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Getting Better

Just in time for the New Year’s upcoming presidential elections, the latest economic report has the annual rate of growth for the U.S. during the last quarter at 2.8%, in part due to new car sales and inventory replenishing, and though we’re still on a long slow climb out of 2008’s recession, modest sustained growth is not only possible, it’s likely. To quote Kevin Costner in the film adaptation of David Brin’s post-apocalyptic The Postman, “Stuff’s getting better. Stuff’s getting better every day.”

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2012 Winter NAMM, Anaheim, CA

NAMM 2012 Show Report

To download the FRONT of HOUSE 2012 NAMM Show Report, CLICK HERE

A week that began with clear but cool blue skies in Anaheim, CA ended with Pineapple Express showers, dramatic NFL conference championships and a record number of attendees for the Winter NAMM Show, the annual kick-off trade show for both pro audio and musical instrument manufacturers.

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JBL D2 Dual Driver

JBL Professional’s Revolutionary D2 Dual Driver

The Heart of the New VTX Series’ V25 Line Array

To download the Feb. 2012 Tech Preview on JBL’s D2 Dual Driver, CLICK HERE

JBL Professional’s VTX Line Array Series, the next generation of VerTec, was announced at Winter NAMM with the release of the large-format V25 line array that incorporates all-new transducers. At its core is JBL’s D2 Dual Driver — a revolutionary compression driver that provides dramatic improvements in high-frequency sound and performance.

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DiGiCo Marks Anniversaries with SD Series Upgrades

DiGiCo Celebrates with SD Series Upgrades

This year, DiGiCo is marking three major milestones — 40 years as a company, 20 years of digital development and 10 years for the DiGiCo brand. To celebrate — and reward its customers — DiGiCo has announced free upgrades for owners of its SD Series of consoles: the SD8, SD9, SD10 and SD11 models.

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Green Amps

Green Amps

To download the Feb. 2012 Tech Feature, CLICK HERE

Last February, when the Libyan civil war began, my wife and I began discussing how a sharp rise in the price of gasoline would make buying a Prius logical, as the money saved on fuel would cover the payments on the car loan. My wife is amused that I turn most life situations into math problems, but both my father’s parents were math teachers, and pro audio is nothing without numbers. Since the average American drives 12,000 miles annually, switching from a 20 mpg Honda to a 45 mpg Prius saves 333 gallons of gas, which is $1,000 annually at $3 per gallon and $1,333 at $4 per gallon. Trading in her 2006 Element left us with $6,000 to finance. At $4 per gallon, the payback becomes 4 ½ years.

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The Delicate SF crew

Delicate Productions San Francisco

One of this year’s ubiquitous expressions has been bounced around the zeitgeist a lot, but it has real meaning in regard to Delicate Sound’s recent history: “Go Big or Go Home.” The opening of a second office is always a Most Serious decision for a small business operator, but owner Smoother Smyth did it when his business was so down its very existence was in question.

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Martin Audio D6 Adapted Fill Speaker

Martin Audio DD6 Adapted Fill Speaker

Martin Audio’s DD6 is an ultra-compact passive two-way speaker, uniquely adapted for a wide variety of specialized fill applications with a multi-angle enclosure and several specialized features. It employs a 6.5-inch neodymium woofer with a 1.75-inch voice coil, passively crossed over at 3700 Hz to a half-inch exit neodymium compression driver mounted on a unique Differential Dispersion horn (hence the name, DD6) with 60° of vertical coverage, transitioning from 120° at the bottom for a wide near throw, to 90° at the top for a gradually-narrowing further throw to minimize overlap and combing (or wall bounce) from its neighbor. The unique horn was designed using Martin’s proprietary Boundary Element Method (BEM) modeling tool, and the DD6 is just the first and smallest in a range of models that will offer Differential Dispersion and multi-angled enclosures.

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PWS Domed Helical Antenna

Professional Wireless Systems Domed Helical Antenna

For wireless users not familiar with Helical antennas, particularly those with wireless personal monitor systems, their first experience can be deceptively simple. Plug it in, aim it, and it works. What works about it is that if they’ve been using a whip antenna or even a paddle at longer distances, for the first time, they get no dropouts.

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St. Pauls UMC, Cedar Rapids, IA

House of Worship Installation Showcase

St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, Cedar Rapids, IA

Audio Logic provided xA-Series loudspeakers from d&b audiotechnik’s White loudspeaker range for St. Paul’s United Methodist Church to address a double challenge: the semi-circular shape of the 97-year-old church’s sanctuary, and the restrictions preventing acoustical treatments from being used at the church.

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Waves CLA-3A Classic Compressor

Waves CLA-3A Classic Compressor

Last month, I wrote about my positive experience with the Waves CLA-2A plugin (FRONT of HOUSE, Jan. 2012, page 39). The excellent results obtained from using that emulation encouraged me to try another studio classic compressor that Waves modeled from the personal collection of Chris Lord-Alge. The CLA-3A plugin is derived from the much-revered LA-3A compressor. This solid-state unit employs the same T4 optical attenuator found in the LA-2A. However, the sound of the original LA-3A is more transparent and punchy when compared to its warmer, thicker tube-driven cousin.

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Jules Radino, drummer for Blue Oyster Cult

Miking Drums

One could argue that the drum kit is the most difficult instrument to capture on stage. You have multiple elements requiring attention (some of which are sonically very different from each other), the instrument has huge dynamic range, its physical size makes coverage a challenge and you have to keep the mics out of the drummer’s (and harm’s) way. The trick to getting a good drum sound is to start with a good-sounding kit and then to have the proper mic selection and placement. I’m not being a smart-ass on the first part of that statement. If the kit sounds good to start, you’re halfway there. The other half, as noted, is mic selection and placement. This time out we’ll concentrate on mic techniques applicable to rock, pop, country, rap and R&B. Down the line we’ll discuss drum miking techniques for jazz.

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