Whether you're an engineer or an artist, what is it that we're looking for from personal monitors? I've narrowed that question down to a few things that are important to me. I want to have brilliant (but not painful) highs, super-punchy mids to make the vocal cut through and low end that stimulates the shaking of my nether regions. A hard feat to accomplish, and very few PM manufacturers can say that they can accomplish this.
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The word "metropolis" doesn't easily roll off the tongue, unless of course, you're a superhero and you're talking about protecting your hometown. Just about the only other place in the "real world" where the term seems appropriate is Las Vegas – land of skyscrapers, megaplexes and roller coasters on top of skyscraper megaplexes.
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I was hired to "run" the new sound system in the remodeled lounge at a local Vegas casino. The system was installed by a local music store (now defunct), and had a few decent pieces, but was void of some desirable items, such as subwoofers and such. But I was game, having worked several casino rooms, and I had previous experience with volume issues in this type of venue.
Read More »On Jan. 15, the FCC came down from the mountain with a stone tablet upon which was scribed "anyone who uses a wireless microphone (or similar device) that operates in the 700 MHz Band will have to stop operating their wireless microphone (or similar device) no later than June 12, 2010."
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Much like Woodstock, the odds are that if you remember what happened on the Sunset Strip in the 1980s, you probably weren't there. Hundreds of thousands of musicians, managers and hangers-on strolled up and down the Los Angeles avenue hoping to make it, bank it, or, well, you know.
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We got a couple of letters regarding last month's "Theory and Practice" column. So we are all on the same page, the purpose of that article was to impart a basic understanding of what digital audio is comprised of for the guys who are not interested in all of the formulas and math.
Read More »Today's worship sound has potentially never been better. What I mean is that the equipment and technology is the best it has ever been. That could be said about all live sound, but we are specifically talking about houses of worship. Not only is there a potential for high-quality sound, but also for some very loud services. You may mix in a loud church or in a quiet church. The point is, you should know the needs and desires of your congregation and find a decibel level that will satisfy all of them to the best of your ability.
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On a gig, if one of the audio components should fail and thereby cause a loss of sound, the audience doesn't care which part of the system is to blame for the problem – they only know that there is something wrong and it needs to be fixed. As the engineer or system tech, you are the one responsible for finding out if it is a bad cable, amplifier or speaker at the root of the failure and repairing the problem.
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Although badged up as the ZED24, Allen & Heath plans on renaming its new work-in-progress console the GSR24, as it's so much bigger than any of the other consoles in the ZED range. A&H previewed the GSR4 in Frankfurt at Musikmesse/Prolight+ Sound 2010.
Read More »At 2010 Musikmesse/Prolight+ Sound in Frankfurt, Avid demonstrated a work-in-progress MADI interface which has been in the pipeline for 12 months and looks set to become an available product in the not-too-distant future.
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At 2010 Musikmesse in Frankfurt, Germany, L-Acoustics launched KARA, their new modular line source system, which is pictured here. The company also launched their new SB18 high powered subwoofer.
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McCauley's M88, pictured here, is a high output precision subwoofer system designed to scale from single unit deployments to large scale sound reinforcement applications. The M421 subwoofer, meanwhile, aims to set a new standard for low distortion, high impact, bass reproduction.
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