It’s AES Time!
There are certain times that mark the end of summer. After all those Labor Day picnics, it’s time to pack that Weber grill back into the garage and get the kids off to school. Heck, fall officially kicks in on September 22, so pretty soon, many of us will be enjoying the changing of the season, with trees exhibiting their amazing annual display of fall colors.
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Rob Zombie and Korn: Return of the Dreads Tour
The Korn/Rob Zombie Tour might just be the best-kept secret of the summer. “It’s selling really well,” says Zombie’s FOH engineer Mark Woodcock. “Besides the Guns N’ Roses tour, it’s the #1 rock act of the summer. The reviews have been great — both bands sound great, and the lighting and staging on both shows are spectacular. And it really is two different shows. At first, the way they look together might seem like a bizarre combination, but it totally works.”
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Recent House of Worship Projects
Sound system designers for the house of worship market face some tough challenges. By their very nature, churches — whether traditional or modern — are often not designed for the sonic needs of today’s high-SPL worship and frequently built into acoustical spaces such as storefronts or warehouses that were never intended for music appreciation. At the same time, church services typically combine a wealth of spoken word portions that require superb intelligibility with music that can range from delicate instrumentation and quiet vocal solos intended to go with quiet contemplative moments to turn-it-up-to-10 hymns that instill the soul (and the sanctuary itself) with the sounds of praise.
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Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles
The Greeks regarded Orpheus as the father of music. (Hermes may have invented the lyre, but Orpheus perfected it.) The Orpheum chain of vaudeville theaters, built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, reflected the confident and optimistic aura of the West Coast during those years, with the opulence and musical perfection Orpheus might have appreciated. The Orpheum Theatre on Broadway in downtown Los Angeles (about seven blocks from the Staples Center and the L.A. Convention Center) is a spectacular example. A high vaulted ceiling supporting ornate crystal chandeliers, exquisite plaster work, lush velvet seating, deeply curved unsupported balcony — and all eyes drawn to what might lie behind the classically framed proscenium arch.
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2016 Parnelli Audio Innovator Greg Mackie
If Greg Mackie had just stopped at his 1970s company, TAPCO, his contributions to pro audio would have been worthy of a lifetime achievement award. But then, in 1988, he founded Mackie Designs, introducing the groundbreaking CR-1604 audio mixer three years later. In 1996, the company expanded beyond analog audio mixers, creating digital mixers and powered speakers. And now he’s again involved in innovation, this time with M&W Audio, partnering with former Trident Audio designer Peter Watts. “We wanted to create better products at affordable prices that fit the evolving music scene with wide dynamic ranges that fit the music of rock ‘n’ roll,” Mackie says. And that’s exactly what he did.
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2016 Hometown Hero Finalists
Here’s a look at the regional finalists in the 2016 Hometown Hero Sound Company of the Year award.
There are many ways to judge the vitality of our industry — ticket sales, manufacturer’s bottom line, new hires. As we compiled the voting for this year’s Hometown Hero finalists, we noticed that there are so many new companies being honored. Not that these are “new” companies, per se —most have been around for a quite a while (one since 1976). But this year, only two have been in the winner’s circle before. What do these winners get? A nice certificate suitable for wall-hanging; a chance to come to the Parnelli Awards show on Oct. 22 and win Regional Company of the Year; but perhaps most important of all, bragging rights. Let’s meet the regional winners!
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Column Array Speakers
The concept of the column array speaker has evolved significantly since the days when the standard was set by a pair of Shure VocalMaster columns… Read More »Column Array Speakers
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Cardioid Subwoofer Setups
Managing low frequencies is one of live audio’s constant challenges. We deal with room nodes, architectural resonances, uneven coverage and unwanted spill. The last two decades have brought about the ready availability of digital signal processing (DSP) and digital consoles. DSP is now in almost everyone’s arsenal, allowing the easy creation of cardioid arrays with everyday tools.
JBL: 70 Years of Innovation
Although 2016 marks the 70th anniversary of founder James Bullough Lansing’s launch of Lansing Sound Inc. — which later became JBL — the story goes well beyond that.
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Wireless Speaker Feeds Using Xirium Pro
German rocker Udo Lindenberg recently started his Keine Panik! (Don’t Panic!) German tour. More than half a million people have attended his concerts in the past three years, and he’s packing stadiums and arenas again in 2016. Satis&fy, an international provider of event, media technology and scenic design solutions based in Karben, Germany (near Frankfurt), is responsible for the tour sound. The company’s 500+ people, its large fleet of vehicles and up-to-date gear make it one of Germany’s largest live event firms.
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Audio-Technica AE2300 Instrument Mic
When it comes to selecting dynamic mics for live instrument miking, the choices are nearly endless. So earlier this year, when Audio-Technica unveiled its new AE2300 model, I must confess that initially I wasn’t overly excited about the concept. However, what quickly piqued my interest in the AE2300 was its onboard switchable low-pass filter.