FOH hit the convention floor for a firsthand tour of new gear that stood out in the crowd.
OK, so for an MI guitar show there was a respectable amount of new audio gear at Winter NAMM. Nothing earth-shattering, but enough to keep things interesting. Here is some of what floated our boats…
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Soundcraft GB2R
This 19-inch rack-mountable mixer is designed specifically for smaller installations in churches and performance venues, or for small portable PA systems. Available in two versions, the GB2R offers either 16 mono inputs to a stereo mix output, or a 12.2 version with 12 mono inputs, two full-feature stereo inputs and two group busses, each model having six auxiliary sends.
This class of portable P.A. gear has gone through some weird twists over the past decade. Not so long ago, the kind of portable powered systems that sit on tripod speaker stands were the norm for smaller gigs, but as technology rocketed forward, the humble speaker-on-a-stick became an “an-klebiter only” tool and was widely dismissed by most in the middle-levels-and-up of the pro audio industry.
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If I have one of my boys mixing a Sunday service, they have to know what they are doing and dress for the occasion.
Let me give you my dress code for church gigs (indoors or out).
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Or is it PLASA in review? With the big Euro show and the most significant U.S. audio show just weeks apart, it is hard to really tell. Some of this stuff was introduced in September in London, and you are sure to see all of it in New York in October. Now, if there were only an actual show that actually focused on live event production — especially the audio side — all would be right with the world. Meanwhile, here are some new goodies…
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OVO Systems Lava Line Array
OVO Systems’ compact line array, the Lava, is a small vertical array designed to have a combined output of 1200 Watts RMS. The Lava System is composed of four mid-highs and one low cabinet. Each of the four mid-highs uses two 6.5-inch woofers and a 2-inch compression driver; the low contains two 12-inch woofers, as well as housing a four-channel class H power amplifier. The amplifier wattage is designed to work with all com-ponents in the system and enables the user to easily control the frequency from 80 Hz to 250 Hz on the amplifier itself. The system also allows for 16 positions of display angles for better dispersion of sound.
OVO Systems • 210.684.2600 • www.ovosystems.com
OK, so this R & B group I am touring with does either REALLY big gigs,or REALLY small gigs. Pretty much not much in between.
So sometimes the advances are really easy,"PM 5D? Yup, fine! VerTec? Cool dude! See ya Saturday" kinda thing….Then there is the other hand……….
Read More »Sorry for the delay, but I have been on tour! Boy do I have some stories! I try really hard not to be that FOH guy we all love to hate… but…
I recently took a job with an R&B band with a string of hits from the '70s thru the late '80s. They still demand good money and travel with FOH, LD & a tour manager. I have done four shows with them so far with a wide range of weird issues along the way.
Read More »I just got a call from a friend in New York. He is a systems engineer & shop manager for a medium size sound company there. He and I share a lot of "war story's" so here is one of his……
He just did a 3 day festival, on the third and final night the opener guest engineer blows the high mid's in the P.A. No not just a couple boxes…..ALL OF THEM! As my friend Willy Jay tells me the story, my butt clenches……… The opener shows up with a nice fx rack, a couple EQs and a couple extra compressors for the left/right. Seem's OK right? So Willy Jay figures the guys got some good gear, and has a good rep in the area so doesn't stand over his shoulder as much as he would with someone he doesn't know.
Read More »Before I was a sound guy and in between trying to be a rock star, I was a fire fighter. In fact I was a fire fighter in Charleston South Carolina. Yes THAT Charleston South Carolina.
As an owner of a sound company, a front of house mixer and still sometimes musician, it’s real easy to get wrapped up in "ME". I have often made the joke, and been misquoted by THIS magazine, about this biz beats digging a ditch. And it does all day long. I wouldn't trade what we all get to do for…. Well, maybe I would trade it for some hot Asian…Uh,wait.
Read More »In this one, I would actually like to name,names.
The company I work for buys a lot of distros, mostly from Motion Labs. Arguably one of the best power distribution manufactures out there. However, we did have a problem with a part in one of their distros. Once we had an R/A # we sent it in, about a month later they called and told us it was ready, and would be several hundred dollars to for the repair. My boss was pissed! We only had this distro a few months when the problem occurred. He pointed this out to the repair guy, and asked who authorized the repair anyway??? Is there no warranty?? You have had it for a freakin month!!
Read More »Every now and then you end up doing a show where the band are pricks out the gate & there is no resolve . . .
We do about 400 shows a year, so I guess we are lucky we don't get it all of the time. The funny thing is, it’s usually the "lower end bands"
We work with this country singer, she was real famous in the late 70s & thru the 80s. She has fallen (not so gracefully) since. From arenas to Indian casino bingo rooms, relentless bitch from start to finish. You know — she won’t show up to sound check, doesn't tell her band to check her guitar or vocal mic, walks on stage and begins threatening the monitor guy for the rest of the night. Making bitchy digs on the mic all night long . . .
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