This multi-million dollar corporation, whose client roster spans all the way up to the President of the U.S., is a bit of an anonymous anomaly – and that's just the way owner Chip Self likes it. "We fly under the radar, as almost everything we do is as a subcontractor," Self says. "We're the people in the background. The way I look at it is that, if anybody notices us, we didn't do it right. Our whole job is to be invisible."
Read More »
To quote Adrian Monk, one of my favorite TV characters, "Here's the thing." Horns are cool. They add excitement, movement, color and personality to arrangements. But horns can be loud. Horns can take over mixes in seconds. Horns need to be respected, but horns need to be respectfully controlled. It's necessary to compress horns, but dynamic control has to be implemented without repressing their timbre, vitality and energy.
Read More »From the FOH position, you can pretty accurately gauge the impact the show is having on the house, but what if you want to gauge the effect your industry is having on the economy? That's something that your U.K. counterparts have a better handle on now, thanks to a survey from UK Music, an umbrella organization representing the collective interests of a broad range of sectors of the U.K.'s commercial music industry. The report found that large-scale live music events, such as festivals, are contributing over £1.4 billion a year – that's $2.3 billion – to the U.K. economy from all sources, including ticket sales and travel to the event locations.
Read More »Before we get into this month's writings, I want to make a few shout-outs to some of the readers. It always amazes me how intelligent and thoughtful "Sound Sanctuary" readers are. I know we all want to do a good job at our individual houses of worship, but maybe we all work a little harder because of Who we are really working for.
Read More »
Last month, we looked at the differences between serial and parallel processing and applications for each. We examined the idea that, generally, serial processing is applied in situations where you want 100 percent of a signal to be processed, while parallel processing is applied in situations where you want to add an effect into the mix along with the original signal. We also examined why we typically use serial processing for dynamic effects but use parallel processing for time-based effects such as reverb and delay. Now let's take a closer look at compression in particular, and twist some of the rules.
Read More »
In a few months I will be 60 years of age and, as in the past, I usually spend the year before these milestone birthdays acclimating myself to my new surroundings by reminiscing about the past and trying to map out the future. Recollecting the history of my triumphs and failures is the easy part of the equation; disseminating all the previous information and trying to create a cohesive plan for the imminent change becomes the challenge. Nevertheless, by the time of my birthday, I have already accepted and settled into my new decade armed with the wisdom of the past and a blueprint for the upcoming years. Ha ha ha! As John Lennon once said "Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans."
Read More »
LAS VEGAS – The nominations from FRONT of HOUSE readers are in, the regional finalists for the 2011 Hometown Hero Sound Company of the Year awards competition have been chosen, and now it's time for you, the readers of FOH, to once again vote on the top regional sound company in five regions of the U.S. and Canada.
Read More »CINCINNATI, OH – On Location Lighting Systems is merging with Loud and Clear. On Location will still have a satellite location in Kentucky, but it will now be primarily based at Loud and Clear's 100,000-square-foot headquarters facility at 2001 Dalton Ave., Cincinnati, OH, near I-75.
Read More »
NEW YORK-Since opening its doors in 1981, the Blue Note in New York City has become one of the premier jazz clubs in the world and a cultural institution in Greenwich Village playing host to some of the greatest musicians of all time such as Ray Charles, Sarah Vaughan, Oscar Peterson, Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, Nina Simone, BB King, Tito Puente, Celia Cruz, Tony Bennett, Chris Botti, to name a few as well as modern hip-hop and R&B stars, including Lauryn Hill, Mos Def, Common and Lupe Fiasco. Recently the club received an upgraded sound system installed by Peltrix.
Read More »
GLASTONBURY, U.K. – At the 2011 Glastonbury Festival, Peavey provided an array of audio equipment for the Strummerville stage, a showcase celebration created to invoke the spirit of the late Joe Strummer by offering aspiring musicians the opportunity to play live to the masses at the U.K. music event.
Read More »SEATTLE, WA – Symetrix, Inc. has named Bormann Marketing, sales representative for Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota and western Wisconsin. Coinciding with this appointment, Loft AV, Symetrix' rep for Illinois and eastern Wisconsin (Milwaukee area), merged with Bormann Marketing, giving Bormann Marketing sales responsibilities for two key Symetrix territories.
Read More »PHOENIX – Precise Corporate Staging (PCS) of Phoenix has been awarded the bid to serve as the primary supplier of sound reinforcement and lighting system for the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. The event typically attracts more than half a million attendees. Since 1938, Sturgis, South Dakota has been home to one of the most famous – and infamous – motorcycle rallies in the nation; however, over the last few decades, it's been increasingly known for its live music.
Read More »