News

HOUSTON — After the Houston Astros stunned the Chicago Cubs with a come-behind victory, the players’ enthusiasm spilled over — and so did the contents of a large beverage cooler, onto Brian Bogusevic, the player with the game-winning hit, along with a nearby sports announcer and his handheld microphone.

NORTHRIDGE, CA – For some, music is an escape from reality. For others, it provides a road back to reality. For Gabriel The Gun, it’s been both. Co-founder of the ska-pop band No Doubt with star Gwen Stefani, Gabriel has been through his share of adventures. To tell his story, Gabriel relies on Harman’s JBL EON515XT portable PA loudspeakers while traveling to Los Angeles school districts with the hopes of steering students from the dangers of a lifestyle he was lucky to survive.

KANSAS CITY, MO — Following a demo of a Meyer Sound M’elodie line array loudspeaker system during its annual Christmas concerts, Evangel Church’s members invested in a nearly identical Meyer Sound system, designed and commissioned by Greg Slape of Special Event Services in Winston-Salem, N.C. “We immediately fell in love with the Meyer system,” says Tim Murlatt, the church’s business administrator, about the first demo. “It was a spectacular sound we had never heard before in that space.”

Budd Johnson (1942-2011), a prominent figure in home audio recording in the late 1960s to early 1970s, passed away earlier this year. NAMM reports that… Read More »In Memoriam: Budd Johnson, 1942-2011

NEW YORK — The 2011 Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony, held Nov. 30, was a full-scale production with performances by Justin Bieber, Tony Bennett, Cee Lo Green, Michael Bublé, Neil Diamond, Carole King, Katharine McPhee, Javier Colon (NBC’s “The Voice”) and Nickelodeon’s Big Time Rush. Production Resource Group (PRG) once again provided the audio system. It included JBL VerTec VT4887 compact line array elements and VT4881 compact arrayable subwoofers. NBC also hired Wireless First, a Clair Global Company, for 86 channels of wireless RF that spanned a full city block and featured the company’s new CF 1090 Fractal Antenna.

VICTORIA, BC — D.L. Sound & Lighting supported three of the stages at this year’s four-day Rifflandia festival. The soundco provided two DiGiCo SD9 consoles, and Vancouver’s Gerr Audio provided an assist with an additional SD9 and SD11 console.

NEW YORK — Manhattan’s Pig ‘n’ Whistle tavern, which draws crowds with live music and DJ entertainment,  is tall, thin and deep, with a 25-by-75-foot floor layout and a high open ceiling with a dining area upstairs. Cardone Solomon & Associates and Starview Satellite designed and installed a system that includes TRX82, SGX61, PNX212 and SGX12S speakers and subwoofers from Renkus-Heinz.

MONCTON, NB, Canada — The Capitol Theatre, which hosts more than 200 events annually, was looking to upgrade its audio system with a user-friendly digital console. The technical crew, led by Eric Hache, opted for a Yamaha PM5D for the 800-seat venue, moving the previously-installed LS9 console to the theatre’s monitor position.

RICHMOND, CA — The first big hurdle facing touring sound veteran John Griswold, who took on the role of production director/operation for Craneway Pavilion, was to deal with the industrial, earthquake-stricken venue’s acoustic challenges, including an “insane” reverb with an 11-second delay. The second was to shift from his personal preference for analog consoles to the venue’s need for digital. Allen & Heath’s iLive T made the second challenge far less significant than the first.

POTTERS BAR, UK — Harman’s Soundcraft announced that it is releasing its tutorial, The Soundcraft Guide to Mixing, as an iPad app. Derived from the Guide to Mixing booklet, the tutorial provides an introduction and explanation about what an audio mixer is, what its functions are, and the basics of setting up and using a PA system.

INDIANAPOLIS, IN — Wright Consulting Associates Inc. has turned to Danley gear, including the company’s TH-MINI subwoofers and Genesis GH-60 horns, on recent installation projects, including the new 4,000-seat sanctuary at College Park Church (equipped with the TH-MINIs) and the 4,000-capacity gym at Shortridge High School (equipped with the TH-MINIs and the GH-60 horns).

NORTHRIDGE, CA – Electro Acoustics has outfitted the University of North Texas’ newly constructed Apogee Stadium with Harman’s JBL VLA line arrays. The PA system needed to survive demanding outdoor weather conditions as well as provide high output, high clarity and immense power. Gary White of Wrightson, Johnson, Haddon & Williams, Inc. designed the install.