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NAMM offers a little of everything, and a lot of social interaction.

Pro and M.I. and NAMM

After returning from this year’s NAMM show, I’m finally starting to recover. No, this year I didn’t succumb to the dreaded NAMM-fluenza, or whatever they call that mysterious malady that comes from shaking the hands of 10,000 infected people, but NAMM is set up as a non-stop rock ‘n’ roll party packed into a four-day weekend. That isn’t to say that in-between the fun, there isn’t business (and a lot of hard work) squeezed in there as well, but for anyone who’s never been to a NAMM show, well, let’s just say it can be an intense experience.

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SES provided a NEXO GEO S12 line array, RS18s and NXAmps.

House of Worship Installations Showcase

Bayside Church, Roseville, CA

When not on tour, Christian musician and pastor Lincoln Brewster can usually be found leading services at The Bayside Church, a four-campus church that typically draws a total 12,000 worshippers for weekend services. To meet the needs of the expanding congregation attending services at the church’s flagship location in Roseville, CA, church leaders recently expanded the seating capacity of the sanctuary from about 1,800 to 2,300.

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The Capitol Theatre, Port Chester, NY

The Capitol Theatre: A Rock Palace is Reborn

The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY had a glorious history that began in 1920s with vaudeville and movies (silent and talkies) before emerging, in the 1960s and 1970s, as a rock ‘n’ roll palace that dispensed sonic pleasures for those grooving to the sounds of the Rolling Stones, Janis Joplin, The Grateful Dead and other great bands of that generation. But like so many beautiful old theaters, the doors were locked and, despite an open-to-the-public revival in the 1980s and 1990s, where bands like Phish and local theater groups play The Cap, the venue was at risk of becoming a shadow of its former past. Could the wrecking ball be far behind?

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Photo by Sonya N. Hebert

Maryland Sound Inaugurates a President

Live/lip sync debate aside, everyone in this business noticed Beyoncé pulling out her IEM in the middle of her rendition of the national anthem before President Barack Obama was sworn in for a second term. Bob Goldstein, owner of Maryland Sound International (MSI), has an opinion as to why: “She preferred the MSI HEX12 Monitor at her feet to the IEM!” MSI once again participated in the historic day, and their contribution to everything involved with the event, held Jan. 21, 2013, was certainly very real and very live.

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Image courtesy of Clark Wire & Cable

Conductivity, Audio and You

This month, we’ll take a look at wire and conductivity, the electronic lifeblood behind our industry. In a rigorous sense, wire is metal that drawn through a sequence of ever-shrinking dies until it exists in fine, conductive form. If we relax that definition slightly to include any conducting element in electronics, like those on a circuit board or behind a touch screen, we have hit on a key piece of how virtually all audio equipment operates. Without electricity, and conductors to direct it, there would be no professional audio!

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DPA d:facto II Vocal Mic

DPA d:facto II Vocal Mic

It seems like only yesterday (well about a year ago) that DPA launched its d:facto handheld vocal microphone, with the intent of putting a studio-quality mic into a live stage package. And now, less than a year later, DPA debuts its second-generation d:facto design — the d:facto II. Clearly, there wasn’t anything inherently wrong with the original design — in fact, the mic was starting to pick up an increasing roster of users, including performers such as Sting, who seemed quite satisfied with the original design. However, the engineering team members at DPA tend to be extremely fussy about even the smallest details, and the new and improved d:facto II was born.

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