A Tale of Two Consoles
A few weeks ago, I mixed a show on an analog console for the first time in months. No, I’m not going into a riff… Read More »A Tale of Two Consoles
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Parnelli Profile: Audio Innovator John Stadius
“The definition of an innovator is ‘a person who develops a new design, product, or who has new ideas about how to do something’,” says Jack Kelly of Group One Limited, distributor of DiGiCo consoles and other pro audio and lighting brands. “John Stadius has continued to develop new ideas and designs for many, many years and has helped redefine what’s possible in the pro-audio industry.”
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Great Holiday Gift Ideas for the FOH Reader
George Petersen, FRONT of HOUSE editor, put together his annual list of holiday gift ideas for sound pros for the Dec. 2017 issue of FOH. You can find it on page 33, or just read on for the introduction to the article and click the link to download a PDF of the page.
Let’s face it – sound reinforcement pros are not easy to shop for. We already have enough cutesy chachkas and useless trinkets to last a lifetime – or longer. What we could really use is something meaningful that could make a difference in our everyday lives. So with that goal in mind, we present our annual holiday gift guide. Here are our suggestions of great gifts for the 2017 holiday season.
DSP Power Amplifiers
Over the years, one of the most amazing advances in technology in pro audio comes in the form of the modern power amplifier. Long gone are the days when the glass ceiling of $1 per watt seemed unbreakable. Meanwhile, amplifiers have incorporated Class-D switching power supplies to reduce weight and size, and at the same time, networking and onboard digital signal processing have made these powerhouses more versatile and flexible than ever. With that in mind, we decided to look at some third-party designs that can adapt to nearly any situation. That said, we are not presenting proprietary amplifiers — such as those designed for systems such as L-Acoustics, VUE or Bose, where the amps are integrated specifically to match the speakers from those companies.
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d&b audiotechnik Soundscape
3D Spatialization System Shows Promise
Tradeshow demo rooms tend to be pretty predictable. You walk into a boxy, less-than-ideal acoustical space, pick through some familiar CDs, then sit back and take in 117 dB playbacks with throbbing bass and piercing highs. The whole point is to provide a positive audio impression during a 10-minute presentation, but more often than not, I’ve walked out on such aural assaults before the first 90 seconds have elapsed.
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LD Systems Curv 500 Micro Line Arrays
There’s no arguing that line arrays are dominating FOH systems these days. Likewise, it’s accepted that smaller, more efficient and better sounding boxes are replacing the huge, brute force boxes of yesteryear. I recently provided sound support for a unique event that magnificently merged these two trends for great results. I can’t help but feel as though this particular show was a glimpse into the crystal ball of what’s to come. Like it or not, we had better all be ready.
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A Tale of Two One-Offs – Mixing Fiona Apple and Stevie Nicks
This past fall, I had the pleasure of participating in two one-off shows that each turned into the kind of magical experience that sustains us all in the fiercely competitive music business.
The first was a unique and exquisite performance by Fiona Apple at the beachfront Ohana Festival in Dana Point, CA. The second was a private event in a small hotel ballroom that included an outstanding set performed by Stevie Nicks and her virtuoso band.
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Here a Stage, There a Stage – All the World’s a Stage
If you were in the right place at the right time last January, you might have enjoyed a very intimate concert by Stevie Wonder. Local singer-songwriter Grayson Erhard was wailing away at Wonder’s classic “Superstition” from the small stage in the lobby of the Anaheim Marriott during the Winter NAMM Show. As Erhard plowed through the song, Wonder heard him and made his way over the stage, joining him on a couple of verses (and helping him remember a few of the lyrics, though Erhard can be forgiven if he seemed more than a bit surprised).
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Tick-Tock: What’s the Deal with Time Alignment?
A famous engineer on a Federation Starship once said “Captin, I canna’ change the laws of physics…”
Scotty may have been talking about the amount of time he needed to restart the warp engines, but if he was an audio engineer, he might have been referring to time alignment. Sound travels really s-l-o-w compared to the speed of light, the speed of electricity and certainly warp speed.
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