HEAR Technologies
BUSINESS
What: Hear Technologies
What it does: Manufacturer of professional audio equipment for recording, TV, video postproduction and live sound.
Where: Huntsville, Ala.
When: Founded in 2001.
Read More »HEAR Technologies
Gates – Pearly and Other Kinds
Audio gates are what I call an accessory, and pretty far down the list of new gear purchase priorities. But if everything further up the list is okay, then procuring a few gates to insert on percussion and other noisy/buzzy sources is a good thing. This column will address a little history of “noise gates,” how they work, key features to look for when shopping for gates and typical applications.
Read More »Employing a Godly Tech
Along with my writing efforts for FOH, I work with a variety of houses of worship. I guess that is more than obvious, since I am the guy who writes Sound Sanctuary. Well, I also own and operate a secular (nonreligious) regional sound company that designs and installs residential and commercial sound systems.
Generally speaking, I will hire anywhere from one to six techs for my secular or worship gigs. They are actually independent contractors. But rather than get into the legal qualifications of my employees, I will tell you what I need in terms of technical skill and physical attributes. Qualifying as a Rio Deluxe (my company) tech is pretty easy. You need to understand live audio setup (lift speakers and plug in the right wires), signal flow, EQ, compression, etc., and be strong enough to handle the big stuff, but smart enough to position the small stuff. Shower regularly and wear the company shirt. Sounds easy, doesn’t it?
Read More »
Sensaphonics 3DAA Personal Monitors
I have reviewed a ton of personal monitors for FOH and other books. It is at the point where I have pretty much decided to pass any future reviews on to someone else because there is so much good stuff out there that it really comes down to a question of sound quality versus price. And sound quality is a totally subjective thing. There are units that I like a lot that others think stink, and units that I am not fond of that others swear by. So, it is fitting that my swan song on P.M. reviews is for something that is unique. Others have talked about it and said it was in the works, but to the best of my knowledge, no one else is doing what the Sensaphonics 3D Active Ambient System does.
Read More »
BBE DS24 Speaker Processor
The BBE DS24 speaker processor intrigued me because of its low cost (around $299.95 street) and its professional looks and performance. The BBE name is famous for its Sonic Maximizer processors, a hotly contested piece of gear that some engineers dismiss as a crutch and others swear by as a gig saver. Now BBE is putting its substantial experience behind universally accepted gear, including equalization and DSP speaker processing that may have even the skeptics taking a good hard look….
Read More »
Good Ol’ Boys Grow Up
North Carolina’s SE Systems Has Grown from a Local Staple to National Tours for Select Clients
When Cliff Miller was a touring musician, he had many things going through his mind. Sure there was the tuning of his guitar and the song the band was playing, but Miller’s mind would occasionally drift to how the band was sounding out in the house. It was the early ‘70s, and Miller, who was playing guitar with Doc and Merle Watson, had already started to think about starting a regional sound company.
In the nearly 35 years since then, Miller and a team of employees and associates have built SE Systems into one of the best regional sound compa-nies in North Carolina. Headquartered in Greensboro, SE Systems is a full-service production company that provides audio, lighting and staging and boasts retail outlets in Greensboro and Charlotte.
Read More »
Seventh Annual Parnelli Awards
Toasting the Best of the Live Event Industry
The Peabody Hotel in Orlando, Fla., was the site of the 2007 Parnelli Awards, but inside the ceremony ballroom it looked like Hawaii. Large portions of the crowd arrived decked out in their finest Hawaiian shirts, and FOH Editor Bill Evans abandoned his usual sandals for signature purple Bob Heil custom Converse high-tops. The hundreds in attendance constituted a Who’s Who of players in the live event industry, and whether they were wearing purple shoes or not, they all rose to their feet in honor of Audio Innovator award winner Bob Heil and Lifetime Achievement award winner Gerry Stickells.
Ken Bohannon and Scott Steffen of Think Floyd USA
After spending over 20 years playing in bands in the Chicago area and the Midwest bar scene, Mitch Blumfield had a vision. You might even call it a momentary lapse of reason.
A band he was in was doing a lot of covers. However, it was their versions of Pink Floyd songs that were gaining the most attention with their flock. “There was a Pink Floyd Show that we threw in among all the other cover songs that included Aerosmith, Tom Petty and the usual cover fare,” says Blumfield. “Pink Floyd got the most attention.” So, Blumfield did the unthinkable for a single parent with a young daughter. He quit his six-figure marketing gig in downtown Chicago, got a home equity loan and went to work on a dream.
Read More »
Production and Sports Get Equal Billing at Oaks Christian
For a number of years, the name Oaks Christian has evoked exclamations from sports fans across Southern California and beyond. That will hap-pen when your teams dominate the local sports scene, your football team wins the California state championship and your starting quarterback goes to Notre Dame.
Last August, locals who had just seen the new 30,000-square-foot Bedrosian Pavilion, which includes one of the most technologically advanced performing arts centers and media production facilities in the area, uttered the name Oaks Christian in awe. Sports fans were especially pleased be-cause the performing arts center doubles as a gymnasium and will be used for the school’s basketball and volleyball teams. That these two venues are housed in the same two-story building on a 15,000-square-foot plot is equally amazing.
Read More »
Rob Treloar
FOH Audio Engineer
The Live Group
Middletown, CT
860.538.2951
[email protected]
www.thelivegroup.com
Services Provided: FOH audio engineer
Clients: Queen Latifah, Steve Tyrell, Lew Soloff, Manhattan Brass
Quote: “Does anyone remember a proper sound check?”
Read More »
OK, so there I was, all gakked up and sitting in the back of the bus
An engineer friend of mine, who is now retired from the business, started his audio career in the early 1970s and spent most of the ensuing 30 years traveling throughout the world mixing front of house and monitors. As well as being an excellent engineer, he is endowed with a charismatic charm, wit and a talent for networking. He was in with the rock ‘n’ roll elite and always worked with top name acts in the business.
Read More »
Mixing with the Wrong Appendage
Last weekend — post turkey/triptophan-induced stupor — I had the absolute pleasure of going to a Tony Bennett show here in Las Vegas that was mixed by recent Parnelli award winner Tom Young. After the show, he took us backstage to meet the boss (not something I generally go for, but it was not like it was some wannabe kiddie celeb. Tony Bennett is a f*&%ing legend) and then, cigar and diet coke in hand at the bar, my wife and I hung out with Tom and just shot the shit for a good hour or so.
Read More »