I addressed this topic more than two years ago, but took a historical and Q&A approach to justify things like 0dBu levels, gain/level settings and +22dBu brick walls. While nice and informative, a lot of readers said that they needed to delve into the real knobs-and-faders portion of setting up their consoles. This article will revisit gain structure in a straightforward way.
All Those Controls
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Production values have come a long way, baby. Just a few years ago, the thought of producing a Broadway show with a flying car sounded ludicrous, but the Tony-nominated New York production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang incorporates Caractacus Potts' titular, gravity-defying vehicle along with lavish sets, pyro and even live dogs. It also has an incredibly high-tech sound system run through a DiGiCo D5T that incorporates seven PCs, four mice, two 24-track Mackie digital recorders and Akai samplers, not to mention a plethora of racks backstage.
Read More »Flight cases are a fixture of the live sound industry. They're what enable us to take the show on the road. But one of the handful of custom makers of specialty flight cases has made more than a few that go beyond the standard mixer or effects rack.
Showcase Custom Cases in Nashville has done plenty of the usual types of cases for the usual suspects, including Tim McGraw, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Vince Gill, Larry Carlton, Toby Keith and Reba McEntire. But they've also done plenty of unconventional ones, and for some unconventional artists, as well, including a case for Sesame Street's "Big Bird" character and one for a huge champagne glass that Playboy Playmate Catherine D'Lish slid around inside for a Playmates tour several years ago.
Read More »Jesse Blu Maine
Owner
Blustreet Productions
North Chili, NY
Services Provided: Audio, video and lighting.
Personal Info: I started installing car stereo systems when I was 15 and then moved up to working live sound reinforcement at about 18. I have done freelance FOH work as well as some design and installations, mainly in churches.
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Watch the Video from the 2005 Parnelli Awards honoring Patrick Stansfield, the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement award.
Read More »Watch the Video from the 2005 Parnelli Awards honoring Bruce Jackson, the recipient of the Innovator award.
Read More »Dear Anklebiters,
A friend of mine asked if he could rent some equipment for a small gig at a very reduced price. The band he is mixing is very loud, and I am concerned that my monitor rig may become damaged due to excessive sound levels. How can I prevent this?
Thanks,
Vince Simmons, Phoenix, AZ
Jamie: Vince, the obvious answer is to not rent the gear to your friend. However, I am an anklebiter and sworn to give out as much information as I can on any subject that crosses my desk. So, before I take off on one of my typical tangents, I have some questions to ask you. First, how good of a friend is this friend of yours? Because nothing can ruin a friendship faster than one of your buddies blowing up your gear. Second, why a "very reduced" rate? Did you buy your gear at a "very reduced" rate? Are you renting your friend a bunch of crap? In which case, does it really matter if he blows it up? Is your pal getting paid a "very reduced" rate for his work? Third, do you know the band? Have you heard them live? Are they friends of your friend?
Read More »About a week before we put this issue to bed, I had a day full of contrasts. After the usual morning of too-early rising, getting my daughter to school (did I mention that high school in Las Vegas starts at 7 a.m.?) and then making my daily bitch-out phone call to some casino PR guy who was standing in the way of a story, I went down to the Strip. There I met up with Ross Humphrey and the rest of the Blue Man audio crew at their new theatre at the Venetian, which they are set to open right about the time you are reading this. Very cool, very state-of-the-art and very creative. And yes, you'll get to read all about it next month.
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The 2005/06 FOH subscriber survey has been compiled and I, for one, find it fascinating. About 7% of the magazine's total subscriber base took part in this year's survey, and the results are telling. First of all, let us remember that it is usually difficult to get 100% participation in any survey, and that most surveys are conducted with a cross section of the population. Political surveys usually conduct their fact-finding missions from a supposed cross section of the general population, and then, by using some complicated mathematical formula, the purveyors of the survey are able to understand the needs and wants of the American public. I usually find myself in the minority of each and every one of these political surveys, which means I neither have my finger on the pulse of the nation nor do I hang out with the right people. Despite these personal failings on my part, I–like most of the American public–rely upon these surveys to know where I stand in relation to the rest of the country, and because my views are usually aligned with the minority column of these surveys, it would be most beneficial to me if the survey conductors would publish the names and occupations of these survey participants.
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The PMG (Australia's version of the Federal Communications Commssion) had been driving around in their vans when they triangulated the location of the lawbreakers. Converging on the high school, we don't know what they expected to find, though we know what they didn't expect: 16-year-old "criminal" and future Parnelli Innovator Award honoree Bruce Jackson.
Jackson and some buddies who shared his passion for all things electronic thought it would be fun to build a radio station, and they were broadcasting illegally from the school assembly hall after school. But it got the attention of the authorities because their unusual wizardry led to such a long antenna and strong signal that they were actually broadcasting across all Sydney.
Read More »Live sound engineers have been very lucky. We've able to get away with being relatively lazy because the fundamental operation of our tools hasn't changed much in the last 20 years. Sure, there have been developments in speaker and crossover technology, amplifier reliability is greatly improved, microphones are better than ever and consoles provide more 'bang for the buck' than in the past, but that's all 'background' technology. We've been able to lay our hands on an analog console and been able to fl y it without having to work at it–even if it's a console we've never used. Kinda like driving a car. Sometimes the headlight switch is in a different location, but it still functions the same as on that Plymouth Satellite my dad owned when I was a kid.
Read More »Located in the heart of a small Southern town lies a state-of-the-art installation jewel boasting a 7.1 surround system and all the trimmings. The Badon H. Brown Performance Pavilion is nestled within the Aiken Center for the Arts–a nonprofit facility and one of the newest additions to the renovated historic downtown in Aiken, S.C. dB Acoustics & Sound of Gainesville, Ga., coordinated all the audio and video elements, including the acoustical design for the space.
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