Skip to content

VCAs, DCAs and Groups – Oh My!

The group/DCA section of a Yamaha CL5 digital console.

VCAs, DCAs and Groups – Oh My!

It’s an age-old question, and it’s one of the most common questions that I get from audio students. “Do you use VCAs or subgroups? How are they different, and what are they used for?” I usually try to start right off by answering that it’s a false question. VCAs and subgroups (often referred to simply as “groups”) are two totally different tools, and they shouldn’t be compared to one another. For the most part, that’s a true statement, but like anything about audio, the real, in-depth answer is nuanced.

Read More »
Illustration by Andy Au

Guns!

“Be afraid, be very afraid!” At least that’s the message that I am receiving from all of the six major media broadcasters I have been following — and rightly so. On Nov. 13, 2015 attackers in Paris killed 130 people, including 89 at an Eagles of Death Metal concert in the Bataclan Theatre.

Read More »
The Entertainment Manufacturing Group (EMG) team in their new facility.

Entertainment Manufacturing Group (EMG)

Sometimes, you just outgrow your name. When it happens, it’s better to embrace it.

The company formerly known as Entertainment Metals, a provider of precision metal and cabling solutions for the professional audio, video, broadcast, theater and install markets announced recently an all-inclusive corporate re-branding initiative starting in 2016.

Read More »
Radial JDV Mk5 Direct Box

Radial JDV Mk5 Direct Box

How many times can you reinvent the wheel? A direct box may seem like a simple piece of gear — and some are, such as Radial’s acclaimed JDI line of passive direct boxes. But when active processing enters the picture, Radial has been known to break out of that “just a direct box” mold with some creative designs and features that redefine the modern direct box. In fact, Radial seems to do this on a regular basis and improves on it every time. The Mk5, the latest version (and fifth generation) of the company’s popular JDV active direct box, features some interesting and useful innovations that take it well beyond the norm.

Read More »
The BBR1MP, as tested has 24 channels of microphone preamplifiers on D-Sub 25 connectors. Shown here with control software running on an iPad and the optional 2-rackspace XLR breakout panel.

JoeCo BBR1MP Location Recorder

The first multi-track recorder I ever owned was a Tascam DA-88. In subsequent years, I used a lot of Tascam MX2424’s, Alesis HD24’s, and for the last six years or so, I’ve almost exclusively used DAW’s such as Pro Tools and Nuendo for live multi-track recording.

Read More »
Michael Educate on his first outing as a system tech for a 2005 Loggins and Messina Tour

30 Years of OSA International

It was hard trying to catch up with father and son Mario and Carmen Educate to discuss On Stage Audio’s past 30 years — they were both busy working on the next 30. “We stay in this business because we have a passion for it,” Mario says. “Yes the investments get larger, and competition gets tougher, but the main thing is we keep the right people working with us. Our employees have a passion for what we do.”

Read More »
The school is nestled within a quiet neighborhood in Nashville.

Nashville’s Blackbird Academy

Somewhere between a university course study and a fantasy camp for audio pros lies the educational territory occupied by the Blackbird Academy. Located at Blackbird Studio, this institute of specialized learning is nestled into what seems to be an unassuming residential neighborhood in Nashville’s Berry Hill area. However, in these few blocks, more than 40 recording studios are hidden within the walls of wood frame structures that were originally constructed years ago as military housing. Even Blackbird’s street address, Azalea Place, conjures an image of the Old South. While there’s a definite sense of history here, it is not about events that have been recorded in textbooks, romanticized in novels, recreated in movies or captured in songs. The history of this small region has instead been stored on magnetic tape, vinyl, CDs and hard drives.

Read More »
Wenger's Transcend system is installed in Wartburg College's Neumann Auditorium.

Dial-A-Room: Electro-Acoustical Systems Go Wide

My Apple AirBook cost $1,500, but it is orders of magnitude above the computation power of bulkier computers costing more than twice that much a decade or so ago. My iPhone, which cost $650, could have landed Apollo 11 on the moon and had number-crunching horsepower to spare. Examples of Moore’s Law abound. I found another example of this recently in the middle of Iowa.

Read More »
Mamitas Beach Club

Loto Audio Installs Funktion-One Sound System At Mamitas Beach Club

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, MEXICO – Loto Audio Installs Funktion-One Sound System At Mamitas Beach Club in Playa del Carmen, Quintana Ro. Mexico. The system comprises of four Funktion-One Resolution 4 speakers and two F221 double-21in bass enclosures for the main beachfront area of Mamitas, and pair of F1201 speakers. The installation was handled by local installer, Plug In Audiovisual, and all cabling was supplied and managed by Sound Logic Cable.

Read More »
d:vote Instrument Microphones Clamp Mount

DPA Microphones Expands With New Line of Mounts

ANAHEIM, CA — DPA Microphones continues to expand its line of d:vote Instrument Microphones with the addition of three new mount options — a Clamp Mount with an especially strong grip that allows it to anchor to every instrument possible, a Microphone Stand Mount and an Accordion Clip. The d:vote line allows one microphone to be utilized across various classifications of instruments, with a simple switch of the mount. The complete d:vote product line will be on display at the 2016 NAMM Show (Hall A, Booth 6013).

Read More »