In the last few years, Milford, NH-based Earthworks Inc. has produced several products that have resulted in a transformation of the company's image within the audio engineering community. Earthworks originally built its reputation on its impeccable omnidirectional measurement microphones, and subsequently ventured into the studio recording market with their high definition omni and cardioid small diaphragm music microphones.
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My first Countryman DIs were the ones I loaded into the workbox for my first tour in 1985 with Crystal Gayle: brand new black anodized Countryman Type 85 direct boxes, which have since become a ubiquitous staple in live sound and asked for by brand – the ‘Scotch Tape' of DIs. I'm sure most of you have used them.
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Okay, some of you remember reading the story of my nightmare titled “Nightmare on Murphy Street – Denver Edition” (FOH, Oct. 2007) and enjoyed reading about life on the road when Mr. Murphy is around. Well, there are other times when Mr. Murphy (I always use the title, as you never know when he may be taking notes) uses the hands of others to make you take a moment of pause and reflection. Such is the case here.
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I had just loaded a new plugin into the virtual plugin rack and, as the graphic representation of this classic unit appeared on the display of my Avid VENUE desk, 1970s memories of Val Garay, Record One and great-sounding vocals were instantly triggered.
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Doug Kocsis, president of leasing firm DK Capital in Okemos, MI, had just about nailed down another deal, this one for a PA system for a regional production company. Then he got a call from the lessee. "He called to tell me that the Missouri River was rising," says Kocsis. "That was going to result in cancelled gigs, so he cancelled the purchase."
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How much time and attention do you give to reverb? Probably not enough. Adding reverb is like adding another instrument to your mix, in some cases taking up as much or more space than another player. Before we dive in to how you can improve the sound of your ‘verb, let's quickly revisit the main parameters of a typical reverb (hardware or software).
Read More »I have promised (or threatened) more than once that I would address how to solder properly. And that is the subject of this installment of Sound Sanctuary. However, I have got to tell you all about an amazing outreach program I have had the pleasure to be involved with over the last few weeks. The organization is called WOW JAM or WOW (Winning Our World) International.
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There are a lot of great things about live audio and what we do as engineers that I really appreciate. It can be fun, exciting, entertaining and rewarding while, at the same time, providing us with a decent livelihood. The hours are often long, but we are neither shoveling manure, risking our lives (unless you're a rigger), nor are we working in a dead-end 9-5 job.
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DETROIT – Every year, Lomas Brown from the Detroit Lions joins a group of NFL and college-level football players to stage a free two-day linebacker football camp for Detroit-area youth. Sennheiser sponsored the event's dedicated broadcast booth, which lets the high school-age kids participate in the taping of a mock sports broadcast. All who participated in the broadcast activity also received a free pair of Sennheiser headphones and a certificate of completion.
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BALTIMORE – The Roots Fest 2011 outdoor festival featured five days of live music and other performances in late June, with headliners like Talib Kweli and Anthony David featured along with local music and spoken word artists and a variety of plays, dance and performance art projects on multiple stages.
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HAPPAUGE, NY – Happauge High School's 1,500-seat main auditorium can operate as one space or three separate rooms, and it will host anything from theatre and concerts to fundraisers and movie nights. To meet the varying needs of the space, Rich Riedel, owner and president of Riedel Audio and Acoustics, opted for a system from Renkus-Heinz.
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WINNIPEG, MB – Christian artist Steve Bell's solo career began in 1989, but many of his recent performances have been anything but a solo effort. The Juno award-winning singer/songwriter has performed more than two dozen symphony concerts with 12 different orchestras in Canada and the U.S. in recent years, all the while using Neumann 105s for vocals.
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