Voice switch for
vocal presence. Using the 1296 as a monitor
wedge, I found one niggle in that Neutrik
speakon connectors could be a problem depending on which series you used. The original NL4FC series with blue chuck work fine,
but the more beefy and longer NL4FX and
NLT4FX connectors are a touch too long and
could break the plastic jack plate if stressed.
(According to Community, the company does
supply feet that can be fastened to the slope
edge of the cabinet when using it as a monitor,
which helps solve the connector problem).
But from a gigging perspective, the
Community SONUS-1296 speakers were
beautiful and rugged for wedges and
speakers-on-a-stick applications. While
I am not a fan of 90-degree horizontal
dispersion horns, smaller rooms could
certainly benefit with this wider coverage.
The nice black textured finish and reasonably lightweight enclosure made the 1296
a top pick by me over competitive plastic
speakers in the marketplace.
What: Community SONUS-1296
Pros: Rugged finish, light weight, smooth sound.
Cons: Possible Speakon connector interference in
wedge usage.
How much: $599 MSRP
Web site: www.communitypro.com
WANT DETAILS?
LOG ON NOW!
Order online TODAY at www.fohbookshelf.com
www.fohonline.com
2008 MARCH
35
Regional Slants
All Photos by Ashton Bailey
Village Audio & Lighting:
Another Day in Audio Paradise
Bruce Sandler went to Hawaii on vacation. He’s still there 15 years later…
By DavidJohnFarinella
S
aying that Bruce Sandler’s life changed
when he landed in Hawaii for a vacation
15 years ago is a bit of an understatement. After about a week on the islands, Sandler decided to head back to his Indianapolis
home, pack his bags and road cases and head
back to the 50th state.
“I left everything in Indiana,” Sandler recalls. “I had one of my employees move in and
I told him to run the shop, run the business.
He was petting my dogs, driving my cars, doing everything, and I came to Hawaii to try it.
I figured if it didn’t work I’d go home, but the
bottom line was that I’d be able to look in the
mirror every day and say, ‘At least I had the
balls to try it.’ Fifteen years later, I’m still here,
so I must have done something right.”
Trouble in Paradise
rs
That doesn’t mean, however, that it was
easy getting Village Audio & Lighting up and
running on Maui, although there were only
a couple of other companies in the state.
The first thing Sandler had to battle was the
perception of locals that mainlanders were
not going to stick around. “For the first year, I
couldn’t give a PA system away,” he recalls. “I’d
call and say, ‘Hey, I hear you’re doing a con-
Village Audio and Lighting crew tech James Moala setting up at sunset
cert. I’d like to donate all my gear so you can
meet me and see what I do.’ They were like,
‘No.’ I couldn’t figure it out.”
Then he realized that if he was brought
in the odds were that the existing provider
would feel angry about being replaced. “If I
decided that after six months I wasn’t going
to stay, because it’s such a transient island,
then they would have to go back to the old
guy and ask him to come back,” he says. “It
was a solid year where I didn’t work at all, just
trying to give stuff away to let people know
that I was here, that I was going to be here,
and through time they started to give me
shows here and there.”
Surf’s Up
rs
Nowadays, Sandler reports, the company provides services for 40 to 60 shows per
month. Those gigs bounce between major
label bands stopping on the island to miniluaus to food and music festivals. Recently,
Village has worked with Incubus, James Cotton Blues Band and Alpha Blondie who visited Maui for a show. The island hosts dozens
of community parties each year, including
Whale Day, Maui Slack Key Guitar Festival,
SeaFest and Taste of South Maui, and Village
Dinner party at the Grand Wailea Resort Hotel & Spa in Maui
36
MARCH 2008
Bruce Sandler hard at work
Audio and Lighting is right on the scene.
It’s these types of gigs that Sandler seemingly likes best. “Load up a van and get over
there, set up and then go surfing,” he says
with an audible smile. “It can’t get much better than that.”
Sandler also isn’t shy about renting his
gear to others, including those who are looking for a $100 rental to cover a luau or another
small event. That kind of flexibility has served
him well, especially since voyages on the Hawaii Superferry that takes, people and
vehicles between the islands are often canceled because of weather. In fact, he says, “I’m
doing a show today because a guy was bringing a truckload of gear over from Oahu to do a
show, but he’s screwed. There’s no way to get
the gear over here, so he has no choice than to
call me and have me do a show for him.”
Maui Arts & Cultural Center
rs
The biggest venue on the island is the
Maui Arts & Cultural Center, which fits 4,500
people at its peak. So, Sandler has been able
to keep his PA gear choices a bit in check and
his inventory includes EAW 650 cabinets and
SP-1000s, consoles including a Yamaha Pm5D,
along with a handful from Midas and Sound-
This is the life — a luau at the bay (and maybe surfing later)
www.fohonline.com
craft. He also owns a Showco SRM monitor
rig. “One of my competitors here went to
Showco, because he was from Dallas and he
actually bought the rig. That’s unheard of,” he
states. “He went out of business as far as the
audio end, so I bought all the Showco stuff.”
Being in a remote setting has been helpful at times, Sandler adds. “People are willing
to settle for what we have,” he says. “For example, on this Alpha Blondie show they are
yelling for a Midas 2000, but I’ve got a Verona.
I don’t have a Heritage 2000. I’ve got a Verona.
So, it’s very simple — use my Verona or bring
your own.”
While the 650s have worked at the Cultural Center, Sandler is looking to bring in a
JBL 4888 line array because the city has plans
to add a roof with a grid system. To power the
new array, he recently went out and purchased
all new Crown amplifiers to go along with the
Crest amps that he uses for the EAW rigs.
Going Overboard
rs
The PA collection at Village is relatively
modest, but Sandler admits to going a bit
overboard when it comes to collecting backline equipment. At last count, he has 40 guitar and bass amps from the likes of Fender,
Stage setup on the island of Lanai
Luau at the Ritz Carlton
Maui Arts & Cultural Center, the biggest venue on the island
Sandler’s typical gig on the island — entertainment at the
Four Seasons in Maui
Marshall, Ampeg, SWR and Roland, eight
drum kits built by Yamaha, Sonor and LP, and
28 keyboards that includes a Hammond B3
and Leslie cabinet, Korg, Roland and Kurzweil. “I do almost all of the backline, not just
on Maui, but in all of Hawaii at this point,” Sandler says. “I went wild on the backline stuff. It
seemed like nobody wanted to take on that
aspect of it.”
In addition to audio, Sandler has brought
in a number of auxiliary pieces that makes Village a complete production company. On the
lighting side of things, Sandler has consoles
from HOG, Jans and Lepricon, and fixtures
from ETC, Source 4 PARS and Source 4 LEKOS
and moving lights from Martin and Highend.
Village also has its own stage, generators and
trucks.
“I can offer a true one stop package,” Sandler reports. “I can provide everything except
for the talent.”
And, just like 15 years ago, Sandler hears
all the time from audio pros looking to make
a move to a tropical climate. “I get resumes
every day,” Sandler says with a laugh. “But
the ones that come have to stick around for
awhile, just like I did.”
Worked out for him now, didn’t it?
Sandler’s regular gig — televison shoot for KGMB Channel 9,
Honolulu
Sound Sanctuary
By JamieRio
From a Whisper to a Roar
H
ello my friends. As I go through my
daily work with houses of worship,
I am always looking for something
meaningful and helpful to write about.
My recent experiences with a couple of
churches may appear to be unique individually, but I think the theme has much
wider implications. Let’s talk about “discovering” the sound level that is acceptable to a particular house of worship.
The choir is totally acapella and not that
loud or powerful on its own. I simply set
my dB meter on the top of the mixer and
adjust the volume levels to the exact requirement. Of course, without a dB meter, this would be very difficult to accomplish. My ears aren’t calibrated for decibel
levels like they are for frequencies. Don’t
get me wrong, I know loud and I know
quiet, it’s the in-betweens that can elude
Whenever I am having some difficulty
communicating with a band or staff
member, I will ask them what best
serves the congregation. It gets us
both on the same page every time.
As far as sound goes, one church’s
whisper is another church’s roar. In all the
years I have been involved with worship
sound reinforcement, I don’t think I have
ever experienced so much diversity with
regard to volume. So, the obvious question is — what is the game plan for dialing in each individual house of worship
so that the staff and the congregation
are satisfied? Well, as you know, you can’t
make everybody happy all of the time.
So, why bother?
Finding a Happy Medium
SS
The fact is there is always a happy
medium in worship or secular sound.
You just have to find it. Most recently, I
have been taking my decibel meter to
my church gigs because I have been two
worship houses that have given me specific dB guidelines.
One is a Lutheran church where most
of the service is spoken word and when
the choir sings, they cannot exceed 90 dB.
This church is a piece of cake, mainly because there are no musical instruments.
me sometimes. Anyway, my other church
is more of a challenge.
At this particular church, I have a full
rock band with guitar, bass, drums, keys
and about five singers. The pastor at this
church really wants the band to rock. The
only problem is that the congregation is
a little older and mellower. So, as with the
Lutheran church, I also have a 90 dB limit
on my mix. Here we have some real challenges. The first is the guitar player. He is
a total shredder and plays at the church
as a hired gun. He is not a member of the
congregation and is not a believer. Now, I
don’t have a problem with the guy’s profile, but during the rehearsal before the
service I was getting 100 dB of guitar off
the deck. This was completely unacceptable, especially if grandmother decided
to sit in the front row.
Two Extremes
SS
The good news was the guitar player
was cooperative and allowed me to put
his amp in a closet just off the stage. I
miked the amp and ran it back through
the personal monitors that the band was
using. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that
everybody was on PMs except for two
Hot Spots for the singers. Without the
PMs, I don’t think I could have controlled
the sound. Next I had to deal with the
bass player. This guy happened to be a
member of the congregation and believed he was called on by God to play
bass. I guess you could say I was experiencing both extremes with regards to
these two players.
At any rate, the bassist was great to
work with and we just ended up going
direct and bypassing any type of bass
amp. Drums were my next challenge. The
drummer was caged in plexiglass, and it
was a good thing because he was a hard
hitter. Every drum was miked, but I only
used a little of the overheads and a touch
of kick drum in the mix. Remember, I can’t
go over 90 dB. The pastor played the keyboard and, of course, it was direct and
rolled back though the PMs.
90 dB Rule
SS
The only issue left was the singers.
This was probably the biggest challenge
of all. This churched has two powerful
singers that can blow past 90 dB even
at a dozen yards. There were also some
average and one very quiet singer. It all
boiled down to balancing the monitors,
balancing the mains and balancing the
egos. Just because I am working in a religious setting, it doesn’t mean that there
aren’t any ego issues. Thank God (and I
mean that) they aren’t as common as in
the secular music world. I actually had a
talk with the singers about the 90 dB rule
and how important their role was in helping me follow the rules, and at the same
time, serve the congregation. One thing
you will find in the worship biz is that
serving the congregation is way up on
the list of priorities.
Whether you are the minister, in the
band or the guy making coffee, it is a
common goal to serve your people. So,
whenever I am having some difficulty
communicating with a band or staff
member, I will ask them what best serves
the congregation. It gets us both on the
same page every time.
Jumping Through Hoops
SS
Let’s get back to my 90 dB service. The
fact is, I couldn’t quite make it. Even with
all the hoops I jumped through on my
way there. But I did get it down to 92 dB.
And the great thing was I had the decibel meter and nobody else was looking
at it. In reality, I think the church elders
got together and decided that the services were too loud and they just came
up with 90 dB as an “acceptable” level for
the band.
The truth is that it was substantially
quieter than the previous week, and everybody in the congregation (there’s that
word…) noticed it. The pastor received
lots of praise from his followers for successfully controlling the sound without
taking anything away from the sermon.
He was looking good, which means I was
looking good, and, of course, I will be
working at that particular house of worship indefinitely.
Send Jamie a whisper or a roar at
jrio@fohonline.com.
Turning
It Down
T
he audience at a typical Justin Timberlake show is
probably screaming at an SPL of at least 100 dB,
and you have to pump the PA above that din just to
hear the band (or track, or whatever). Start the show with
both ears open, and then put plugs in alternate ears every 10 or 15 minutes for the duration of the show. An annoying game, and a distraction to the mixing process, but
I’m really not getting paid enough to damage my hearing,
thank you very much.
— Steve LaCerra
From “The Bleeding Edge,“
February 2008 Issue
38
MARCH 2008
www.fohonline.com
The Bleeding Edge
By SteveLaCerra
UNdrstand Wut EyeAm Saying
A
udio professionals have very specific goals when presenting events.
A wide-frequency spectrum in our
audio program. Realistic dynamics. A balanced mix. Intelligibility. That’s a tough
one. It’d be nice to make sure that our
audience can appreciate the subtleties
of the artist we represent, whether that
be a snare drum hit, a quick run of guitar
notes or a whisper. Unfortunately, as venue size increases, intelligibility typically
decreases due to a multitude of factors,
including increased reverb time, poor coverage and attentiveness (or lack thereof )
on the part of the audience. You may have
noticed that cream of the crop artists such
as U2 recognize this issue and actually play
their songs a hair slower in large venues to
make up for the fact that the venue is messing with their clarity.
Music Versus the Spoken Word
TBE
Speech experts maintain that understanding music is far easier than understanding speech for two basic reasons. One
is that music tends to repeat in patterns, so
even if you are hearing a song for the first
time, there’s a good chance that your brain
will identify the guitar (or even vocal) line
when it repeats in the second chorus. The
other reason is familiarity: When you attend
a Garth Brooks concert, you already know
the words to his songs, so even if you can’t
really understand them by ear, your brain
understands them by memory. When Mr.
Brooks addresses the audience, maybe to
tell a story or perhaps to plug a new record,
he’s more difficult to grasp because you
don’t know what he is going to say.
Given these issues, it’s actually more difficult to produce sound reinforcement for a
comedian than it is for an annoyingly loud
metal band. The success of a “spoken word”
event in any venue is completely linked to
an engineer’s ability to make certain that
everyone in the venue can understand the
speaker, whether they be a poet, a comedian or a politician (or all of the above). If
you can’t get the joke, then the joke is on
you, probably at a not-so-funny price.
Audio Pros to the Rescue
The Big Guns in the sound reinforcement that fight against blurred speech are
steerable arrays, loudspeakers whose output may be beamed at a specific area of an
audience. Much like a line array is to music,
there are several goals to a steerable loudspeaker array. (1) Make sure that the listener hears audio from only one cabinet at any
time, (2) control the speaker’s dispersion so
as to not increase reverberant reflections,
and (3) ascertain that audio from two different arrays will not sum or cancel and create
phase issues.
tion and DSP with integral networking for
control via PC. EAW provides a software
app called DSA Pilot that enables the system designer to adjust the vertical dispersion of the cabinet from 15 to 120 degrees,
and electronically aim the coverage +/- 30
degrees. Horizontal coverage is fixed at 120
degrees, allowing wide spacing of DSA cabs
in installations where mounting locations
are sparse. The DSA230 is a one-way system
with somewhat limited frequency response
(78 Hz to 10 kHz) suitable for speech or
background music apps while the DSA250’s
The success of a ‘spoken
word’ event in any venue is
completely linked to an engineer’s ability to make certain
that everyone in the venue can
understand the speaker.
So how do we steer? In the old days
when audio was recorded in stone tablets
using a chisel, we built narrow columns and
aimed them at specific sections of the audience. Quaint, but very inaccurate. Like everything else, we now do it digitally.
Power Steering?
TBE
A few manufacturers have been addressing these issues. EAW’s Digitally Steerable Array series of loudspeakers feature
multiple drivers in column-type enclosures.
Each of the drivers has its own amplifica-
frequency response extends out to 15 kHz
for full-range applications.
Renkus-Heinz takes a somewhat different approach in their ICONYX Series of
speakers, employing full-range coax drivers numbering from eight (in the IC8) up
to 32 in the IC32. The IC16 can shape and
steer audio ‘beams’ down to 400 Hz, while
the IC32 takes that spec down to 200 Hz.
A single ICONYX array allows shaping and
aiming of up to 16 separate audio beams
via onboard DSP controlled using a PC app
called LobeWare. LobeWare electronically
manipulates the drivers via DSP, allowing
the user to adjust the beam’s shape and
directivity, even after the ICONYX array has
been installed. If it turns out a column was
hung too low, that column’s acoustic center
can be raised using software instead of by
physically moving the array.
Way across the Atlantic in The Netherlands, a company called Duran Audio BV
has introduced the AXYS Intellivox line of
steerable arrays. The Intellivox DC and DS
are columns each with an array of 4-inch
drivers, onboard amplification and DSP. The
DSX series are similar, but substitute hornloaded tweeters for some of the four-inch
drivers. These arrays feature AXYS’s Digital
Directivity Control (DDC) multichannel array technology managed by WinControl
software, allowing the vertical directivity
of the columns to be altered, providing increased intelligibility in reverberant spaces
and consistent SPL regardless of distance
from the array. The Intellivox V-90 employs
passive filtering and a preset vertical opening angle with a minus four-degree steering
angle. When mounted to a flat surface, the
result is accurate coverage to the listening
area and a reduction in out-of-phase reflections from the mounting surface.
By enabling the user to control the vertical dispersion pattern, steerable arrays
help prevent unwanted reflections off ceilings and floors of a venue, which in turn reduces destructive interference and makes
the message easier to comprehend. Isn’t
that what we’re here for?
Steve “Woody” La Cerra is the front-ofhouse engineer and tour manager for Blue
Öyster Cult. He can be reached via email at
Woody@fohonline.com
TBE
This is where audio pros must come to
the rescue, providing PA to clearly deliver The
Word (whatever that may be) to the masses.
All too often, PA systems either don’t really
help or (yikes) worsen the situation. When
we try to amplify a voice in house of worship
or a public hall, we run the risk of creating
two big problems. First, we risk ruining the
localization of the performer. Loudspeakers
are placed at various positions throughout a
hall, none of which coincide with the location of the performer. You see someone 40
feet away speaking to you, but hear his or
her voice three feet away and to your left.
The other problem is that PA systems, in
general, often produce a multitude of reflections and reverberation paths that did not
exist prior to the amplification of sound, resulting in gross sonic variations. Loudspeakers must be carefully distributed, aimed and
time aligned throughout the room in order
to prevent a train wreck.
www.fohonline.com
2008 MARCH
39
The Biz
By DanDaley
It’s Tax Cryin’ Time Again…
A
friend of mine, an FOH mixer, just
had a nasty dustup with the IRS,
so although I hate to narrowcast,
the column this month is aimed at selfemployed FOH mixers. It’s too easy to lose
sight of tax issues in the everyday grind
of touring or marketing yourself, but the
consequences of paying attention are
both financially and emotionally draining.
It’s March, so there’s still time to review
some of the key changes to the federal tax
code for the 2007 filing.
ber of changes relevant to freelancers in
pro audio. For starters, the mileage deduction rises to 48.5 cents from 44.5 cents
in 2006. If you’re using your own vehicle
— owned or leased — for business, keep
track of the mileage using a vehicle mileage log, available at any office supply
store. The savings can be significant: If you
log 15,000 business-related miles in a year
— peanuts to some road warriors — this
year’s deduction will be $727.50; if you’re
in the 25% tax bracket, that’s $182 back
The disposable nature of digital audio
technology can make for some deduction
opportunities — how many computers
and older signal processors have you got
lying around the house? — But you have
to follow the rules.
BIZ
File,File,
File,File,
File!
File!
First and foremost: Do file. The penalties for not filing a federal tax return can
potentially outweigh whatever taxes you
might have owed. That’s particularly true
when it’s been a bad year in terms of income; it’s been known to happen that
some people think that if they didn’t make
enough to owe taxes, that they don’t need
to file. Dead wrong.
Secondly, use an accountant. If you’re
self-employed, you’ve got a lot of opportunities for deductions related to your business. The tax code is incredibly complex
and it takes a trained accountant to find all
of the ones that will work for your circumstances. The best way to find one is through
referral from a friend or colleague. Ask how
long he or she has worked with the accountant, too — the longer, the better — and
ask if they’ve been through an audit and
how well the accountant handled it.
Tax regulations for 2007 have a num-
in your pocket. If the vehicle is also your
personal vehicle, the business miles you
log as a percentage of the total number
of miles is also applicable to expenses like
repairs and maintenance.
BIZ
Charitable
Technology
Charitable
Technology
The disposable nature of digital audio
technology can make for some deduction
opportunities — how many computers and
older signal processors have you got lying
around the house? — But you have to follow
the rules. Most school systems are happy to
get donated computers, laptops or desktops
for their students. The growth of technology
in houses of worship has also created a demand for donated audio gear. However, in
all such cases, you’ll need to get a receipt for
the donation, and in the case of an item with
an estimated value of $500 or more, you’ll
need a qualified appraisal. That’s not terribly
difficult to acquire — many pro audio dealers will do it on letterhead. What’s changed
for 2007, though, is that donated items
must now be in “good condition” — a typically vague bureaucratic characterization.
The definition is to prevent people from “donating” useless items and claiming them as
deductions, but vague is never a good relationship word with the IRS. Get both an appraisal and receipt from the giftee that the
item was in working condition at the time of
the donation.
Good
News,
News
BIZ
Good
News,
BadBad
News
You have nothing if you don’t have
your health, and while getting health insurance coverage for the self-employed
remains problematic, deducting its cost,
at least, is getting a bit easier. Health Savings Accounts (HSA) allow freelancers to
put away money specifically designated
to pay for medical and pharmacy costs before taxes. For the 2007 tax year, the limit
has been increased to $2,850 for individuals and $5,650 for families.
The HSA has coverage limitations:
You can’t have any other coverage available — insurance from a spouse’s employer, for instance — and the plan has
to meet what’s called a high-deductible
health plan (HDHP) criteria, an annual
deductible of $5,500. But again, hypothetically, if you’re in a 25 percent
bracket and had to spend all $2,850 in
a year, that’s over $712 you would not
have to pay in taxes.
An additional benefit is found in the
fact that any of the HSA deposit that
you don’t lay out for medical care that
year rolls over into the next, year after
year. If you stay healthy, it’s like having a second IRA or SEP account. The
individual contribution limits for 2007
are the same as the year before — up
to $4,000 if you’re under age 49 and up
to $5,000 if you’re over 50 — but those
limits will begin increasing in increments of $500 per year starting in 2008.
In fact, much of the tax-deferred numbers involved with Federal taxes, such
as IRAs and 401(k) contributions (which
have a $15,000 limit this year), will be
indexed to inflation starting next year.
Any income you can shelter in vehicles such as tax-deferred accounts of
HSAs gives you back the percentage of
the tax bracket you’re in. Furthermore,
the money in these accounts can be put
into a variety of other vehicles, from safe
interest-bearing money market accounts
and CDs to riskier, though potentially
more rewarding, mutual funds and other
stock-based accounts. Granted, it’s not
easily accessible money — early withdrawals will precipitate both the taxes
that would have been due plus a 10 percent penalty. However, under certain circumstances, some retirement accounts (I
hate the term “retirement.” No one’s ever
going to truly retire anymore — they’ll
just work less, and hopefully not as a
greeter at Wal-Mart) can be tapped for
a down payment on a primary residence.
But this is all part of taking a longerrange view of your career.
The bad news, aside from the fact
that we have to pay taxes at all, is that the
self-employment tax — the maximum
amount of net earnings subject to the
social security part — for tax years beginning in 2007 has increased to $97,500. All
net earnings of at least $400 are subject
to the Medicare part of the tax, and there
remains no limit on the amount of wages
subject to the Medicare tax.
And one of the best deductions remains in place for 2007: the ability to
deduct equipment purchases fully in the
year you buy them and put them into
use. It’s called the Section 179 deduction
and can be applied to any material items
you purchase specifically for business
use, so you not only deduct the cost of
the computer and the software, but the
desk and chair you use it at.
Would I rather be talking about interesting business trends in the live sound
industry? You bet. But the more money
you can save on taxes and stay out of the
sniper sights of the IRA auditors, the longer you’ll be around reading FOH.
Contact Dan at ddaley@fohonline.com
Doing Your Homework
Last month, I was called to mix a Mexican Christian rock band at Magic Mountain in Valencia, Calif. There was no chance for me to visit
the venue, so I just inquired as to what console I would be mixing on. It was a Yamaha M7CL digital board. I have mixed with digital boards,
but I had no previous experience with the Yamaha. So, I got online and checked out the board. I found a tutorial program and ran through it
a half dozen time prior to the show. I also found out that Yamaha offers digital mixing classes in various cities, and I plan to take one. I also
went online and checked out the band’s YouTube site.
— Jamie Rio from his column “Sound Sanctuary” in the January 2008 issue
40
MARCH 2008
www.fohonline.com
Theory and Practice
By MarkAmundson
Soldering 102
I
n Soldering 101 last fall, I went through
the basics of tools, tips and technique
on getting good soldering skills. In this
soldering 102 session, I still want to keep
it basic, but show more examples and
commonly encountered soldering tasks.
Splices
TP
Even the best intentions cannot avoid
the need for occasionally splicing cables
together. Whether it is a falling cymbal
chopping an audio cable, or having the
bad fortune of quickly making an adapter
cable to bring two previously unimagined things together in a pinch, splicing
cable conductors together is a basic skill
for anyone dealing with electronic system maintenance.
Back in the late 1800s, soldering was
virtually unheard of; and all splicing was
done mechanically and typically to repair
broken telegraph or telephone wires. To
make rugged splices that would not easily pull apart with tension, the Western
Union splice was invented to solve the
lineman’s splicing dilemma. Figure 1
shows pictorially the three-step process
to making a quality Western Union splice.
The main secret to the splice’s success
was a stiff solid conductor copper wire,
which could be wrapped easily with your
fingers, but axial tension could not easily
unwrap. The Western Union splice is still
good with stranded wires, but soldering
is needed to make up for the flexibility of
stranded wires. By simply tinning up the
wraps and letting the solder joint cool,
is the best way to go about it. Of course,
multi-conductor wiring should be individually taped after soldering to prevent
shorts.
The second, and intuitively obvious
splice, is the pigtail splice. As shown in
Figure 2, it is nothing more than two
wires placed next to each other and twisted together. Electricians use wire nuts on
solid or stranded conductors to make
pigtail splices in commercial and residential premises wiring, but audio connections should have more reliability and
tension relief by soldering after twisting
pigtail splices. Again, nothing more than
tinning up the wound conductors, and a
complete and light application of solder,
should wet up the whole pigtail wrap.
Component Soldering
Figure 1
Figure 2
TP
In the rare occasion that you need to
replace electronic components on printed
circuit boards (PCBs), some additional soldering tips should be acquired. Figure 3
shows typical “leaded” components attached to a circuit board and soldered. The
first tip is that solder-able leads should not
be bent in right angles very near the component body. Doing it right becomes old
hat after lots of practice, but you initially
need to be aware that bends really close
to the component body may fracture the
connections just inside the body.
Figure 3
Doing it right becomes old hat
after lots of practice.
Figure 4
Another teachable tip is that leads going through the holes on the circuit board
should be slightly bent (either inward, or
preferably outward) after fully seating the
component part on board. This mechanically holds the part in place while your two
hands handle the soldering process that
comes next. Note that the depicted good
solder filets are modest in solder amount,
and will be on both sides of the circuit
board if the printed circuit traces are also
on both sides. To repeat from Soldering
101, these solder joints are done quickly
and take only a few seconds each when
the soldering iron is properly tinned and
at the right temperature. Once soldered,
do not forget to nip off the excess lead
lengths before going on to other tasks.
Soldering Now
TP
If you get the chance to see many
modern printed circuit boards, you will
note that not only are the components
shrinking, but many are missing leads
and just have solder dipped ends to make
solder joints to. These surface-mount technology components (SMT parts) are here
to stay, and are shrinking size and solder
joint sizes beyond normal soldering iron
usage. For the larger SMT parts, reflow of
42
MARCH 2008
www.fohonline.com
solder is shown in Figure 4, and generally
done by automation in factories.
To replace an SMT part, or even a
normal (through-hole) component, soldering wick or braid; or special purpose
soldering/suction iron is used to first remove the old solder filets and pluck the
part away. Then with SMT parts, the component must be placed back precisely
and held in place by a glue dot beneath
the part or by mild hold-down pressure
on top. Then each solder joint is remade.
You may need three hands for this if the
glue dot technique is not available.
In The Future
TP
In the future, SMT parts/components
will no longer have easily visible solder
contacts, and your cell phone guts are a
good glimpse of that future. As components morph to tiny chip-scale packaging
with 50 to 100 micron diameter solder ball
connections, the only viable component
replacement method are precision hot-air
guns with gentle warm-up and cool-down
jets of air precisely placed on one part at
a time. I work with these parts daily, and I
feel the pain of the layman whose hands
and tools are not shrinking, but the soldering surfaces are.
Welcome To My Nightmare
What a Wise Guy!
racks 'n' stacks already
and just needed me
to bring "the rest.”
“The Kid” with
the racks 'n'
stacks arrived
half a day late,
and we got off
to a bad start
when he sug-
purchased a fairly large PA system and
had only ever run DJs straight into it sans
console, using EQ and crossover settings
to "mix.” We made some forward progress
until he insisted that his processing be
used  a BBE Sonic Maximizer (in ¼"!)
and a Tapco EQ. I prefer my Ashly Protea
and dbx Drive Rack.
We got along OK after I took the signals
directly to the amps and then routed them
new KV2 PA was shut down about midway
through the first night. I had walked up
earlier to check it out and was amazed that
the provider had dropped XLR ends onstage for the DJs to plug into and then had
apparently just left. His faith in his system's
built-in protective architecture was stunning, as was the volume that a small (four
bottom/three top per side, I believe) system
was capable of. I found that I couldn't stand
I apologized for threatening his life and tried
to go through the mixing console with him.
I
was contacted by a regional electronic
music festival to handle their main stage
 they needed someone who could
mix esoteric/eclectic "bands" with bizarre
instrumentation based around DJs. We've
done lighting for the gig and I was looking
forward to the experience... until the festival
called and told me that they had booked
gested that we
determine a 0-dB
output level and then
tape off the board
"so it'll always be
the same.” When I
explained to him
that MIXING actually means that
things change throughout the set, he got
a horrified expression and blurted out that
he'd have to stay at the amplifiers and adjust them for every song if I wasn't feeding
him a constant signal!
After I calmed down, I apologized for
threatening his life and tried to go through the
mixing console with him. He had somehow
back up into his "processing" so he could
see the lights flash and "fix" the sound to
his heart’s content. I'd question him about
what he wanted to achieve and then dial it
in while he verrrrrry carefully nudged the
Sonic Maximizer closer to perfection. Our
stage manager kept us from physical confrontation, bless his heart, and the kid kept
running back to the stage with that puppydog look in his eyes like "I did good, hear it
now!" I believe that his efforts were vastly
appreciated by the Ketamine zombies who
shuffled around the field to bad psytrance
long past dawn.
Our stage ran the weekend without
interruption (and I mean WITHOUT INTERRUPTION) after an upper stage sporting a
within about 150' of the PA without finding
it painful.
In fact, I think this should be an ad for
KV2… The county sheriff who arrived to shut
down that stage of the festival (thus relocating all of the acts to my stage for a marathon
weekend) reported that he had complaints
that the low-end was causing convulsive
involuntary bowel movements by nearby
farm animals, particularly some prize Pygmy
donkeys at a farm just up the hill. While this
made for a long weekend on the other stages,
the mental image is priceless.
Clint Kaster
SmartTech Audio-Visual
Portland, Ore.
In The Trenches
Thomas R. Keefer
Brandon Cole
Owner
Lakeside Audio
Wilson, N.Y.
www.lakesidebluesband.com
716.297.2920
tkeefer@yorkville.com
Owner
Event Systems Productions
Nashville, TN
www.eventsystemsproductions.com
eventsystems@hotmail.com
615.319.1445
Services Provided: Concert sound and
lighting. Backline if necessary.
Services Provided: Concert Production
Clients: Trace Adkins, Bellamy Bros.,
Bryan White, Little Texas, Spoken,
Flock of Seagulls
Clients: American Heart Association,
Western New York Cystic Fibrosis, City
of Lockport, N.Y., Ball Drop, Niagara
Celtic Heritage Society Fall Festival,
Wilson Field Days
Personal Quote: “It is what it is.”
Quote: “Less is More.”
Personal Info: Providing sound and lighting for many events in and around
Western New York, as well as working for the U.S. division of Canadian audio
manufacturer Yorkville Sound.
Hobbies: Coaching, playing lacrosse, reading history
Personal Info: I started my production career three years ago at the age of 21, with nothing more than a $200 loan. I eventually established some credit and was able to finance a
new truck. As owner of Event Systems Productions in Nashville, Tenn., I own and finance
all my own gear. Event Systems Productions began its life as a live sound production company, but has quickly begun to include lights and staging for touring, as well as local musicians. ESP even does custom installs for venues, churches and public locations.
Hobbies: Playing drums and camping
Equipment: Yorkville Unity U15P, Yorkville Unity UCS1P, Yorkville NX550P monitors,
ART XL231 EQ, ART HD215 EQ, Yorkville LP-304 dimmers, Yorkville LP-608 lighting
controller, numerous APEX microphones and stands, ART direct boxes.
Equipment: Crest and Midas consoles, EAW and Electro-Voice loudspeakers, Klark Teknik
and Ashly processing.
Don’t leave home without: Shure SM87 microphone.
Don’t leave home without: Phone, keys, wallet, iPod.
44
MARCH 2008
www.fohonline.com
Marketplace
EMPLOYMENT
Technical Advertisement
Extend the Limits of the Possible!
At Cirque du Soleil, amazement is part of the job.
In order to astonish thousands of people around
the world each evening, a tremendous amount of
behind-the-scenes talent is required. Over 2500
technicians work help present our spectacular
performances every night. Our Production
and Operations teams include energetic and
passionate individuals across the globe, each
making invaluable contributions so we can
present our phenomenal shows. Every year, the
Technical Recruitment Team scours the globe for
hundreds of technicians to fulﬁll the needs of all
our current productions and upcoming creations.
You might be one of them!
Cirque du Soleil will be
conducting interviews
March 20th-22nd at USITT
2008 in Houston, Texas
Our new and existing shows require
technical expertise in the following areas:
• Aquatics • Lighting • Project Management
• Audio • Make-up/wigs • Rigging
• Automation • Props • Special effects
• Carpentry • Projection • Wardrobe
• Fluid effects
If you are attending USITT and want to be
considered for an interview, please submit
your application at
www.cirquedusoleil.com
Select “Working at Cirque” located at the
bottom of the page, then select “Technical
positions: USITT 2008 Houston, TX Interview Selections.”
For Advertising
Information Call
Dan Hernandez
at 415.218.3835
You don’t need to steal a copy of
Get your own Subscription!
It’s FREE
www.fohonline.com
46
Month 2005
Just go to
www.fohonline.com/subscribe
to start your own personal subscription
www.fohonline.com
Only qualiﬁed applicants will be
considered for interview -- position
descriptions are available online.
“What are you doing tomorrow?”
COMPANY
PAGE #
PHONE #
WEB SITE
Adamson Systems
37
905.982.0520
http://foh.hotims.com/17854-130
Columbus McKennon/ CM Hoist
12
800.888.0985
Crown Audio/ Crown International
21
574.294.8000
d&b Audiotechnik
5, 6
828.670.1763
DAS Audio
27
888.237.4872
dbx Professional Products
31
801.568.7660
DiGiCo/Group One
9
516.249.1399
Digidesign
C4
650.731.6287
DPA Microphones
43
303.485.1025
EAW/ Loud Technologies
41
800.992.5013
EV, Electro Voice/ Bosch
C1, 19, 39
248.876.1000
Full Compass
13
800.356.5844
Heil Sound
15
618.257.3000
InfoComm International
26
800.659.7469
ISP Technologies
38
248.673.7790
JBL Professional
3
818.894.8850
L-Acoustics
10
805.604.0577
Martin Audio
8
519.747.5853
Meyer Sound
C2
510.486.1166
OVO/Mega Systems
6
210.684.2600
Peavey Electronics /Crest Audio
25
877.732.8391
QSC Audio Products
33
800.854.4079
Radial Engineering/Cabletek
45
604.942.1001
Rane Corporation
11
425.355.6000
Renkus-Heinz
7
949.588.9997
Sound Productions
6
800.203.5611
Spectra Audio
14
212.744.2255
TMB
17
818.899.8818
Westone Music Products
4
719.540.9333
Whirlwind Music
16
585.663.8820
WorxAudio Technologies
42
336.275.7474
Yamaha Commercial Audio Systems
1, C3
714.522.9011
Gabriel Sound/ Consolidated Audio Technology
46
973.831.7500
Hi-Tech Audio Systems
46
650.742.9166
New York Case/Hybrid Cases
46
800.645.1707
MARKET PLACE
2008 MARCH
47
FOH-At-Large
By BakerLee
Andy Au
Is It Overtime Yet?
O
n Nov. 10, 2007, right before the
busiest season of the year, the
Broadway stagehands decided to
go on strike and piss off quite a few tourists and theatergoers who made the trek
into Manhattan just to enjoy a show or
two. Of course, these same stagehands
were also finding themselves lambasted
in the media as spoilers for not only the
Broadway patrons, but also for the producers, actors and ushers, as well as ancillary
businesses such as restaurants and shops.
In the mainstream media, the stagehands
were collectively portrayed as “The Grinch”
who, due to their own avarice, ruined the
top moneymaking season for all the aforementioned and more.
There were testimonials by restaurant
owners, waiters and bartenders whose
restaurants were empty. There were heartwrenching stories of families that saved
all year for a magical Christmas in New
York only to find themselves rearranging
their plans and settling for other activities.
Hotel owners complained that rooms
remained empty during a season that usually yields full houses and the mess, as reported by the media, was caused by these
stagehands who all make $150,000 per
year and belong to a union that demands a
certain amount of labor to be on each call
whether required or not.
According to media accounts, it appeared that the stagehands were coming
from the dark side, but then again, there
just wasn’t much attention given to the
fact that the producers and owners proposed to cut the stagehand’s jobs and pay
by 38%. Considering that the stagehands
had been working since the previous July
without a contract, it makes sense that
they finally took action. Stagehands make
a decent middle class income, but consid-
COMING NEXT
MONTH...
FOH Interview
We finally get personal
with the guys who make
the Grammys happen.
Production Profile
Nashville Networking?
Sound Image has Rascal
Flatts on the first 100%
HiQNet tour ever.
Buyers Guide
We get juiced with power
distros and conditioners.
48
MARCH 2008
Considering that labor makes the
wheel spin, the question then arises,
“How much are you worth?”
ering that most do not work year round
and are paid per production, the $150,000
income portrayed by the media is grossly
exaggerated. This doesn’t exonerate Local One, but what they are up against is
a corporate media machine. The owners
of ABC, The Disney Company, is the largest earning company on Broadway and
managed to gross $2,205,016 just a week
before the strike. For many weeks prior to
the strike, the musical Wicked had grossed
more than one million dollars per week,
and just one week before the strike the
show had managed to pull in more than
$1.3 million. Wicked is owned by Universal
Pictures, which is a subsidiary of G.E., the
same company that owns NBC.
I do realize that regardless of the company’s size or gross income there are many
expenses involved with putting on a show
of this caliber. Owners are constantly trying to optimize their profits no matter
how large or small they may be perceived.
Historically, in every business, there have
always been owners and workers with the
owners always trying to capitalize on their
labor. Labor and labor rates are always an
issue for any type of producer and, as we all
know, good help is hard to find, but while
there may be some slackers in the business, I find that for the most part a majority
of the stage hands I have encountered are
competent technicians who work hard and
put in extremely long days at their jobs.
Considering the amount of people that are
affected by a stagehand strike, I would say
to the owners that instead of trying to cut
the stagehand’s income it might be in their
best interest to appeal to the community
restaurants, hotels and shops to subsidize
the required labor.
Union labor rates can vary depending
upon the theatre and the local rates, but one
of my friends, who is in charge of the production for a theatre in New York, told me
that the basic rate for a stagehand starts at
about $287, which is about $36 per hour.
This rate is based upon a load in at 2 p.m.
with stage dark for dinner between 6-7 p.m.
If the show is over at 10:30 p.m. the load-out
will be finished between 11:30 p.m. and 12
a.m., at which point no overtime in incurred
even though from 2 p.m.-12 a.m. is actually a
10-hour day minus the dinner hour. Overtime
is incurred when there is an earlier load-in,
load-out or if the dinner hour is purchased. If
an audio tech is required, he is paid $100.00
more on top of the basic $287.00. I’m told
that when the guys get busy they can make
some decent money, but they are usually
working 12 hour days for seven days a week
and, as we all know, that leaves little time for
anything else — other than working on your
divorce proceedings.
Considering that labor makes the
wheel spin, the question then arises, “How
much are you worth?” How much can we
as engineers demand from an employer
and how do we calculate that figure? Interestingly, a comparative salary search
on the internet for audio engineer brings
up a list of mostly broadcast and recording engineering positions. The one listing
for a live audio engineer on a page listed
as “Career Prospects in Virginia” gave this
response and I quote:
www.fohonline.com
The various tasks required for a live
sound engineer ranges from plugging in
microphones and monitoring simple sound
panels to the design of elaborate sound
programs that involve recording, mixing,
and running tapes during a live event. But
because technology in the field of sound is
advancing so quickly, all live sound engineers must constantly learn new equipment
and techniques.
For live sound engineers, there's no
such thing as a typical job schedule. Some
tour with a band working 16 hours a day,
sometimes for six-months straight. Others
work on small, local gigs. However, since
many events and performances take place
at night, and the sound equipment has to
be set up and tested well before they begin,
many work days run well over eight hours. As
a result, live sound engineers must be able to
stay focused, spotting impending problems,
and troubleshooting them on the spot even
when it's 11:15 p.m. on a day when they’ve
been on the job since 8:00 am. Because they
work in front of live audiences and have
little room for error, live sound engineers
must thrive under pressure and be able to
make quick decisions. Usually they're people
who love working with sound, learning new
ways to enhance it, and tinkering endlessly
to achieve the best possible result. And often
their work is central to the success of a performance — no sound, no concert.
Since most live sound engineers do not
have a stable work schedule, their earnings vary widely. In Virginia, sound engineering technicians made salaries ranging from about $21,000 all the way up to
salaries in the $146,000 range in 2005. The
median salary for sound engineers in 2005
was $39,000.”
Salaries are always market driven and
one would assume that in larger markets
such as New York or Los Angeles salaries
are higher than in other parts of the country, but regardless of locality, how does one
calculate their worth? Considering that
there is no “Live Audio Technician Union,”
who is it then that determines our rate and
when we should get more? Should more
be paid when we mix a show for a larger
audience? Can we demand more when we
do monitors for a popular band or show?
Is preproduction really part of the job description? Can we demand more if we are
moving gear, setting up, doing soundchecks, mixing the show, striking the
gear and driving the truck? When exactly
should we assume overtime kicks in? Does
it start after eight hours, 10 hours or after
a 40-hour week? Do we get paid per gig
or by the hour, and do we get paid more if
we can fly the system or do a digital multitrack recording? If so, how much more can
we get paid? If someone could give me a
detailed rate and job responsibility chart
for what we do, then it might be easier to
calculate labor for live audio engineers. As
it is, we may just have to wait until we get
our union together.

Mixing To The Next Level

Transcription

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