FUQUAY-VARINA, NC — Sommer Cable named a new North American distributor for both its Sommer Cable and HiCon (consumer A-V) lines. Taking the helm is Danny Woodlief, the CEO of Wiring Solutions & Interconnect, based here.
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Somebody out there doesn’t like us. Actually they like part of us — the wireless spectra many of us have been using for our RF mics, intercoms and IEM’s — and they’re bringing some deep pockets to the table to make sure we get left out of the picture. But to be perfectly fair, that statement isn’t quite accurate either, because what AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and other wireless services providers are currently lusting after is what’s known as the 600 MHz band. Occupying the 608 to 698 MHz — the previous UHF TV channels 36 through 51 — these are destined to wind up on an FCC auction block in 2014. This of course, follows directly on the heels of the FCC’s previous “reallocation” of TV channels 52 to 69 (the so-called 700 MHz band from 698 to 806 MHz) in 2008, from which we were summarily kicked out of after June 12, 2010.
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SECU Arena is Towson University’s new 5,200-seat state-of-the-art athletics and entertainment venue in Towson, MD. Although primarily for sports, the multi-purpose venue is also designed to host concerts, meetings, commencement ceremonies and conventions. Key to the success of the new venue was the sound system, which had to provide both high-SPL, full-response reproduction for music events, as well as excellent detail and articulation to maximize intelligibility in the large space.
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Classical-crossover sensation Sarah Brightman’s Dreamchaser World Tour kicked off in Guangzhou, China in mid-June. Now, having just completed the Asian and North American segments of this 67-stop marathon, the show is currently playing in Central and South America, and goes back to China in January 2014, followed by the Middle East, Russia, Finland and Eastern Europe in February. It’s truly a “world” tour.
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The pro audio world is filled with clichés. On the one hand, you’ve got the “mad scientist” type who toils away at the workbench creating seemingly magical solutions. The other is the funny, gregarious marketing guy who can price a product to sell. Now what if there was someone who was both of those things? Mark Engebretson. The 2013 recipient of the Parnelli Audio Innovator Award, Engebretson is likely the most influential pro sound engineer you’ve never heard of.
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On a lazy summer Sunday in 1986, a small group of faithful gathered at Zale Library on the campus of Bishop College in Dallas, and named their group the Provisional Baptist College. By September of that same year, the group had found a pastor, a meeting place, and a new name: Antioch Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church. Nearly three decades later, Antioch Church’s congregation has swelled to multiple thousands, drawing from all parts of the Dallas metroplex, and the 80,000 square-foot facility includes a large-scale multi-purpose hall with classrooms, bookstore, a full AV production suite and a 2,800-seat sanctuary.
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Founded in 1984 by Dr. Christian Heil, L-Acoustics has long been recognized as the inventor of modern line source arrays, with its V-DOSC technology accepted as a world standard of sorts for large-scale sound systems. Now L-Acoustics previews its next generation — the K2 medium-large line array, matching the V-DOSC in performance, but at about half the weight. The company’s director of application/touring Florent Bernard and director of marketing Stéphane Ecalle, offered these insights.
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There’s no single product that’s more iconic to the live industry than the handheld vocal mic. And while condenser models have caught on in popularity over the past few years, there’s something comforting about a rugged, tough-as-nails dynamic model that night after night, can stand up to the roughest treatment — and keep on ticking. We looked for some examples in this genre and found a great selection of models that combine durability and excellent performance for any pro live sound application. Check ‘em out!
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In last month’s column, we covered the concepts behind common methods of AC power distribution, and a number of power specific terms that have specific definitions in the context of the National Electrical Code (NEC). That article was to lay the groundwork for this month’s discussion of portable power distribution in the language of the code. Readers are encouraged to reference that article, and generally re-familiarize themselves with the definitions within.
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The much-anticipated next generation of StudioLive consoles has finally arrived. The new StudioLive AI line is offered in 16-, 24- and 32-channel versions. And the numbers refer to full channels with mic preamps — there’s none of that “24 input board with 16 mic inputs and four stereo line inputs” business. All are four-bus designs.
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Maybe it’s because I’m also a drummer, but whenever a company introduces a new microphone designed for kick drum, I’m all ears. So earlier this year, when Telefunken Eletroakustik announced its new M82, I was definitely interested and even more so because the M82 also has onboard tone shaping switches to tailor the response to the job at hand.
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This past weekend, I had the pleasure of mixing a performance by Seal for a large corporate event held at the EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City. This event was my first time working for this particular artist, and I must admit it was a completely enjoyable experience. Although I was familiar with his hits, I had no previous experience of any kind with Seal’s live shows. When taking on a fresh project, I believe two things to be of paramount importance: preparation and networking.
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