ANAHEIM, CA — The world premiere of Primal Twang, a theatrical music production that highlights the legacy of the guitar, debuted at San Diego's North Park Theatre September 7-10, 2006. Rental sound company Meeting Services provided a HiQnet sound reinforcement system for the performance, which included JBL Professional's new VP (Venue Performance) Series loudspeakers, as well as the Soundcraft Vi6 digital console.
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LONDON — Detailing the untold story of the witches of Oz, Wicked is directed by Joe Mantello, with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and sound design by Tony Meola, with equipment supplied by London's Autograph Sound Recording and including an 84-slot Cadac J-Type Live Sound Production Console.
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RIO RANCHO, NM — The Lectrosonics IFBT4 (Interruptible Fold Back) base-station transmitter replaces the analog IFBT1 unit and is a 250 mW Digital Hybrid Wireless transmitter for IFB and other types of radio links such as camera hops, relay stations and delayed loudspeakers. It is compatible with all Lectrosonics 100, 200, 400 and IFB receivers, along with receivers from two other manufacturers (contact Lectrosonics for details). In 400 mode, the IFBT4 and associated receivers operate without analog companding artifacts. The IFBT4 is designed for use in broadcast, motion picture, theatre and stage applications. The IFBT4 can be used as part of a stand-alone system or patched directly into intercom systems. A "tuning" mode is included so that the transmitting frequency can be selected without broadcasting.
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BERKELEY, CA — Meyer Sound has brought a new manufacturing facility, named Phoebe, online in Berkeley, Calif. Since being founded by John and Helen Meyer in 1979, Meyer has dictated that manufacturing take place at the company's headquarters in Northern California. The company's first years were spent at a location in San Leandro, but since 1984, manufacturing has been performed at the company's base in Berkeley.
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KNOXVILLE, TN — Chilhowee Hills Baptist Church's main sanctuary has just been tripled in size and volume, as designed by architect Bill Denton, and worship pastor David Stewart selected Audio Ethics to perform the install.
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GREENSBORO, NC — Just for Him Ministries is a faith-based ministry that travels nationally and serves as an outreach program to assist families in need by helping them connect with their local church, and in addition to carrying its own staging and lighting equipment, the organization recently purchased a sound reinforcement system featuring TrueLine line array elements from WorxAudio Technologies.
Read More »COSTA MESA, CA — QSC Audio Products has extended a licensing agreement with Cirrus Logic that will allow the manufacturer of power amplifiers, loudspeakers, signal processing and digital signal transport systems to begin producing products employing Cirrus Logic's gigabit Ethernet-based CobraNet technology. CobraNet technology is designed for delivering uncompressed digital audio via Ethernet networks.
Read More »[A few months back, we ran an article in this space detailing the infamous "$300 Gig" and what it really costs you to take it. Well, everything is relative, and recently one of our Anklebiters took a gig that, for all intents and purposes (and disregarding the low-five-figure payout), was a $300 Gig. In the end, the client got way more than he paid for, and the soundco had destroyed their relationship with the company that supplied much of the gear, pissed off a bunch of crew members and earned very little money for a full week of work. Let's take a look at what went wrong and what can be learned from it. –ed.]
Read More »We have trod upon this ground before, but I keep seeing things that make me remember that it is not usually the big expensive whatever that sends a show south. It is usually something small that just got overlooked. Here are a few recent examples.
The first was a bonehead move on my part. I was playing out and trying to get a good audio recording of the gig for demo purposes, and do so without having to ask the house sound guy to change anything he was used to doing or use any unfamiliar gear. A lot of thought and wiring went into building a rack that could feed the house, provide our PM mix (which actually freed up the house guy who had been running mains and two monitor mixes from a sideof- stage position) and feed an Alesis HD24. Got it all done, but failed to really think through the internal routing of the mixer until — of course — I was driving home from the gig. So I ended up with a pretty unusable recording. At least I know how to do it right for next time. I think. Ask me when I get home from that one.
Read More »It wasn't long ago that the best technology available was priced beyond the reach of many live sound professionals. A certain amount of price segregation makes sense, of course, but manufacturers across the board came to the realization that a customer base could be doubled, maybe tripled, by offering a series of products at a more attainable price point. The trick is to take proven technology, tweak it slightly to get to a more affordable level and keep the quality high.
Read More »Last month we discussed the increasing demand for live recording. This month, we take a look at how to get your raw tracks or mixes to the producer and/or band for overdubbing or approval. (Overdubbing on a live CD? I never knew there was such a thing! Tell it to the judge.) Whether you realize it or not, you have likely already participated in a form of digital audio delivery: that iPod you've got strapped to your arm is probably filled with MP3s that have been downloaded from the Internet. Granted, MP3s are relatively small files, and Lord knows the fidelity stinks, but the technological idea is there. Of course, things get complicated when file size increases, and any audio file we might be interested in has got to be huge. In other words, audio at 44.1 kHz/16-bit requires a lot of data. You can't fit a lot of audio at 44.1/16 into your iPod.
Read More »I enjoy the Holiday season as much as the next guy, but quite frankly, the high cost of present-giving has left my bankbook crawling through January, and it's doubtful if it will be off crutches until March or April. Everything is just so damn expensive that, even if I do all my shopping at Target or Best Buy, my bankbook still gets its knees broken. Well, that's life, but fortunately for all of us, the big oil companies got into the Christmas spirit and, in the name of charity, raised the price of oil by only about 25 cents a gallon for the season. Tell you what. When I go visit the relatives during the holidays, it sure gets me in the spirit to top off the tank at "Bah Humbug Oil" before I leave on my journey. I guarantee that the ghosts who visited Ebenezer Scrooge will be making the rounds next year, but that's another story, and in the words of Tiny Tim Crachit, "God bless us. Every one!"
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