Parnellis, Ideas and Innovations
The entire staff around here has been up to our elbows this month, with back-to-back LDI and AES tradeshows (see our complete AES coverage) and of course, the 12th annual Parnelli Awards. There was a lot going on, but rather than feeling tired, it feels great.
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Understanding Compression Drivers: Phase Plugs
Over the past three issues of FOH, we have covered many aspects of loudspeaker horn behavior, so a fitting topic to follow this series is a discussion of the behavior of the devices that feed sound from the compression driver diaphragm into the throat of a horn. These devices are typically known as “phase plugs.”
Read More »Bigger Than Life: Audio Production for Madonna’s MDNA Tour
A Madonna tour isn’t just an event. It’s an experience, and her MDNA world tour may just be the material girl’s biggest tour ever, breaking box office records and playing to more than 2 million fans throughout the planet and said to be one of the top-grossing tours of all time. And this is truly a world tour, hitting 26 cities in Europe and the Middle East before landing at another 26 North American markets. Add in the shows planned for the South American leg, starting later this month, and the whole tour will have close to 90 shows in all. But for FOH mixer Tim Colvard, the rest of the audio crew and techs from sound company Eighth Day Sound, it’s just another day on the job — wherever they happen to be, whether in Copenhagen or Cleveland.
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The SFJAZZ Center
Construction is underway with a four-month countdown to a grand opening on Jan. 21, 2013 (Martin Luther King Day) of the SFJAZZ Center, a new performance venue in the heart of San Francisco. Located at 205 Franklin St., the $63 million center is envisioned as a LEED-certified hub of art, music, culture and community in the Civic Center performing arts district, already home to Davies Symphony Hall, the San Francisco Opera House, the Herbst Theatre and the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium.
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Crosby, Stills and Nash 2012
A Conversation with FOH Mixer Kevin Madigan
More than four decades after their first concert as a trio (auspiciously at the legendary Woodstock Festival in 1969), Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees David Crosby, Stephen Stills, and Graham Nash are back out on the road again, with a hot backing band. After doing Australia, New Zealand, and South America, this leg of the tour — simply called CSN 2012 — kicked off June 7 at Philadelphia’s Tower Theatre, with more than 50 stops along the way at venues including The Wang Theater in Boston, Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, The Greek Theatre in L.A. and ending up with a string of shows in late October at The Beacon Theatre in New York.
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Pike Performing Arts Center, Indianapolis
Pike Performing Arts Center (PPAC), located 12 miles northwest of downtown Indianapolis, IN, recently installed a Bose RoomMatch sound reinforcement system in its main auditorium. Besides the 1,449-seat auditorium, the facility also has a smaller a 150-seat Studio Theatre for more intimate performances.
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Allen & Heath GLD Digital Mixing System
The GLD digital audio mixing system is designed for small- to mid-sized venues, tours and rental companies looking for a fully featured system that’s affordable, yet easy to learn, expandable and configurable for a variety of specific applications.
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