This class of portable P.A. gear has gone through some weird twists over the past decade. Not so long ago, the kind of portable powered systems that sit on tripod speaker stands were the norm for smaller gigs, but as technology rocketed forward, the humble speaker-on-a-stick became an “an-klebiter only” tool and was widely dismissed by most in the middle-levels-and-up of the pro audio industry.
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BUSINESS
Who: Tim Chapman, head of marketing, Lab.gruppen
Where: Kungsbacka, Sweden (just south of Gothenburg).
When founded: Lab.gruppen was founded in 1979; since 2002, it has been part of the TC Group.
What: Creating sound reinforcement products for the professional audio industry — designs and manufacturers power applications and powered loudspeaker management systems.
Yeah, we all have a techno-ignorant past that we have to bear, especially when it comes to speaker cables. I remember when speaker cable for the P.A. system was that clear plastic stuff with copper and nickel/copper wires inside that we bought innocently at some retail store. Eventually, we realized that cheap is as cheap does, and better speaker wire leads to a listenable improvement in sound quality. This column is intended to dispel some myths about speaker cabling and to help you think about the right way to choose high-power handling cables.
Read More »When I think of worship sound, I generally put this end of the biz into two categories. First, there is the owner-operator guy like me, who installs systems in small churches and mixing services during the week or on the weekends. Then there is the large regional or national company that has the resources and ability to install large complex systems into any church or large venue.
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As long as I have been in the sound biz, I have been looking for a better microphone. Not because I have been dissatisfied with the standard models most commonly used, but because I started my career in music as a singer. And, as a singer, I am acutely aware how a mic can color one’s voice. Well, if a microphone can make a voice sound different, then can’t it make an instrument sound different? Of course, the answer is yes and, there-fore, my never-ending quest to find a better (or at least different) microphone.
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With the rapid move toward digital mixing in the live arena, it may seem to some that Allen & Heath is late to the party. But keep in mind that this company put out its first digital mixer almost a decade ago — a small-powered rig called the ICON — that is still being used for smaller applications today. The iLive is a huge jump forward and moves A&H firmly into the fray, giving them a fighting chance in the digital mixing market.
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When the father-son team of Jaygarick and Joe Stewart decided to go into business together, there was no doubt who was going to get the title of president, Jay jokes. At the same time, the duo wasn’t hung up on titles back then, and they are not now. After all, Dad is Dad.
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Rainbow Production Services and Thunder Audio Team Up for Dane Cook’s Rough Around the Edges Tour
When I got the call asking me to go out and cover a tour by a
comedian named Dane Cook, I had two reactions. The first was, “Who the hell is Dane Cook.” And the second was, “It’s one guy and a mic. How hard can it be?” I was in for an education on both counts.
In 1997, I was employed as chief sound engineer aboard the world-famous RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 ocean liner. I was having a great run, and things were going smoothly. Then, as we came through the Panama Canal and stopped in Acapulco, I contracted conjunctivitis, commonly known as pink eye, in both eyes.
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It seems a fitting way to begin a new year. More than five years ago, as the very first issue of FOH was just starting to take form, I met and spent the day hanging with John Cooper at the Forum in Los Angeles where he was getting ready for his first L.A. show with Bruce Springsteen. The re-sult of that afternoon was the very first FOH Interview ever.
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UMass’s Lipke Auditorium Needed a System That Was Not Too Small, But Not Too Big.
Over the past couple of years, the audio/visual team at the University of Massachusetts in Boston has been captaining updates of the school’s audi-toriums. First came the ballroom in the school’s Campus Center where a brand new $1 million audio system was installed. Then, in 2007,the Lipke Auditorium was finished; next will be Snowden Auditorium.
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Calvin L. Williams
Owner
Audio Visual One Presentations
Michigan Center, MI
517.748.9300
www.av1presentations.com
[email protected]
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