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David Morgan

Considering a Console Change

In this age of digital devices, I am often asked if I have ever considered returning to mixing on an analog console for my touring clients. My answer is always an unequivocal “No!” Since 2006, when I migrated away from analog to an exclusively digital mixing rig, I have confidently embraced the audio technology, the work surface and the software that comprise working in a digital environment. The positive contributions to the successful execution of my art so heavily outweigh any possible negatives that I have never felt any twinges of nostalgia for the massive consoles and outboard equipment racks that once inhabited my FOH mixing position. Digital mixing generates layers of repeatability, recall agility, snapshot complexity and plug-in diversity that, quite simply, are impossible in the analog world.

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Return of the Taping Section. Photo by Greg Stelz

Return of the Taping Section

You might have Pro Tools integrated into your FOH console, but you may not be the only one legally recording the show. In a twist on the Grateful Dead’s well-known encouragement of fans taping their live shows, modern rockers MGMT are inviting their own legions to do the same, but with a nod to the vicissitudes of contemporary music legalities. The band opened a “fan taping section” at their shows in Atlanta, Chicago and Brooklyn late last year, announcing it via their website but specifically asking that tapers first register in addition to purchasing tickets for their shows.

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Are you ready to rumble?

Are You Ready to Rumble?

It’s a sad fact of life that getting a great bass tone through a P.A. system starts with a great bassist playing a good instrument. On second thought maybe that’s a happy fact of life. Given that starting point (or something close to it) it’s your responsibility as an engineer not to screw it up. While you can’t polish the proverbial turd, there’s a lot you can do to make the most of what you’ve been given, and these days there are plenty of tools to help you in the process. Beware: we’re about to open up a can of worms!

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Jamie Rio

Speaker Placement and Audio Quality

Not every house of worship has the luxury of selecting from multiple locations for its front of house speakers. Some of you have but one place to position or mount your speakers. However, it goes without saying that the placement of your speakers — their location and where they are aimed — is of monumental importance in how your system performs in your sanctuary.

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Illustration by Andy Au

Generating Ideas

Recently, a winter storm in my neck of the woods coated the trees with a heavy layer of ice. I awoke early that day to the sound of tree branches breaking off due to the heavy weight of their frigid encasement. Shortly thereafter, I lost all electric to my home. I called the electric company and reported the outage and then went off to work, not realizing that the outage would affect about 600,000 customers or that I would be without power for approximately five days. Trees were down, branches were down, wires were down, and I was woefully unprepared. By the time I got to Home Depot, every generator was sold out; the generator companies I called were sold out as well. I was relegated to charging my cell phone in the car and feeding wood into my fireplace — which is designed more for decorative log burning than for home heating.

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George Petersen, editor, FOH Magazine

Good…Better…Best!

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.

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