Skip to content

Rack Case Design

Rack Case Design

I believe the role of road cases is critically important to the profitability of a sound company. But not every case made out there is really road-worthy. A lot of my anklebiter friends think I am insane to pay $600 or more on semi-custom rack cases to haul power amplifiers and signal processing gear. I look at it as cheap insurance to keep the gear performing throughout its scheduled life, and to put more gear on wheels instead of having my back do the lifting. So this month's installment is about rack road cases, and a guide to getting them built and maintained.

Read More »

The Sound of Sweet Charity

A revival of Bob Fosse's 1966 musical, which he later adapted into a movie, Sweet Charity follows the misadventures of dance hall hostess Charity Hope Valentine as she hopelessly searches for the right man to help her escape her life of misery–and a chance meeting with a shy, awkward accountant named Oscar may be her chance for happiness. Yeah, it's definitely dated in its concept, but headliner Christina Applegate proves that she is far more talented than many would give her credit for as she sings and dances her heart out and makes Charity her own, while the show itself offers the razzle-dazzle that choreographer Fosse was known for. This modern production features some fantastic sets, costumes and music, particularly one groovy club sequence drenched in purple ("Rich Man's Frug") that shirks lyrics and is all about the dance.

Read More »

Yamaha Makes a Major Move

The ongoing consolidation of the audio business took another giant step forward in June when Yamaha announced that it had established a joint venture with French line array and live sound technology developer NEXO. The agreement calls for the two companies to join forces in future product development and gives NEXO's line arrays and other high-end PS products a much deeper reach in the critical American and Asian markets via Yamaha's distribution and marketing capabilities. Good for NEXO, which has long made what many in the industry feel is a quality, competitive product that has been hamstrung by a marketing culture out of its depth here.

Read More »

Dennis Cooper and Rob Mondora

Dennis Cooper

Production Manager

Production Support Group, Inc.

Tallahassee, FL 850.562.1070

[email protected]

Quote: One hundred feet away and in the dark, they'll never know the difference.

Services Provided: Full service production company. Sound, lighting, stage, AV.

Clients: 53rd Annual Florida Folk Festival, Celebrate America 4th of July featuring Andy Griggs, Florida State University's Last Call Before Fall featuring Jimmy Eat World, Freightliner and Kohler Industries sales meetings and trade shows, Swamp Stomp

Read More »

Church and State

Sometimes I do very stupid things, even when I know in advance that they're stupid. Call it a thick head or a stubborn streak, but I just don't learn.

I am about to do one of those stupid things right now. I may live to regret it, but I need to say something about this business and the role of the trade press. It will upset some people, but I hope that–if you are not one of the offended–you at least find it somewhat entertaining, albeit in the same way we are drawn to look at a particularly bad car accident when we drive past.

Read More »

20/20 Hindsight

I take pride in my engineering skills, and after many years of honing my craft, I think that I have become adequately competent at my trade. I feel very confident in my mastery of the basics of live audio engineering and that I have an artistic and musical approach to the job. I know my strengths and my weaknesses and try to use this knowledge to my advantage when mixing a concert or event. I feel that I put a lot of thought and effort into what I do as an engineer, and I approach each band or event in a way that is most suitable to the situation. While the mechanics of sound (i.e. speaker placement, gain structure, power requirements, etc.) are fairly consistent, it is the unknown variables that truly test our mettle when we find ourselves on the battlefield of live sound.

Read More »

20/20 Hindsight

I take pride in my engineering skills, and after many years of honing my craft, I think that I have become adequately competent at my trade. I feel very confident in my mastery of the basics of live audio engineering and that I have an artistic and musical approach to the job. I know my strengths and my weaknesses and try to use this knowledge to my advantage when mixing a concert or event. I feel that I put a lot of thought and effort into what I do as an engineer, and I approach each band or event in a way that is most suitable to the situation. While the mechanics of sound (i.e. speaker placement, gain structure, power requirements, etc.) are fairly consistent, it is the unknown variables that truly test our mettle when we find ourselves on the battlefield of live sound.

Read More »

One-Stop Shops

Back in February, at Pro Production 2005, a panel of industry experts held court on "Expanding Your Offerings: Becoming A One-Stop Shop." These high priests of sound and light spoke to what it means to offer sound, lighting, effects and staging under a single tent.

The names have not been changed to protect the innocent, but their quotes will not be identified to protect the guilty. (Actually, what Jerry means is that he was working from an audio tape, where it's hard to match a voice in the dark to a name. Next time, we do video. -Ed.) The panel included Gregg Brunclik of Clearwing Productions, Mark Dodd of Dodd Technologies, Doug Adams of Pyrotek and Tom Sorce and Barry Rackover of PRG. If you were there, you know who said what. If not, try to think of them as Masked Super Heroes of the Convergence. Truthtellers, all.

Read More »

Epic Sound for an Epic Production

T he Crystal Cathedral in Anaheim, Calif., is an icon in Southern California. Designed by renowned architect Philip Johnson, it's a towering 12-story structure of glass. Constructed of 12,000 glass panes enclosed within a white, web-like steel truss frame, its transparent walls and ceilings allow the sky–and weather–to become a part of the interior environment.

Also iconic are the cathedral's seasonal pageants. The Glory of Christmas and The Glory of Easter are famous as elaborate technical productions that bring the Bible to life with actors, special effects and flying angels. This year, the trilogy is complete with The Glory of Creation, a multisensory production extravaganza. Written, produced and directed by Carol Schuller Milner, it showcases some very Hollywood-like, cutting-edge technology. It also pushes the envelope of the cathedral's new hybrid sound system, which must equally accommodate the ministry's worldwide broadcasts, special events and the full slate of Glories.

Read More »

ASL Feasts on a Festival Frenzy

Getting any of the Affordable Sound & Light team on the phone from now until October might be a bit tough, considering the five-strong crew will be running from music festival to music festival across Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida setting up lights and P.A.s for dozens of acts that span a world of musical genres.

It kicks off in May with the Crawfish Boil in Birmingham and the Jubilee CityFest in Montgomery, goes into June with City Stages in Birmingham, through the summer and then spins down with the Big Spring Jam in Huntsville and BayFest in Mobile, Ala. "It keeps us busy," says ASL vice president Billy Klein. "Most medium-sized towns around here have a two- to three-day street festival with anywhere from two to four stages."

Read More »

Are Those Ribs Burning, or is it the Club?

Circa 1995, I had a booked a show at a local watering hole in Scottsdale, Ariz., called The Rockin' Horse, a cool, mostly wood place that was probably constructed in the early to mid-'70s. Smaller, more eclectic national acts played there all the time, as well as some good local talent. There were house stacks and racks, and we just brought in a four-mix monitor system and Front of House. This particular night, we brought in our Soundcraft SR200. (Sidenote: Did you ever have one of those pieces of equipment that was above itself in sound quality and just plain fun to use? Yes, we all have, and this console was mine.)

Read More »

Micromanagement on a Macro Scale

The sixth Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, held Saturday, April 30 and Sunday, May 1 at the Empire Polo Field in Indio, Calif., boasted nearly 100 acts and drew something in the neighborhood of 50,000 fans a day. Featured acts on the festival's five stages included chart-toppers like Coldplay, Nine Inch Nails, Weezer, Wilco and New Order.

To say that it requires a hands-on management style to tighten all the nuts and bolts on a spectacle like this is kind of like saying Bill Gates has a little cash. While the term "micromanagement" is often used as a pejorative these days, it's practically a requirement of a production manager's job for an event like this.

Read More »