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Top-of-the-Line Handheld Condenser Microphones

Top-of-the-Line Handheld Condenser Microphones

Top-of-the-Line Handheld Condenser Microphones

One of the great mysteries of live sound production is that, given the importance of the lead vocal, why vocalists often shy away from investing in a high performance mic, often settling for something that costs less than what the drummer spent on a kick drum pedal. This is not to infer that there’s anything wrong with a dynamic mic — in fact, on certain vocalists, that may be exactly the right transducer to match a particular vocal style or timbre.

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The JH Audio team includes, from left, Jerry Harvey, Jaime Harvey-Penrod, Brittany Harvey, Bradi Hanrahan, Noy Soudaly, Zac Penrod, Chris Morrison, Angie Sienkiewicz and Adam Roberts.

JH Audio: In-Ear Pioneer

Jerry Harvey — the “JH” of JH Audio — is in the head of Aerosmith, Guns N’ Roses, Lady Gaga, Foreigner, Linkin Park, Alicia Keys, Bon Jovi and many others, including Van Halen, where it all began for him. His desire to achieve “audio awesomeness” in a tiny monitor that fits in the ear led to two companies and multiple products, including a number of technological breakthroughs. The net result for JH Audio: In just four years, president and CEO Brittany Harvey says they’ve sold nearly 12,000 sets of custom IEM and related products.

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Behringer X32 Digital Console

Behringer X32 Digital Console

A potential game-changer for the industry, Behringer’s X32 digital console features 32 input channels (32 mic/line preamps), 16 XLR output buses (plus stereo XLR/TRS outs), multichannel digital I/O (AES50 Cat-5, FireWire, USB), 4-band parametric EQ and six aux sends on all inputs and eight onboard stereo multi-effects processors. Street price is $2,899. I tip my hat to the Behringer group for creating the board’s clean, feature-packed physical layout and intuitive onboard GUI.

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Illustration by Tony Gleeson

Plan for the Worst, Hope for the Best

I was contacted by a close friend who directs the alumni organization for a well-known college, and she needed my help for one of their fundraising events. They didn’t have much of a budget (who does these days?), and they needed someone to do sound for their annual talent competition fundraiser. I told her that I would be glad to help and that I would bring as much gear as I could so she shouldn’t need to rent anything for sound.

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Waves SSL G-Master Buss Compressor Plug-in

Waves SSL G-Master Buss Compressor Plug-in

This entry is the final installment in the series of Waves plug-in reviews that have chronicled software solutions I’ve implemented over the past 18 months while on tour with James Taylor and Joe Walsh. I begin working with Shania Twain this fall, and prior to opening night at Caesars Palace Las Vegas in December 2012, we will be logging many days of rehearsal. This extended period will allow me the time to audition additional plug-ins as we encounter new audio challenges that may be presented by this production.

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CBGB Lives On

CBGB May Have Closed, But the Brand Never Left

You thought all that was left of New York’s legendary rock club CBGB were some tourist T-shirts sold on St. Marks Place and Canal Street in Chinatown? Think again — the legendary dive bar brand that incubated artists like Television, Talking Heads, The Ramones, Blondie, Sonic Youth and Patti Smith is coming back. In the process, it reminds us that the club brands of the 1970s and 1980s remain a potent force in live music, as the industry sees shrinkage in arena gigs and small rooms once again become ascendant.

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Fig. 1: Typical setup using rear (balcony fill) and/or a front fill. The system processor applies a delay to the rear speakers (entered in feet or milliseconds), so the sound from the main speakers arrives at the listener at the same time as the delayed fill. The front fill requires no delay, but is often fed a submix that is different from the main PA, due to the proximity of stage sources to the listener.

Using Front-Fill and Delay Speakers

Last month, we discussed some of the issues that plague rooms with poor acoustics, as well as some ideas on how to deal with them. An issue closely related to room acoustics is distribution of sound, which can be hindered by room shape or interior design, even in rooms with favorable acoustics.

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Launched in 1939, the Shure Unidyne 55 was a mainstay on church pulpits for decades.

Podium Microphones

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth. A short time after the beginning, God needed a whole bunch of preachers to get the word out. Well, most of the preachers asked for podiums. And we all know, if you have a podium, you will probably need a podium mic. So, before we knew it, podium microphones had arrived. This is essentially an abbreviated version of how these things came about, but I think it’s fairly accurate.

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Ilustration by Andy Au

Whistle While You Work

Anyone who has seen Walt Disney’s 1937 animated movie, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, should remember this classic tune by Frank Churchill and Larry Morey: Just whistle while you work…Put on that grin and start right in To whistle loud and long; Just hum a merry tune, Just do your best and take a rest, And sing yourself a song . When there’s too much to do, Don’t let it bother you, forget your troubles, Try to be just like a cheerful chick-a-dee, And whistle while you work. Come on get smart, tune up and start To whistle while you work…

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