It may not be as sexy as a new line array, but it’s time to upgrade your power cables.
I pretty much have myself converted, and Bill Evans is almost converted, but have you converted to using the “correct” power service cords per the electrical codes?
Read More »
We are embarking upon the high season of live sound production, and it is good to think about the items that will be plaguing us and our crews during this time. This article is a compendium of ideas from the authors and a call to action before the summer gigs become imminent.
Read More »This is the scenario: You contacted the right people at a particular house of worship, sold them on a sound package for their sanctuary, installed the system professionally and got paid well for your work. Now what? I would think that you included some training of the staff or volunteers in your bid. But what is going on with that sound system six months later? Or a year or two from your original installation?
Read More »
L-ACOUSTICS P Series Powered Speakers
Jamie Rio
I have written many times in the past about the joys of a small sound system — especially one that sounds great and can reach a lot of people. Of course, the whole concept of “small” is very relative. However, if your mains are the size of your grade school lunch box and your subs are the size of a milk crate, we would definitely call that small.
Read More »
Ace Baker and Anthony Roberts keep horn-funk legends Tower of Power sounding TOPs 150 nights a year.
Quick, answer this question without actually thinking about it. You have a choice of two gigs. One is a mega-hot young band with a huge radio hit headlining arenas and doing stadium festivals. The other is a group of 50+ year-old guys who have not had a radio hit in 20 years and are on the road up to 200 days a year, playing everything from casino showrooms to clubs. Which one do you take?
Read More »
You’d think that a major metropolitan area like Chicago, with its 11 million or so citizens, would have dozens and dozens of sound companies ready to service the city’s music venues and industry events. Yet, according to T.C. Furlong, who started the sound company that bears his name nearly 35 years ago, there are only eight companies working in the Windy City.
Read More »
Tony Blanc and Bill Chrysler Get It Up In Record Time for Christina Aguilera.
OK, I admit it. I wanted to talk with the Christina Aguilera tour guys because she totally blew me away with her performances on the last two Grammy telecasts. Her duet with Herbie Hancock last year and the tribute to James Brown with “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World” proved that the budding diva has not only pipes, but taste and chops to match.
Read More »
Audio In the Big Leagues
I’m standing at front of house inside L.A.’s Staples Center the night before the 49th Grammys broadcast. I’m surrounded by some of pro audio’s biggest heavyweights, and the mood is best described as “watchfully relaxed.” After six grueling days of install and rehearsals, the crew is ready to wrap and get ready for show day.
Read More »
The great thing about teaching is that it helps you organize thoughts into cohesive ideas. The other day, while I was imparting my vast storehouse of knowledge to some up-and-coming engineers, I mentioned that there are a few different approaches to creating a live mix and that for the most part, barring any real technical faux pas, if a method is found that works, then it’s right.
Read More »By this point in time I must seem to be the guy who insists on flailing the long-since deceased steed, but I have always been one to say what I think. Evidently I don’t think about a lot of different things because I sat down at the computer with the intention of revisiting a subject I have expounded on several times in the past. But instead, I’ll just touch on it and move on.
Read More »When it comes to performing, perseverance is one thing, electrocution a whole ‘nother one.
The recent performance by Prince at the Super Bowl Halftime show raises some very serious questions regarding when an outdoor event has passed the point of “the show must go on” and reached the point of “someone could get hurt here.” We’ve all heard the adage, but at what — and more importantly, whose expense — must the show go on?
Read More »Good Preparation Doesn’t Happen by Accident.
Eric Schilling, a Grammy-winning engineer, live mixer and record producer for artists including Gloria Estefan, Crosby, Stills & Nash, David Bowie, Frank Sinatra, Shakira and others, has also been the music mixer for the Grammy telecast for the past several years. It’s one of the jobs he’s most prized, and that gave him grounding in all three areas he enjoyed: working in recording studios, mixing live sound and mixing high-intensity broadcast events like the Grammys. But he almost didn’t make it for this year’s event.
Read More »