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Focusrite RedNet Audio Networking

RedNet modules 1 through 5

Focusrite RedNet Audio Networking

Well-known in studio circles, but perhaps less familiar to sound reinforcement users, Focusrite has a long and distinguished legacy in professional audio. The company was founded 29 years ago by audio legend Rupert Neve (whose circuit designs still grace a number of Focusrite’s products) and four years later, it was acquired by Soundcraft co-founder Phil Dudderidge. After a short bout in the large console market, Focusrite began expanding its world-class signal processing series with a successful line of audio interfaces that were on-time and in-step with the burgeoning studio market.

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Kick Drum Microphones buyers guide, FOH magazine, Jan. 2014

Kick Drum Microphones

Once upon a time, choices for miking kick drums were few — RE-20’s, D12’s, MD421’s and the occasional M88. But as bass drum became more prominent in music mixes, a market opened for specialized microphones for kick applications, with new high-SPL, plug-and-go models that required little or no EQ to provide a solid kick sound. Today, there are dozens of such models available — and even more if you consider all the boundary-style mics suitable for the task. We looked into some current market offerings and found a huge selection to fit anyone’s taste or budget. Speaking of price, all include an MSRP here, although street prices can vary widely if you shop around. So get kicking!

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Open Array software prediction for Washington D.C.’s Warner Theatre, showing the effectiveness of a mid-height line array hang covering multiple zones. Image courtesy of Outline

Dealing with Balconies

Virtually every production company will come to a point in business where they start doing events in rooms colloquially referred to as “soft seaters.” These are the concert halls, civic centers, theaters, churches, converted movie houses, auditoriums, collegiate centers, etc. that host everything from plays to bands to politicians. Soft seaters can be great venues: a fair number were designed with some acoustic intent and/or treatment, and the better ones are well equipped to support a production company’s infrastructure.

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The control panel on the side of the Black12 has I/O, mixing and access to DSP settings.

Alto Professional Black Series

Whether aging a fine wine or tweaking a speaker design, good things often take a while to develop. During the InfoComm show back in 2012, I stopped by the Alto Professional booth and was taken aback by a preview of the company’s just-unveiled Black Series loudspeakers. I had been aware of Alto Professional since 2000, when the company was first launched. That young company had ambition and good ideas, but seemed unfocused and often embarked on products which, I suppose, had great appeal to overseas customers, yet weren’t always quite in sync with the needs of pro users in North America.

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Line 6 V75-40V Handheld Wireless Mic with Earthworks WL40V hypercardoid capsule.

Line 6 V75-40V Handheld Wireless Mic

The V75-40V is the latest digital wireless microphone from Line 6. It transmits in the 2.4 GHz band and features an Earthworks WL40V hypercardioid capsule. It’s made to be used with Line 6’s 2.4 GHz receivers, the XD-V75, XD-V55 and XD-V35, running v2.0 firmware or later. The V75-40V equipped with the Earthworks WL40V capsule is sold a la carte and is not packaged with any particular wireless receiver system.

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The Eko Hotel in Lagos, Nigeria

One Night in Lagos, Part 1

One-offs are always an adventure. A Mariah Carey one-off in Lagos, Nigeria turned out to be an ongoing series of adventures. The first arena of activity was the establishment of basic technical communication. Our production manager opened the dialog among all of us on the crew and our contacts in Africa about a month and a half before this event was to occur. We communicated our equipment preferences and awaited a reply from the vendors in Lagos. It took a while to hear back from the production company that was overseeing the event and information was delivered in frustratingly small packets, but what I eventually learned about the FOH audio situation was definitely encouraging.

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The Touring Career Workshop in Nashville.

Balancing Business and Audio Skills

FRONT of HOUSE runs this business column because the publisher, the editor and I have all long agreed that all the cool gear and all the technical expertise in the world alone won’t make someone’s career successful, unless that person develops some business chops. Increasingly, the rest of the live-sound universe agrees.

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FOH Magazine Sound Sanctuary by Jamie Rio

How Loud is Loud?

A correct audio mix in a house of worship usually means keeping a tight rein on the overall decibel level, the SPL (sound pressure level), volume or just plain loudness of a service. But have you ever asked yourself how loud is loud?

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Illustration by Andy Au

Gear, Glorious Gear!

So, I’m thinking about gear — as I am wont to do — and I start making up a song to the tune of “Food Glorious Food.” The first line comes to me automatically, but then I get stumped, because I use a word that has no apparent rhyme with any word that will make a statement as a final destination for the direction of the first line. By the way, this song is of no great importance other than a bit of brain eruption, but once it got stuck in my head as a half thought it became a puzzle to be solved.

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JBL_NCYC

CTS Audio Provides JBL VTX, Crown I-Tech for Catholic Youth Event in Indianapolis

INDIANAPOLIS – The three-day National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC), held once every two years, returned to Lucas Oil Stadium here in 2013, where it was also held in 2011. For the event, held Nov. 21-23, CTS Audio provided a Harman Professional audio system that included JBL VTX line arrays and Crown I-Tech HD amplifiers. NCYC will return to Lucas Oil Stadium in 2015.

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