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Perspectives and Perception

Just as in real-life, everything in audio seems to revolve around perspectives. For example, you might have the perspective that a new line array, some extra subwoofers or a new console would be an important upgrade to really make a difference in the audio presentation. And you’re probably right. However, your ultimate boss — whether it’s a tour/show promoter, the board of directors at a venue or governing council at a house of worship — may have an entirely different perspective.

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Maroon 5 tour photo by Steve Jennings

Maroon 5: Mixed for a “Lively” Crowd

Spoiler alert to Kevin Glendinning: You’re about to find out just how loud that screaming is.

“Right from the beginning, there’s this big reveal, and the crowd just starts screaming,” says Maroon 5’s monitor engineer Glendinning. “I haven’t measured it because I don’t want to know how loud it is.”

“It’s 108 dB of screaming — I’ve measured it,” says FOH engineer Jim Ebdon, in a separate interview.

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A new sound system is taking Washington DC's Warner Theatre to the next level.

The Warner Theatre, Washington, DC

The story of Washington DC’s Warner Theatre is one that could be repeated about dozens of theaters around the country that began as classic art deco movie palaces, which in a bygone age, hosted silent films and vaudeville performers. As the years continued, many of these fell to the wayside, yet a fortunate few — like the Warner Theatre — were reborn and restored to reflect their former glory.

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Neumann’s KU 100 microphone simulates the way that humans hear by placing a small condenser mic capsule microphone in each “ear” of the head model. So called “dummy head” microphones are useful in making acoustical measurements or binaural simulation recordings.

Stereo: Localization, Imaging and Live Sound

Virtually everything about our pro audio world acknowledges the existence of multiple channels of audio and, most commonly, stereo channels (i.e., left and right). Nearly every piece of audio gear provides both stereo inputs and outputs. At concerts, there are almost always left and right speaker arrays. Essentially almost all music playback material is in stereo. This month, let’s take a look how we localize sound, and how that relates to the traditional use of the stereo configuration. We will consider stereo’s advantages, limitations, and place in the pro sound environment. We’ll also discuss how sound technicians can shape their mix to get the best overall results for the majority of the listening audience.

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Thomas Riedel

At 25, Riedel Looks Back – And Ahead

You only turn 25 once, and what Riedel Communications did to mark their quarter century in business was a doozy. The party itself took place at their headquarters in Wuppertal, Germany where 1,400 revelers joined in a celebration that included musical performances, high-wire acts, a robot band (playing heavy metal), outdoor whirlpools and a fire show.

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Forget something? (See Rule 01). Illustration by Tony Gleeson (WWW.TONYGLEESON.COM)

Top 40 Rules of the Road

It’s been 10 years since PLSN and FRONT of HOUSE first published Bob Higgins’ “Top 40 Rules of the Road.” For those who didn’t frame (or at least laminate) the original Top 40 Rules (July 2003), here’s a second chance. —ed.

Industry veteran Bob Higgins has more than 30 years of experience in the touring industry as a video producer, director, editor, dancer, troublemaker, and problem solver. With the help of contributing minders K. Lipschutz, G. Jones, V. Jarvis, A. Kramer, R. Alvarez, W. Willoughby, and B. Riedling, he’s pieced together the following rules, gleaned from his own early mistakes, mistakes he’s seen along the way (with the shipping records as proof), eyewitness accounts, and road stories too numerous to mention. Please read carefully, you will be tested daily…

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Soundcheck/setup in Bing Concert Hall before the show, showing a few of the 24 QSC HPR122i speakers used for the 22-channel surround system.

Stanford University Recreates Acoustics of Hagia Sophia at Bing Concert Hall

On Feb. 1, Stanford University’s performing arts presenter Stanford Live hosted a concert by the storied Cappella Romana vocal ensemble of Portland, OR. The ensemble’s name — meaning Roman Chapel — refers to the medieval Greek concept of the Roman oikoumene (inhabited world), which embraced Rome and Western Europe, as well as the Byzantine Empire of Constantinople (“New Rome”) and its Slavic commonwealth centered at Moscow. Recognized for its exploration of Eastern Orthodox vocal music, the ensemble’s performance at Stanford University’s Bing Concert Hall — titled Cappella Romana: From Constantinople to California — combined old-world Byzantine chants with the latest innovations in music technology from Stanford’s “Icons of Sound” project (http://iconsofsound.stanford.edu), to recreate the acoustics of Turkey’s legendary Hagia Sophia.

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Australian manufacturer Que Audio’s DA12 is a single-ear boom mount headworn mic featuring a compact (2.5mm) vocal capsule. Formerly marketed under the Da-Cappo brand, these mics delivered smooth, natural reproduction and good feedback resistance at an affordable price.

Que Audio DA04 and DA12

To prepare for this review, I visited Que Audio’s website and found out some interesting facts about the company and its products. First, Que Audio is owned by the Syncrotech Group, which is an Australian-owned group of professional audio companies that has been operating down under for more 30 years. When I read this info on the Que Audio site, I was quite impressed. Maybe because I happen to love Australia (and not for the shrimp), but also because 30 years is a long time to do anything in Australia, or anywhere else for that matter.

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