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The 30,000-capacity Medals Plaza is the locale where, each day at 8:40 p.m., medal-winning Olympians would receive their gold, silver or bronze awards, directly in front of the gargantuan Olympic torch. The ceremonies were witnessed and cheered on by tens of thousands of spectators. Along with the medal ceremonies, the stage also played host to top-end international entertainers

Olympics Medals Plaza in Sochi, Russia

The 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia, will most likely take its place in history as the most expensive, most exciting — as well as the most controversial — sporting event. Over two billion TV spectators all over the world as well as hundreds of thousands of onsite visitors witnessed the beauty of the new Olympic Park, with its futuristic architecture, breathtaking sports competitions and of course, the world class entertainment for the athletes, volunteers and the visitors.

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Back to Basics: Gain Structure

We cover a wide-ranging list of topics in this column. But sometimes it’s appropriate to return to look some of the industry’s “basic” principles. This month we’ll dust off the volume on gain structure. Once a frequent topic of conversation for the industry, gain structure has become less important as electronics have improved — although it should certainly not be ignored.

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3 Zigma Audio CHI Series Microphones. Pictured here, the C-LOL-67 capsule on an HA-TL II head-amp

3 Zigma Audio CHI Series Microphones

Larry Villella is a musician, audio enthusiast and former Steinway piano dealer who turned his love of vintage mic collecting into a full-time business as ADK Microphones in 1998. Most of the ADK line centered around mics that emulated the sound of classic studio models. A couple years ago, he branched out with his new 3 Zigma line, which were more compact than the large body and tube models that ADK offered and employed the CHI (Capsule/Head-Amp Integrator) Series.

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DiGiCo SD5

There’s a Console in my Living Room!

This past week, console manufacturer DiGiCo and its USA representative, Matt Larson, graciously enabled me to engage in a completely unique and exceptionally rewarding experience when a SD5 console was delivered to my home and set up in my living room. This marks the first time in my career that I have brought my work home with me in such a literal and physical sense. Matt and I first connected the console to the Waves SoundGrid server that allowed me to access Waves 9 plug-ins. Next, we enabled 48 tracks of Reaper playback from my MacBook Pro through the DiGiCo UD MADI interface. Finally, we employed the board’s local analog XLR I/O connections to play back stereo tracks from my iPhone and to connect the console’s analog outputs to my JBL XPL200 speakers.

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virtu Stealth Touring Chair by Crown Seating

Take Your Stand – Or Not

Some like to do it sitting down. Some like to do it standing up. You now what I’m talking about. Wait, no, not that. I’m talking about how FOH mixers approach their work: standing behind the console or sitting behind it, or some combination thereof. It’s an important topic for a number of very good reasons, some of which may not have occurred to you.

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What’s In Your Cabinet?

One of the side benefits of the widespread use of in-ear monitoring is that stage volume for many acts has dropped significantly. A sort of domino effect resulting from this phenomenon has been that — as there are few or no wedges on stage — the need for high-volume guitar and bass rigs has decreased. Of course, there will always be musicians who want two Marshall double-stacks barking at maximum volume, but the presence of loud guitar and bass rigs is in fact counterproductive to using IEMs, because the ability of earpieces to reject stage sound can only go so far.

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A MyMix personal mix system proved to be the solution for Grace Church in Eden Prairie, MN, where the musicians have fingertip control of their individualized IEM or wedge mixes.

Is Your Church Ready for Personal Monitoring?

My first introduction to personal monitors was about 20 years ago. I was playing an acoustic guitar and singing worship music in front of a Galaxy Hot Spot monitor mounted on a mic-stand. The thing was turned up so loud I almost lost a filling, but in a few minutes after adjusting the EQ and volume, I had my own personal monitor mix. That experience really has very little to do with the in-ear personal monitor systems that I use today, but we all have to start somewhere. By the way, Galaxy is still alive and still making very potent small Hot Spot monitors.

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Illustration by Andy Au

Audio is Not a Tax!

Literally translated, “tithe” means ten per cent. Tithing, or the giving of 10 percent of one’s income, is a religious practice that goes back thousands of years and is a Judeo-Christian concept that has its roots in the Old Testament.

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