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David Morgan: “My Instrument is the Console, and I Play the Band”

David Morgan: “My Instrument is the Console, and I Play the Band”

In a time when pop music careers are measured in weeks instead of decades and the next big thing will fade by tomorrow, the second biggest tour of the year featured two old friends both in their 60s doing a show that felt like it could be in a small club – or sometimes in your living room. James Taylor and Carole King took a show that started out as a short series of dates in L.A. and put it on the road, consistently selling out 20K arenas and sounding great at every stop. Manning the console was veteran mixer David Morgan who had an advantage going in. He had the trust of everyone on stage.

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AKG C 214

We are all familiar with the legendary AKG C 414 microphone and all of its incarnations. Actually, that statement may be incorrect. I currently specialize in live sound reinforcement, but all of my C 414 use was during my studio engineering days.

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Gear Box Pro Cable Management Systems

So FOH editor Bill Evans gave me a buzz and asked me to look at these products and offer my thoughts. He contacts me when he wants that everyday, Joe Schmo opinion on something. Occasionally, he wants me to be hypercritical and nit-picky to avoid manufacturer hyperbole and puffery (thanks for the new vocabulary word, Papa Johns!).

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Boulevard Pro Finds Its Niche

Like so many people who founded regional sound companies, twin brothers Anthony and James Cioffi – who run the very successful Boulevard Pro in northern New Jersey ("seven miles from Times Square," Anthony points out) – started out as musicians.

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Doors @ 9

8 a.m., Sunday morning, and the big Christmas program at Trinity Church International in Lake Worth, FL is about to get underway. Loads of planning, months of rehearsals, hiring a string and horn section (small orchestra) went into this. plus stage setup, chairs, mics, and programmed lights. It's gonna be a great show.

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Powered vs. Unpowered

Making a decision on the type of system to purchase is a very difficult task. Any wrong choice can make or break a company, especially in today's economy. That's why it is important to understand the advantages and disadvantages of different technologies and make the best choice for whatever the situation may be.

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Learning Goes Online, But Can Live Sound Follow?

The larger pro media arts & sciences schools have been steadily adding and expanding their course offerings, and many have taken the next logical step and are adding online courses, just as their more conventional college and university counterparts are doing. But how does live sound fare when it hits the broadband pipe?

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Merry Merry Merry?

Every year, I write a little something about the holiday season. Usually I share some of my personal rules and regulations that get me through the season with a smile on my face, and this year is no exception.

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Filling the Space Between the Notes

Another year is coming to a close, and history has been made. Triumph, tragedy and everything in between have been expressed as we speed forward into the great unknown of the year to come, zooming one year closer to the ominous and looming 2012. Will the little planet that could be able to stave off the apocalyptic cataclysm that will seemingly engulf us all, or will the valiant people of the third rock from the sun be able to ward off the rapidly approaching end by some great uplifting heroic effort?

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