Neil Diamond’s sound engineer since 1967, FOH Engineer Stanley Miller has always been a technologically savvy innovator. “Stan wasn’t on the cutting edge, he was on the bleeding edge,” states Larry Italia, longtime audio veteran who was a VP and general manager at Yamaha Pro Audio for decades and often worked with Miller, of which he said: “He is fearless, has remarkable instincts, and possesses a wonderfully curious mind.”
The Early Days
Miller was born in Lincoln, Nebraska. Working with one of his high school teachers, he learned the basics of speaker building. In 1962 he opened a small commercial audio store designing sound systems. He would provide sound for acts like the Smothers Brothers and The Carpenters when they toured the Midwest. In 1967 he found himself in Vermillion, S.D., working with a couple of acts including a young singer/songwriter out of New York named Neil Diamond. He’s not missed a Diamond tour since.
In 1972, when Diamond recorded his historic Hot August Night at the Greek Theatre in L.A., Miller had no mixing console, so he took parts from multiple sources and built one that had 24 inputs and 12 outputs. “I had to figure out how to patch it together, and I used a pin matrix system with multiple wires. Also, how to connect all those amps without excessive buzzing and humming was a challenge.” Of course Miller had to be concerned for the audience as well as the recording, and this involved everything from putting speakers in trees to choosing mic placement. “When I go back and listen to that recording, I’m still amazed… sometimes something magical happens.”
Industry Firsts
Miller was one of the first to take a graphic EQ with third octave filters on the road. He says he spent a lot of time figuring out how to apply permanent fixtures to the rock ‘n’ roll touring world.
Along the way he also worked with legends including John Denver, Johnny Cash, Sonny & Cher and Bob Dylan, among others. He was audio designer/consultant for what The New York Times called “a milestone in rock’s history,” Pink Floyd’s The Wall concerts in 1980-1981.
Miller proved dazzling in terms of technical achievements and pioneering efforts in developing many of what today are considered the basic fundamentals of live sound reinforcement. He was one of the first to hang speakers, through a steel cable drum winch system of his own making, and he was the first to use multi-core snakes allowing for easier cable hookup.
In the 1970’s and 1980’s he owned Stanal Sound, where he created the Stanley Screamers for Altec. He pioneered the used of fiberglass covering for road cases and loudspeakers, making them so reliable that many of his boxes are still on the road 30 years later. He also consulted with JBL to create advanced speakers and rigging for touring as well.
Miller developed a relationship with Yamaha’s pro audio division that has lasted over 30 years, which led to today’s PM1D and PM5D pro audio all-digital consoles, some of the most popular and widely used consoles in the industry.
He was the first to insist on digital remote control of systems, and helped pioneer the technology that allowed him to set amps remotely. “He got a pure digital signal going from the mic to the speakers, which was unheard of at the time,” former Diamond tour manager, the late Patrick Stansfield, told FOH in 2009, the year Miller received the Parnelli Audio Innovator Award. “And the thing you have to remember is he wasn’t experimenting with some small band, but with a legend who sold out arenas — and believe me, it caused a few nerve-racking moments on the road!”
The Bottom Line
Probably one of the best ways to describe Stanley Miller is as a fearless proponent of new technologies — yet not merely for technology’s sake, only if it provided a better end result for the artist, the sound engineer and of course, the audience. “I’ve always tried things throughout my career and that made it fun,” Miller says. “Each time we get ready to go on a tour, I’m on the edge. I’m thinking out of the box and sometimes out on a limb with a saw next to the trunk.”
For more details about Stanley Miller and his role mixing the 2015 Neil Diamond world tour, see “Production Profile,” page 40, or CLICK HERE.