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Soul of a Tradeshow

Soul of a Tradeshow

It’s been a couple weeks since InfoComm 2012 and by all accounts, this year’s event was one of the most successful shows that organization has presented in recent memory. (Note: For highlights and insights on InfoComm 2012, CLICK HERE). Attendance was up, there was no shortage of new technology, new tools and new toys to check out, and the vibe among attendees — both exhibitors and visitors — was uncompromisingly positive. All of the above are good signs that bode well for the overall health of the industry.

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InfoComm12

Product Hits from InfoComm 2012

From June 9-16, 34,268 AV professionals from 90 countries came to Las Vegas for InfoComm 2012, the annual conference and exhibition for the audiovisual and information communications industries. The week-long event offered dozens of seminars, training sessions, technical tours and educational programs, as well as the tradeshow floor, which featured 933 exhibitors displaying the latest AV technology in 487,000 square feet of exhibit and special events space.

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Fig. 1: Directivity of a 12-inch woofer from 350 to 6k Hz. The woofer’s directivity narrows sharply at frequencies above the point where the wavelength is equal to the driver diameter. Figures are from Leo Beranek’s reference standard, Acoustics, and used with permission. Acoustics is available at acousticalsociety.org.

Understanding Crossovers

Every year brings more processing power to all aspects of live sound. Modern loudspeaker processing routinely employs equalization, delay, crossovers, limiting and other advanced DSP processing techniques, such as FIR filters. DSP can be found in standalone processors, in amplifiers or built into powered speakers.

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The finished stage, as seen during opening soundcheck

eTown Hall, Boulder, CO

SIA Acoustics Helps Shape the Sound in eTown’s New Performing Arts Facility

It starts with a phone call… or an email. “I want to build a studio or a sound stage or even a concert hall.” Usually, it’s the owner, just starting out and wondering how to move forward. Sometimes, it’s an architect or even a construction manager, hired on and wondering how to turn a mostly amorphous vision for a facility into drawings and either a new building or a renovation of an existing space. Some discussion of the project’s program, what the facility’s intended to do, and its space requirements, budget and goals — both operational and initial capital needs, as well as potential cash flow — will quickly reveal how realistic (or unrealistic) the concept is. These calls come often. Sometimes there is a second or even third call. Some of these turn into real projects. It’s all part of the life of an acoustical consulting firm.

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Klark Teknik DN9696

Recording the Band: Getting Better All the Time

Once upon a time, the very idea of recording the band and capturing multitrack performances from the FOH position was unheard of — a nearly impossible task. Analog recorders — while today worshipped in the studio for their thick, “phat” sound — were never really suited for life on the road, being somewhat fragile, and also limited to a 33-minute record time on a 10.5-inch (2,500-foot) reel of tape. That said, there were some pioneers, like Ron Wickersham (also co-creator of the Grateful Dead’s famous/infamous wall of sound) who modified early Ampex decks to take 14-inch reels to capture the Dead’s 1972 European tour.

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Shure ULX-D quad-channel system

Shure ULX-D: Breaking the Wireless Channel Barrier

A simple mention of the word “wireless” these days is bound to bring up grumbling in the mind of audio production professionals. And with good reason, especially given the reality of dealing with the ever-shrinking landscape of available wireless frequencies. What was once a relatively straightforward process of selecting a few channels and doing your show has become increasingly complicated. Fortunately, pro audio manufacturers — particularly those who manufacture wireless systems — are by nature pretty smart, and have come up with some clever solutions, such as online frequency searching and intelligent systems that can quickly scan and lock onto open airspace.

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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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