Editor’s Note

It’s hard to believe that in 2014 we’d still be talking about loudness and volume levels, but here we are, and it’s still a major issue on the agenda. We’ve all heard the pros, the cons and the who do you blame — sometimes it’s even us — but a news item I read recently brought us the subject from a new angle.

Okay, I don’t quite get it. It’s April. Up here in San Francisco, it’s pouring rain. Yet the festival season starts in just a couple weeks, with the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival kicking off for two fun (and work) packed weekends from April 11 to 13 and 18 to 20. It might be springtime, but I guess the chances of warm weather are better in the desert/Coachella Valley town of Indio, Calif. than up here in the fog belt.

I recently got an interesting letter (well, email) here from a reader who had a simple, yet thoughtful inquiry. In the message, he stated that he felt he was a pretty good sound reinforcement engineer, but was wondering if I could offer some advice on making the quantum leap from being “pretty good” to becoming a great engineer. The answer, I’m afraid isn’t so simple — if it was, I’d simply write it out and have it printed up in bags of audio fortune cookies with everything you need to know in a soundbite or two.

Welcome to 2014. I’m not sure where 2013 went, but around here, time moves much faster than 1,126 feet/second, and it seems like yesterday that I was penning some kind of welcome address to 2013. This is always the time when journalists everywhere reflect on the past year, but I’m mostly gonna skip that and get to the chase. That said, you don’t want to miss our annual look back at the “Top Tours of 2013” in our expanded “Showtime” edition starting on page 22. (Click HERE to scroll down to the tour listings)

There’s a well-known old Irish saying: “When you are right, no one remembers; when you are wrong, no one forgets.” It’s often quoted and usually… Read More »A Little Parnelli Magic

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.

There are a lot of pro audio-oriented tradeshows, with some events cropping up somewhere almost every month throughout the year. In fact, this month, we’re privy to several such conclaves — PLASA in London, Oct. 6-9, and AES in New York, Oct. 17-20. Problem is, despite the size and relatively robust health of the sound reinforcement industry, there still is no tradeshow specifically catering to the live audio community.

These days, the once-common huge stadium music shows are less of the norm, except for the occasional special events (such as the Oklahoma Twister Relief Concert spotlighted in last month’s FRONT of HOUSE) or the rare mega-tour. Even The Rolling Stones’ last outing hit more arenas than stadiums. For some reason, stadium shows are more common overseas — perhaps because certain popular artists only come through on a far less frequent basis, so fans may consider such events more like once-per-decade events rather than annual occurrences, thus providing a larger draw.

From our earliest days, we are constantly warned about various dangers in our lives, and we can all remember advice like the “stop, look and listen” before crossing train tracks or avoiding taking candy from strangers. And each of these have obvious physical signs, such as being wary of people you don’t know or hearing the clanging bells, flashing/swinging semaphores and the unmistakable Doppler shift from the roar of an approaching freight train. All good reasons to think twice.

You can call it “The Big Show,” or perhaps “The Main Event,” and for a great many pros in the sound reinforcement industry, all eyes and ears will be on Orlando for InfoComm 2013. This year, the convention kicks off its conference program on June 8, with the not-to-be-missed exhibit floor opening its doors on June 12. The audio demo rooms begin a day earlier, on June 11, giving attendees more time to focus on actually hearing products in a live and up-close environment.