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Neutrik XIRIUM PRO Cable Replacement System

XIRIUM PRO units with Dante and analog output modules

Neutrik XIRIUM PRO Cable Replacement System

A lot of what we do in sound reinforcement involves attempting to do what amounts to a seemingly impossible task. This may come in the form of mixing in some acoustically horrible environment with glass walls and marble floors. Another vexing issue comes when you need a long cable run of up to a half mile across rough terrain, crowds, a body of water, a stadium, an alligator pit or other obstacles — or simply do a gig in a museum, theme park, convention center or historic building/site, where extended cable runs are either impractical or simply prohibited.

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Blast from the Past - A huge FOH outboard collection from the pre-plug-in days.

Experiencing Audio History Firsthand

This past January, my good friend and legendary acoustic designer, Sam Berkow, contacted me about an interview he had just completed for a podcast website called Sonic Garage. After the interview was concluded, Sam had provided Troy, Sonic Garage’s interview host, with a list of people in the audio field whom Sam believed would be interesting interviewees. Sam let me know that my name was on that list and wanted to know if I would participate. He gave me the website address and contact information for Troy at Sonic Garage.

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If only it was this easy...

The Affordable Care Act: Confusing, Maybe, but Here to Stay

It may seem hard to believe that the Affordable Care Act has been a thing for five years now, but it has. It’s managed to survive more political assassination attempts than Rasputin, and it’s become to healthcare insurance what Winston Churchill said democracy was to government: the worst of all possibilities, “except for all the others.” By that I mean that the ACA is the ultimate legislative platypus, a creature created by committee, one made up of people trying to scratch each other’s eyes out at the time. Had there been consensus, we could have wound up with something far less confusing and far more efficient. But we didn’t, so we have to make the best of what we have. And that’s important because most of those who man the touring consoles and rigs get 1099s around this time of year, not W-2s.

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DPA's d:vote 4099 mics are available with a magnetic mount that simplifies placement inside pianos for live applications.

How to Mic a Piano – in 5,000 Easy Steps

Miking a piano on stage is a deceptively simple task. Open the lid, throw a couple of mics inside, and off you go, right? Um, no. Unfortunately, there’s more to it than that. An acoustic piano is a complex instrument capable of a wide range of dynamics and frequencies, arguably making it the most difficult instrument to capture on stage (or in the studio). There’s a million different ways to do it, but here are some proven techniques to get you started.

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Fig. 1: A basic sheet listing inputes and channel assignments can simplify setups and make the mix process smoother.

Documenting Your System

When it comes to creating show paperwork and documentation, there are two types of people. First, there are those who view paperwork as the bane of their existence. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, some people’s brains just aren’t wired for doing tedious, repetitive tasks like creating diagrams or spreadsheets. Then, there are people like me — people who see creating paperwork as a labor of love. Some sick part of me really enjoys creating documentation like input lists and stage plots, and personally, I especially love creating wiring diagrams. I know, call me crazy, but it’s something that I’ve grown to really enjoy.

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Wavesland

Waves Audio Hosting Workshops on the eMotion LV1 Live Mixer at the New Wavesland Facility

FRANKLIN, TENNESSEE — Waves Audio is excited to announce a series of training sessions taking place at the new Wavesland facility in Franklin, Tennessee.  Starting March 28, 2016, Wavesland will host small-group, hands-on workshops on mixing live with eMotion LV1.  The Wavesland complex is a new center for coaching programs in professional audio. The ground floor of the complex, an LV1 mixing facility, is now open for hands-on training sessions on five eMotion LV1 consoles.

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Vienna Konzerthaus Joins List of Renowned Symphony Halls to Install Meyer Sound CAL

VIENNA – The Vienna Konzerthaus is the latest addition to a select group of European concert halls that have chosen steerable Meyer Sound CAL column array loudspeakers. The Konzerthaus will use its new CAL systems for voice announcements, concert narrations, and incidental music. Other venues installed with CAL include Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Konzerthaus Berlin, and another esteemed Viennese institution, the Musikverein.

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RP Dynamics' John Christie and Roland Danner.

RP Dynamics Expands Rental Fleet with Lectrosonics SSM and Venue2

MISSISSAUGA, Ontario, Canada – Canadian audio-visual equipment sales, installation, production and rental house RP Dynamics Inc. recently took delivery of a pair of new Lectrosonics Digital Hybrid Wireless Venue2 modular receiver units and a dozen channels of SSM micro belt-pack transmitters for the company’s rental inventory. RP Dynamics services clients working in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), throughout North America and around the world. Pictured here, from left, is RP Dynamics’ John Christie and Roland Danner, who founded RP Dynamics in 1997.

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Celebration Complexes

Riedel MediorNet Provides Signal Transport at Doha Celebration Complexes

DOHA, QATAR— Riedel Communications’ MediorNet real-time media network is now being deployed by systems integrator eMediaNet at the first two of five state-of-the-art Celebration Complexes being established in Doha, Qatar. Each of the new complexes consists of five halls, each accommodating up to 500 guests. These halls can be joined together as needed to make one large hall capable of accommodating 2,500 guest.

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HARMAN at NCYC

Harman Professional Solutions at National Catholic Youth Conference

INDIANAPOLIS, IN – Harman Professional Solutions’ JBL VTX line arrays and Crown I-Tech HD amplifiers were at the heart of a sound system deployed by CTS Audio during the National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC) at Lucas Oil Stadium. The NCYC featured a variety of spoken word, live music and dramatic performances configured in the round, with the main speaker system featuring a total of 90 JBL VTX V25-II full-size line arrays (in six columns of 15 loudspeakers each) and six hangs of six VTX S28 subwoofers, each flown behind the columns of VTX V25-IIs.

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Firehouse Productions’ 96 new L-Acoustics K2 enclosures stacked four-high on K2-Chariots

Firehouse Productions Purchases 96 L-Acoustics K2 Enclosures

RED HOOK, NY – Firehouse Productions recently added 96 new L-Acoustics K2 enclosures to its inventory along with 36 LA8 amplified controllers housed in a dozen LA-RAK touring racks. Shared between Firehouse’s Red Hook, NY headquarters and the company’s five-year-old Las Vegas location, the K2 loudspeakers are already scheduled to be part of the L-Acoustics systems that will accompany Radiohead at Madison Square Garden. They’ll also support tours this year for Florence + The Machine and the “Rock, Paper, Scissors” double-bill of Peter Gabriel and Sting.

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