LONG ISLAND CITY, NY — Bob See, founder and CEO of See Factor Industry and one of the leading innovators in rock ‘n’ roll tour packaging, died Feb. 10, 2015. See Factor reported that he died peacefully in his sleep. He was 67.
Read More »
This issue of FRONT of HOUSE is focused around the house of worship market, an area where I have a large amount of personal experience. From volunteering at my own small church, to being a hired gun in large mega churches, the majority of my hours logged behind a mixing console have been in the church setting. As a result, I have direct experience in this area, which may make this article rather contrarian to what is usually composed regarding church sound.
Read More »
About a month ago, I was researching the article for the January issue of FRONT of HOUSE on Shure products that had made their mark on the sound reinforcement industry during the company’s 90-year history. While doing that, I pulled some files from of my archives on the 1967 debut of the Shure Vocal Master, which was described at the time as the first “portable total sound system.” In truth, it actually was pretty cool for its time, and was quite successful, but what struck a chord in me was the absolute proliferation these had in the house of worship market. And it always amazes me how many times — even in recent years — I could walk into a church somewhere (or a lodge hall or city council chamber, for that matter) and still see those 63-inch silver gray columns in use. The “transistorized” Vocal Master mixer/amps may have long since faded into the sunset, but the transducers live on.
Read More »
Like clockwork, the sunny skies of the Winter NAMM show in Anaheim, CA always coincide with the horrible weather, heavy snowfall and ice storms that seem to grip the East Coast and central states around the third week of the New Year. And the situation was no different from Jan. 22-25 for Winter NAMM 2015 as a record 99,342 attendees (including 13,208 international registrants) made the annual pilgrimage to enjoy short-sleeve weather, check out the latest in music and audio products — and maybe even do some business.
Read More »
The North American leg of pop idol Enrique Iglesias’ world tour (with co-headliner Pitbull) picked up on Jan. 27 with two packed nights at the 13,000-capacity Don Haskins Center in El Paso, TX, before embarking on a long list of arena dates.
Read More »
No matter what anyone may tell you, getting great sound in a house of worship environment is no picnic. Besides the “it’s too loud” complaints from the old folks who insist on sitting in the front row — even in churches presenting modern music at rock concert levels — there are also certain acoustical difficulties that are near-insurmountable. Let’s face it, many sanctuaries are “blessed” with copious amounts of marble, wood and glass surfaces, which are anything but audio friendly. Other groups may meet in converted gymnasiums, storefronts and the like, which were rarely designed from an acoustical standpoint. The bottom line? It ain’t easy.
Read More »
