I am a huge fan of a really well-crafted tune. I am not talking about art or music as a tool for social change. I am talking about pop songs that still sound fresh years after their release. One-hit wonders like "Smoke From a Distant Fire" by the Sanford Townsend Band, or "Brandy" by Looking Glass, and guilty pleasures like "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" by Wham! or "Where's the Love" by Hanson. Every one a little pop gem.

What is dedication in the touring audio biz? Is it enduring long hours, crappy road food and psuedo-intellectual lighting guys? Or is it taking the time out of a crazy schedule touring one of the biggest bands on the road to write an XL-4 recall scene that spells out the name of the band in lights? We put that conundrum to Muse FOH engineer Marc Carolan and system engineer/crew chief Patrick "Paddy" Hocken.

The Salute to the Military USO Concert on the White House South Lawn on July 4, now in its second year, honors troops and their families for their service to the country. While officially on hiatus, The Killers reconvened to perform six songs at the gig, mixed by their longtime FOH engineer James Gebhard on a DiGiCo SD7.

Chris Brown, owner of production company SOUNd CHeK MUSIC, dealt with torrential rain and a heat index swing from 70º to 105º at the Sheraton New Orleans Fais Do-Do stage, one of 12 at this year's New Orleans Jazz Fest.

Karrie Keyes, who has been mixing Pearl Jam's monitors since 1991, opted for a Midas PRO6 console supplied by Rat Sound for the band's 2010 tour in support of its Backspacer album. This represented a change for Keyes, a longtime devotee of Midas' Heritage desk and other analog consoles.

Sound Image is supporting Erykah Badu's current Out My Mind, Just In Time 2010 AD tour with a Soundcraft Vi6 console and JBL VerTec line arrays.

First Assembly of God Church in Manhattan, Kan. recently renovated their sanctuary with design and installation services provided by MSM Systems (Lawrence, KS). The church makeover included complete audio, video, lighting and acoustic systems.

Ubi-Tech, a design-build contracting firm serving the house of worship market, recently installed an L-Acoustics KUDO system at Sa-rang Community Church in Anaheim, Calif., a mega-church with an 80-member choir, 25-piece orchestra and two full praise teams for Korean and English services.

Sound Decisions provided Danley loudspeakers and subwoofers for One Lord Sunday, an annual event staged at the Wasilla, Alaska Multi-Use Sports Complex that brings 4,000 congregants from 20 churches and dignitaries including the governor of Alaska together for a mixed-style worship service.

Imagine that after years of banging boxes on one-show-a-night tours, you land in a venue and manage to stay there for three decades. Everything is where you left it the show before, from input lines to coffee mugs. All you need to do is show up and put the key in the ignition.

Soundco
Entertainment Design Group

Venue
Piedmont Park,
Atlanta, Ga.

Soundco
StageFront Production Services

Venue
Forsyth Park Bandshell
Savannah, Ga.

Soundco
Sox Audio

Venue
Inlet Parking Lot
Ocean City, Md.

Soundco
Rexroat Sound

Venue
The Downtown Rock Island Arts & Entertainment District
Rock Island, IL

Soundco
Mountain Top Media

Venue
Pacific Union College
Angwin, CA

Soundco
MHA Audio, Inc.

Venue
Calvert Marine Museum
Solomons, Md.

Marc Carolan was having a rough day. The Irish-born engineer who has spent the past nine years mixing Muse, in venues ranging from stadiums to theatres and headlining to opening for U2 on the 360° tour is not used to the dry Vegas climate or the blasting air conditioning inside the Mandalay Bay Event Center, where his clients have a sold-out show in a touring season that has been very tough for a lot of acts. Not that he does not like the weather. "Ireland is great," he says. "If you like rain. We have a saying there that our two favorite days in Ireland are Christmas and summer."

"I gotta tell you, this was just the textbook case for success in festival management," beams promoter Dan Liebhauser, who with his wife and business partner, Cher Liebhauser, have been putting Country USA on for 15 years. "We've been saying this was just a paint-by-number operation. Everything fit perfectly and went smoothly."

Stepping into the octagon-shaped First Nazareth Baptist Church in Columbia, S.C. may not have been as intimidating as stepping into a similarly-shaped cage for mixed martial arts. But the church's layout still posed an interesting challenge for Frank Ward, owner of Acoustical Design: to install an AV system that would optimize the experience of worshippers listening to sermons, the choir and to video presentations.

To download a PDF of the the August 2010 FOH Buyers Guide, CLICK HERE .

 

Okay, this is called opening a can o' squiggly worms. The Buyers' Guide is on "volunteer friendly" (as in House of Worship volunteers) consoles. As a designation like that is highly subjective, we asked console makers to give us specs on consoles they think fit the bill and then to make the case for volunteer friendliness.  

I think I speak for most of us in the live sound biz (especially those of us who use powered speaker boxes) when I say we would all like more sound pressure level and more wattage in a smaller package. Years ago I joked about having speaker enclosures the size of a pack of cigarettes. I also expressed my desire to mix my shows in California while I was sitting on a beach in Cabo. Well, K-array has brought me closer to that goal with their Redline Series speakers.

Well... This time we have quite the pair. We will be trying to destroy a Crest X20R and X20RM. I got the call for this month's review and thought I was reviewing amps, but was surprised to open boxes and see that they contained X Racks.

Gear failure is almost inevitable in this business. There are hundreds, if not thousands of components that make the production of a show happen. If something in that chain breaks, the whole show can go downhill. That is what makes a good troubleshooter priceless in this industry. Even more priceless is a person who can not only find the problem, but also figure it out before it is a problem on stage.

One of the problems with digital audio is latency. Analog audio happens in real time, traveling down a wire from point A to point B at a speed of roughly 186,000 miles per second. That's pretty friggin fast, even if you're in a Lamborghini Countach.

If you are a regular reader of this column, then you have already read some of my writings on Equalization, or, as I like to refer to it, "Frequency Manipulation." I never grow tired of this subject. Mainly because all the sound we hear is made up of a combination of frequencies, and the more control you have over those frequencies, the better you can make things sound. It is as simple as that.

This is the final installment of FOH's summer business focus on Nashville as a touring hub, and we're starting where we began, at Soundcheck, because the story of that business is a worthwhile lesson in economics, strategy and humanity.

"Onstage Systems began in 1978 as Dallas Backup, Inc. Our parents, Charles and Vickie Belcher, started the company as a backline company," comments Hyacinth Belcher of Dallas-based Onstage Systems, a company she has run with her brother Chris for the last several years. "They tried everything they could think of to get us to see the light and not do it," she laughs, "but we love it; I can't imagine doing anything else."

A long time ago and in a nice Texas town called Austin the production company I managed was doing about six stages at SXSW. These were spread out over several miles, and we maxed out every piece of gear and every audio engineer we could find.

Years ago, when I was getting out into the world, I belonged to a community of idealistic people that was sure to change the world. Armed with an inherent knowledge of our righteousness; driven by the words of Bob Dylan, the Beatles and other well-known mystics and fueled by psychotropic substances, we set out on a "Magical Mystery tour" of self discovery and change. We courted and joined with mystics from the East, we marched for civil rights, and we were elevated by Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech; we challenged fashion and were thus, fashionably challenged.

Gear Box Pro's Power Cube 4E+ 20 amp quad power box features Neutrik PowerCON and Hubbell Edison style power components. A/C is supplied to the Power Cube 4E+ through a 20-Amp PowerCON inlet connector, directly wired to a 20-Amp PowerCON outlet. This permits multiple Power Cubes to be connected end to end on a single circuit.

Flex Rental Solutions is proud to announce the release of Flex 4, the most flexible and intuitive Rental and Inventory software ever designed for the Pro A/V industry.

Royer Labs' R-101 Ribbon Microphone combine high SPL capabilities and low residual noise at a competitive price, for both studio and live sound reinforcement applications.

Clear-Com is now shipping its Tempest2400 digital wireless intercom with a new firmware update worldwide. This update introduces two new modes of operation - Shared Mode and Split Mode, each with features that promise to improve workflow efficiency, such as the ability to connect an unlimited number of BeltStations to a Tempest2400 BaseStation.

Installer's Choice rack enclosures, sold by Liberty AV Solutions, includes the Snaprax, Performance, and Titan Series.

Audio-Technica's AT2021 Cardioid Condenser Microphone promises an extended frequency response, high maximum SPL and wide dynamic range for acoustic guitar, overheads, piano and group vocals.

In Ear Systems, Inc. announced the release of its new triple-bore Fidelity 2x3 earpiece, now available on its website. The new triple-bore (one port for each driver) earpiece brings the highest capable volume of any earpiece the company has released to date. It combines a two-way crossover with three drivers (two low and one high), hence 2x3, to promise a loud and dynamic sound signature with extensive lows and accurate highs.

Audio-Technica expands its SpectraPulse Ultra Wideband (UWB) wireless microphone system with the rcu104 Receiver Coordinator Unit, which allows for an expanded SpectraPulse coverage area and strengthens the UWB signal through the use of multiple drm141 Digital Receiver Modules.

Audio Tool v. 1.0 is a new app from Performance Audio. It's a decibel meter, disk space calculator and audio reference all in one, well-suited for anyone who needs a fast, easy way to measure the sound levels around them, calculate recording times, or quickly find the definitions of commonly used audio terms.

QSC changed the R in RMX to a C for "contractor" and debuted the CMX series of amps. The CMX Series is available in four models: the CMX 300V, CMX 500V and CMX 800V, housed in a 2RU chassis design; and the CMX2000V, housed in a 3RU chassis design; with power ranges from 185 watts to 2500 watts per channel.

Renkus-Heinz is distributing the new Aubion x.8 8-channel A/D-D/A converter from Ahnert Feistel Media Group (AFMG), developed by AFMG and German hardware designers DSpecialists. The Aubion x.8 is designed to complement AFMG's EASERA and SysTune.

The ES5 from Westone Music Products offers musicians and others 25 dB average noise attenuation with sensitivity of 120 dB/mW and frequency response at 8 Hz -20 kHz. Impedance is 20 ohms, and the ES5 has five balanced armature drivers with a passive three-way crossover. Other features include replaceable cable, one year parts and labor warranty on internal components, user manual and carrying case. MSRP is $950.

Renkus-Heinz's CF/CFX Series modular point source line array loudspeaker system is targeted at small and mid-sized venues and can be flown, ground-stacked or pole-mounted.

Renkus-Heinz has added two new models designed for live applications to its Iconyx family of digitally-steered array loudspeaker systems: the Iconyx ICL-LM-R low-mid frequency module and IC212S-R subwoofer.

Avid's new VENUE MADI Option Card, introduced at InfoComm10, has been designed to open up new workflows to VENUE users and make it easier to integrate VENUE into any existing MADI environment using the industry-standard MADI protocol.

Among a bunch of other new gear (including a "convert any digital format into any other digital format" box that opens up endless possibilities), Midas brought their acclaimed digital mixers into a price range where they are very much within reach of even regional soundcos. The Midas PRO3 naturally features Midas mic pre's, as well as the popular VCA and POPulation groups, which allow users to navigate channels intuitively, without layers or pages of faders.

The M-300 Mixing Console provides a third console choice in the growing V-Mixing System lineup that also consists of Digital Snakes, Personal Mixing and Multi-Channel Recording. Its size and affordability allows smaller to mid-sized venues to replace their analog consoles with a digital mixing solution.

Line 6, Inc.'s XD-series line of digital wireless microphone systems includes two handheld cardioid microphone systems, XD-V30, shown here, and XD-V70, and two beltpack systems, XD-V30L and XD-V70L.

Electro-Voice and Audinate introduced the DM-1 Dante audio network card for the NetMax hardware family at InfoComm10. DM-1 may be installed in the N8000 or N8000-1500 chassis to provide high resolution, low latency audio transmission over IP networks.

DiGiCo/Waves SoundGrid is geared for DiGiCo users, Waves enthusiasts and anyone else who wants the plug-ins fully integrated into a DiGiCo console, with easy access to the benefits of Waves technology.

EAW's compact, high-output QX Series, aimed at venues ranging from sports arenas to houses of worship, outdoor stadiums, performing arts venues, theaters and clubs, extends the "big horns in compact packages" characteristics of the company's AX Series.

EAW announced two additions to its KF Series loudspeaker line and three integrated NT variants, for use at corporate AV events, small-to-medium-sized live sound reinforcement, performing arts venues, houses of worship, retail spaces, ballrooms, theaters, theme parks and elsewhere.

EAW announced 10 additions to its JF Series of high-definition two-way loudspeaker systems, including four comprehensively integrated NT models. Designed for a wide range of contractor and system integrator uses, the new JF and JFNT Series units are touted for being scalable, compact and light in weight, suited small and medium-sized sound reinforcement applications.

JBL Professional (C6236) recently introduced its PRX600 Series active portable loudspeakers, which includes the PRX612M, PRX615M, PRX625, PRX635, and two subwoofers, the PRX618S and PRX618S-XLF.

Roland Systems Group's S-0808 Stage Pocket, developed in partnership with Ace Backstage, is designed to allow the RSS by Roland S-0808 to slide in and out of a nesting frame that secures it for use while in the pocket. It also lets users take out the S-0808 and place it on stage near the audio source.

Danley Sound Labs recently announced the SM-60M and SM-60F, two new molded horn loudspeakers. Both the SM-60M and SM-60F feature Tom Danley's synergy horn technology. The SM-60F is designed to deliver full-range content, whereas the SM-60M delivers mid- and high-frequency content only.

Crest Audio's E-Lite series amps are built on a high-speed class D design with a switch-mode power supply to reduce weight while increasing reliability, thermal efficiency and output power. The E-Lite 1800 and E-Lite 1800 DSP offer 900 watts per channel, and the E-Lite 3000 and E-Lite 3000 DSP have 1500 watts per channel. Both versions weigh less than 10 pounds and can be used in parallel, stereo and bridged modes.

Ashly Audio's pêma (Protea Equipped Media Amplifier), a powered processor,  combines Ashly's DSP functionality with the company's amplifier functionality inside a two-rack space unit.

Turbosound's six-model Compact series includes four passive trapezoidal loudspeakers and two subwoofers, all outfitted with rigging features suited for portable live sound and fixed installation applications.

The Club Series Tempoflex from Sommer Cable is designed for permanent installations and mobile applications for theater and other live performances, particularly those where the mikes are allowed to dangle from truss.

The Mackie SRM1801 Powered Subwoofer delivers 1000 watts of Class-D power in a lightweight portable design. The 18-inch woofer is designed to deliver high output, and active electronics include a precision crossover and tuning filters for accurate bass response.

EAW recently announced two new subs-one passive and one powered. The SB2001 Subwoofer, pictured here, which goes beyond the company's SB1001 with a dual 21-inch cone driver, provides more than double the volume of air displaced without a significant increase in size.

Lectrosonics' Aspen line of DSP matrix audio processors, now shipping, includes the SPN1624 matrix mixer, the SPN16i input-only module and the SPNConference telephone hybrid unit for teleconferencing. Features include TCP/IP control over Ethernet, unlimited input expandability, real-time clock, 48-channel matrix bus, 1 Gbps expansion port and 48-Volt phantom powering for all inputs.

The Smart DI from Optogate features an integrated microcontroller and an LCD display to address some of the problems commonly associated with traditional DI boxes: the need to hunt for signals between stage and desk, the lack of fine adjustments of the input signal and the "pop" heard when connecting or removing an input connector.

The Radial PowerPre microphone preamplifier fits inside a standard API style lunchbox frame. Its differential design and discreet components deliver up to 60dB of gain with low noise. The simplicity of the design is reminiscent of vintage equipment, and it avoids zero-cross distortion and other limitations imposed by off-the-shelf op-amps.

Martin Audio's MLA Multi-cellular Loudspeaker Array uses optimization software and a new cellular array design to "take the guesswork out of daily system design," according to R&D director Jason Baird. "We are convinced that MLA is a game-changing product."

The Radial J+4 is a high performance line driver designed to take -10dB consumer devices and amplify them so that they can easily integrate with professional level +4dB devices. It is fully equipped with 100 percent discreet electronics which deliver greater than +17dB of gain while transformer isolation eliminates buzz and hum caused by ground loops.

Rational Acoustics's Smaart v.7, the culmination of an two-year development effort, is also the first version of Smaart designed and released solely by Rational Acoustics, who purchased the brand from EAW in November 2009.