Mix Magazine Ends Sponsorship of TEC Awards
By Breanne George
PEOPLE. PRODUCTION. GEAR. GIGS.
JANUARY 2009 Vol. 7 No.4
A Volcanic Blast of Audio
LINDA EVANS
WALNUT CREEK, Calif. — Mix magazine has ended its sponsorship of the Technical
Excellence and Creativity (TEC) Awards, just shy of its 25th year of support.
Mix magazine had been the main
sponsor since the awards were created
in 1985, and later established the Mix
Foundation for Excellence in Audio, a
Illusion Sound
charitable organization that owns and
Walks the Walk
presents the TEC Awards.
Hillel Resner, president of the Mix
Foundation and former publisher of
Mix magazine, says the economic crisis
played a major role in the magazine’s
decision to end its sponsorship.
“Times are tight, and big for-profit
companies like Penton Media, which
owns Mix magazine, have to make decisions on where to put money,” Resner
explains. “It was a judgment call on their
part.”
There’s about a 50-50 chance that
continued on page 7
when a truck pulls out of the Illusion
Sound & Lighting driveway it will find
itself behind a buggy. That will happen when a company is headquartered in Ephrata, Pa.’s Amish country.
“Yeah, sometimes we’ll end up going
three miles an hour following a buggy,”
By Breanne George
admits Brian Gilpin, Illusion Sound &
Lighting president. “Being out here is
LAS VEGAS — Many companies in a
kind of a cool thing, but manufacturers
down market take the “run-for-cover” apand bands come out and say, ‘Dude, I
proach, resulting in cutbacks, layoffs and
didn’t even think you guys had electricity
a virtual business standstill to weather
here because you’re in the middle of
the storm. Others, however, view the
farmland.’” Gilpin has been working in
economic downturn as an opportunity
the sound business since 1981, when
to gain momentum.
he started gigging as a mobile DJ.
Rat Sound Systems of Oxnard,
For more on Gilpin’s move from
Calif., has been preparing for the curspinning disks to installations, sound
rent economic climate for about a
reinforcement, lighting, staging and
year, since the housing market began
roof systems, turn to page 34.
to decline, by refining and streamlining business operations. The company
recently took delivery of more than a
million-dollars worth of L-ACOUSTICS
Showtime
K-1 gear, a venture that President and
14 The Top 10 Tours of 2008.
Founder Dave Rat believes will keep
them in demand.
“We now have one of the newest,
Installations
hottest systems on the market,” says Rat.
20 Performance Audio and EV pump
up EnergySolutions Arena’s sound
“We are only one of two vendors in the
system.
U.S. that carry it, giving us a major advantage over the competition.” Since the
Buyers Guide
system is louder and sounds better than
26 We look at some affordable USB and
the previous system,
continued on page 7
FireWire mixers.
Regional Companies
Expand Despite Down
Market
LAS VEGAS — Among the myriad spectacular sights and sounds that populate the Las Vegas
Strip, The Mirage Volcano stands tall with one of the largest and most breathtaking fire shows.
The Mirage has recently completed a multimillion-dollar renovation of The Volcano with state-ofthe-art pyrotechnics and innovative audio design supported by a Meyer Sound MILO line array
loudspeaker system. Stay tuned for an in-depth report on the installation in an upcoming issue.
Whither the World of Wireless in 2009?
By Bill Evans
LAS VEGAS — Well, the February 2009 deadline is almost upon us and the wireless waters
are, unfortunately, about as muddy as ever. FOH solicited comments on the current situation
and opinions on where we are heading from every major wireless manufacturer and got exactly one on-the-record response. The person who stepped up to the plate was Greg Pinto, VP
of marketing for Audio-Technica.
“Congress has been working toward the goal of reallocating TV band and 700-MHz spectrum
since they legislated to reallocate and sell off spectrum back in 1998,” Pinto wrote.
continued on page 8
Ad info: http//www.fohhotims.com
200.0901.CVR+NEWS.indd 1
1/7/09 9:36:24 AM
Ad info: http://foh.hotims.com/
Ad info: http://foh.hotims.com/
www.fohonline.com
JANUARY 2009,
Vol. 7.4
FOH Interview
What’s Hot
Feature
Features
20 Installations
Performance Audio and EV pump up
EnergySolutions Arena’s sound system.
26 Buyers Guide
We look at some affordable USB and FireWire mixers.
28 Road Tests
We review the Telefunken ELA M 80 Handheld Mic and the KS
Audio CPA Self-Powered Compact Line Array.
16
With a resume that spans decades of working with
the biggest names in music, we give you the “greatest
hits” of David Morgan.
34 Regional Slants
Illusion Sound & Lighting grew from DJs to full service audio
production—in Amish country.
Columns
30 The Biz
Production Profile
In business, do sweat the small stuff.
What’s Hot
32 Theory & Practice
Mixing tips that every FOH mixer, both new and experienced,
should review.
36 FOH-at-Large
Even in hard times, we must maintain our pride and integrity to
do the job right.
Departments
22
The laser show at Georgia’s Stone Mountain Park isn’t
the only thing attracting crowds… the music experience does, too.
letters
Hey Bill, great article last month. Living on the
eastern side of the U.S. is about the same. This
year, we saw a trend in smaller touring and scaleddown shows. However, all in all it has been a very
good year for my company. Our numbers are up
compared to last year. We still get the same group
of deadbeat promoters that pay late or write bad
checks that will never change.
200.0901.02.indd 2
4 Editor’s Note
5 News
10 International News
12 New Gear
12 On the Move
14 Showtime
32 In the Trenches
My biggest issue is dealing with very unreasonable people or personnel. That is the part of this
business I dislike the most—all the dysfunctional behavior. Our business seems to be the social
breeding ground for this. Maybe it is the only place
these folks can work and an acceptable trait in the
live sound industry. I know I am not alone in this;
there does seem to be a certain sickness among
some of us. Anyhow, I just wanted to drop you a
line and say great work this year. I really enjoy your
articles. Your perspective is very refreshing.
Jon
Wizard Sound
1/5/09 8:04:07 PM
Ad info: http://foh.hotims.com/
Editor’s Note
What If?
By BillEvans
Publisher
Terry Lowe
tlowe@fohonline.com
Editor
Bill Evans
bevans@ fohonline.com
T
his time around we are going to
talk about dealing with certain
uncertainties.
Contingency plans. Plan B. What
to do when the fecal matter hits
the rotating oscillator unit. ‘Cuz I
guaran-damn-tee you that if you
don’t have those bases covered it will
more setup time, but in the end everyone can hear and it all works out. Well,
it usually works out. With the first session scheduled for Saturday evening,
I cancelled out on the B.B. King show
so I would not be rushing and then
went down to the warehouse to get
set up. The important thing is that I
“Wearing more than one hat is tough
and, as a sound dude, I take a certain
pride in providing a good audio experience in rehearsals. It means more
gear and more setup time, but in the
end everyone can hear and it all works
out.”
turn around and bite you. Oh, and,
as is my wont, we will be taking the
“scenic route.”
Example of how not to do it: I had
a very busy weekend. In addition to
the final pieces of the puzzle that is
an issue of FOH, I had friends in from
out of town, a B.B. King show I was
supposed to attend, the final two
rehearsals for my first gig in nearly a
year, plus a shootout between three
popular pro grade wedges.
Knowing I was in for stress city, I
was, for one of the few times in my life,
smart about it or so I thought. Wearing more than one hat is tough and,
as a sound dude, I take a certain pride
in providing a good audio experience
in rehearsals. It means more gear and
went down on Friday night and got
the space prepped, the PA—including
ear-mix sends and wireless—set up,
tested and ready to go.
Let’s cut this muso part short. Bottom
line was that there was neither water nor
heat in the building yet and things went
very badly. And I had no Plan B. Again, in
the interest of brevity, I’ll leave it at this:
We moved to another location where I
ended up forced into setting up the system when the band was standing around
waiting to sound check. (Come on, we’ve
all been there and it sucks) In the end, I
got my feet tangled in some stray cables
and took a spectacular, 100% full-on
header onto a marble floor. And, yes,
it hurt. Truth is I am lucky I didn’t break
anything except my ego.
Being a sound guy, I know that
my job is to make it work no matter
what. No excuses. I am proud to say
that we got through it. But, just like
we all gather on Tuesday morning
after a weekend of shows to figure
out what we could have done better,
I found myself nursing a very swollen
ankle and looking at where I went
wrong, which was, you guessed it, no
Plan B.
But it was not all for naught. When
I was leaving the shop, I got into a
conversation with one of the younger guys on the crew, and we agreed
to start using my powered tops and
subs and Midas Venice 320 to do gigs
that are too small for the company
he works for. I have always prided
myself on being someone who actually does what he writes about. But
the past year, sound gigs have been
rare. Looks like that is changing. With
the current economy, events that
once hired “real” production are now
looking to do it for as little money as
possible, which should open up the
occasional audio gig around town. At
least that’s the plan.
And the plan is what this whole
missive started out as. People often
ask why I bring so much gear to a
gig—much of which goes unused. My
answer is always the same: “I would
rather have it and not need it than
need it and not have it.” One of these
days I’ll learn that applies to planning
as well as gear. Hopefully that lesson
will not include any actual broken
bones…
Managing Editor
Breanne George
bg@fohonline.com
Technical Editor
Mark Amundson
mamundson@fohonline.com
Contributing Writers
Jerry Cobb, Brian Cassell,
Dan Daley, Jamie Rio,
Steve LaCerra, Nort Johnson,
David John Farinella,
Ted Leamy, Baker Lee,
Bryan Reesman, Tony Mah
Photographer
Steve Jennings
Art Director
Garret Petrov
gpetrov@fohonline.com
Graphic Designer
Crystal Franklin
cfranklin@ fohonline.com
Production Manager
Linda Evans
levans@ fohonline.com
Web Master
Josh Harris
jharris@ fohonline.com
National Sales Manager
Dan Hernandez
dh@fohonline.com
National Advertising Director
Gregory Gallardo
gregg@fohonline.com
General Manager
William Hamilton Vanyo
wvanyo@fohonline.com
Business and
Advertising Office
6000 South Eastern Ave.
Suite 14J
Las Vegas, NV 89119
Ph: 702.932.5585
Fax: 702.932.5584
Toll Free: 800.252.2716
Editorial Office
10305 Salida Dr.
Austin, TX 78749
Ph: 512.280.0384
Fax: 512.292.0183
Circulation
Stark Services
P.O. Box 16147
North Hollywood, CA 91615
Front Of House (ISSN 1549-831X) Volume 7 Number 4 is published monthly by Timeless Communications Corp., 6000 South Eastern Ave., Suite 14J, Las Vegas,
NV, 89119. Periodicals Postage Paid at Las Vegas, NV and
additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to Front Of House, P.O. Box 16147, North
Hollywood, CA 91615-6147. Front Of House is distributed
free to qualified individuals in the live sound industry in the
United States and Canada. Mailed in Canada under Publications Mail Agreement Number 40033037, 1415 Janette Ave.,
Windsor, ON N8X 1Z1. Overseas subscriptions are available
and can be obtained by calling 702.932.5585. Editorial submissions are encouraged, but will not be returned. All Rights
Reserved. Duplication, transmission by any method
of this publication is strictly prohibited without the
permission of Front Of House.
Ad info:http:// foh.hotims.com
Publishers of...
4
200.0901.04.indd 4
JANUARY 2009
www.fohonline.com
1/5/09 6:50:56 PM
PUBLISHER’S NOTE
Information, Education and Now Opportunity
It’s not often that I grace
these
pages
with commentary, but every
once in a while
I have a few
thoughts I need
By Terry Lowe to impart. Now
is one of those
times—especially as we march into the
new year with the raging fires of mass
hysteria clouding the economic climate.
If this offering has a theme, it is Darwinism. May I pose the question, “How are
you evolving?”
I certainly know how our company
has evolved. We’re starting our 10th
year in business at Timeless Communications. Our first publication, Projection, Lights & Staging News, hit the
streets in February 2000. Our goal was
to give information to the industry.
We expanded this dissemination of
information by creating the Event Pro-
bulletin boards for jobs. These sites are very
static. You post a job and hope someone
comes by to look at it. But when you post a
job opening on BEN there is ongoing promotion of your position. Your employment ad
is constantly pushed out to prospective employees. This means people who are looking
for work and those who aren’t thinking about
changing jobs will be aware of your opportunity when it is on BEN. This opens the door for
you to reach a higher caliber of individual—
much like how an executive recruiter would
work for you. Except BEN job listings are a
fraction of the cost of a recruiter.
Here’s how it works: BEN uses the
power of our combined media outlets to promote your job openings on
seven industry Web sites, three weekly
e-newsletters, print ads in all three of
our monthly magazines and a twicemonthly BEN newsletter of current job
openings to more than 45,000 e-mail
addresses. All of this exposure gives
your employment ad maximum visibility that no mere job bulletin board can
provide.
BEN has something for everyone.
You’ll find a category for any job open-
ing imaginable. Universities, manufacturers, production companies, theatres,
A.V. companies, theme parks, you name
it—all will benefit from posing their job
openings on BEN. There are so many
specific job titles it would take this entire page to list them all.
We’re evolving as we move into
these uncertain times, and we want
to help your company and your career
evolve as well. BEN will help your career grow. Ben will help your company
find the best available candidate. BEN is
where “talent meets opportunity.”
“We’re evolving as
we move into these
uncertain times,
and we want to help
your company and
your career evolve
as well. “
Ad info:http:// foh.hotims.com
duction Directory, and then FRONT of
HOUSE. We had the opportunity to buy
Stage Directions a few years back and
took it. This helped grow our business
while keeping our core competency
of being the publishing company for
“event and theatrical productions”
firmly in place.
However, there was more to be done.
So, we expanded our mission to include
education by starting our Bookshelf property. The Bookshelf is now the depository
of one of the largest collections of books
available on theatrical and event production, and we have added to that collection
by publishing our own books.
Now it’s time again to evolve our company’s mission again to provide you with
even more opportunity. To that end we
have launched the Backstage Employment Network (BEN). We are loading up
BEN with as many jobs as possible to give
you, our readers, your next opportunity to
evolve.
As with subscribing to our magazines,
this is a free service for you, the reader. It
does not cost a thing to answer an ad on
BEN. You just have to register.
For employers reading this, you need
to use BEN for your next employee search.
Why? Because ads on BEN will expose your
job opening to the combined readership
of PLSN, FOH and Stage Directions magazines—a combined 64,735* subscribers.
This is—dare I say it—the largest pool of
potential employees available anywhere
in the theatrical and event production industry.
And BEN doesn’t just sit there; it’s designed to work for you. Many sites have
www.fohonline.com
200.0901.CVR+NEWS.indd 5
2009 JANUARY
5
1/6/09 4:38:33 PM
News
9th Annual Latin Grammys Spice Up
HOUSTON — A mix of Sennheiser and
Shure mics were used by performers and presenters at the 9th Annual Latin Grammy Awards
held at Houston’s Toyota Center. Sennheiser microphone captured the rhythmic pulse of some
of the musical performances, including a threesong medley by Gloria Estefan, who was honored with the 2008 Latin Recording Academy
“Person of the Year” award.
Following an introduction from fellow Cuban-American and Grammy-winning actor Andy
Garcia, Estefan performed “Mi Tierra” and “Oye
Mi Canto” before being joined by José Feliciano
and Carlos Santana for a rendition of “No Lloren.”
According to Tom Holmes, Latin Grammy and
Grammy Award show production mixer, “Gloria’s
engineers demanded that she have evolution series microphones and the SKM 935 vocal mic. And
it absolutely had to be G2 personal monitors.”
Wireless specialist James Stoffo reports that
Sennheiser 300 IEM G2 personal monitoring
systems were used by many of the performers:
“There were eight G2 ears, four on each of the
two stages. They worked all over stage left, stage
right and center stage. We also made use of the
Sennheiser A 5000-CP antenna for the ears.”
Shure endorser Juanes was the big winner at this year’s awards, receiving five awards
including Record of the Year and Album of the
Year. Joined by R&B singer John Legend, the
Colombian rocker opened the 9th annual gala
with Legend’s “If You’re Out There.” Both sang
completely in Spanish, using Shure UR2/KSM9
wireless. Another Shure endorser, Julieta Venegas, also took to the stage with UR2/KSM9 wireless and her accordion to perform “El Presente.”
ESCONDIDO, Calif. — Sound Image
President Dave Shadoan has announced
that a memorial fund has been established
for Jim Douglas, the company’s former director of touring who died from cancer.
The monies realized from this fund will
be utilized to assist Jim’s family in fulfilling his wishes by returning his ashes to his
hometown of Dunblane, Scotland. All donations, no matter how large or small, will
be greatly appreciated and acknowledged
by the family.
Gloria Estefan performing at the 9th Annual Latin Grammy
Awards
Sound System “Rocks the House” at San Francisco Venue
SAN FRANCISCO — Kanbar Hall at the
Jewish Community Center of San Francisco
(JCCSF), one of the city’s newer performing
arts venues, recently upgraded its sound system with the installation of an L-ACOUSTICS
ARCS and dV-SUB loudspeaker setup.
The 468-seat theater now benefits from
twin horizontal arrays each comprising two
ARCS enclosures flown above the left and
right sides of the stage accompanied by a
single dV-SUB enclosure per side down on
the deck. L-ACOUSTICS LA Series amplifiers
power each of the loudspeakers.
According to Michael J. “Geese” Graphix,
production manager and technical director
for Kanbar Hall, “We’ve wanted to upgrade our
system since we opened in 2004. We present
many European and Israeli performing artists,
Memorial Fund
Established for Sound
Image’s Jim Douglas
and L-ACOUSTICS equipment is usually their
first request on the tech riders.”
Graphix was one of the touring development engineers in the mid-’90s using L-ACOUSTICS V-DOSC systems with Bob Dylan, Metallica
and Barry Manilow, among other artists. “Out
of all the manufacturers who now feature linearray and related technologies in their product
line, L-ACOUSTICS enclosures still sound the
most musical, which is ultimately why we’re
here,” he says. “Cohesive point-source control
results in smooth, even coverage for the entire audience. And they sound fantastic at extremely low volumes, which is often the case
with many of our artists, but can still ‘rock the
house’ when needed.”
Kanbar Hall at the Jewish Community Center
of San Francisco
The information is as follows:
Marcus Douglas
C/O The James Douglas
Memorial Fund
P.O. Box 4663
San Diego, CA 92164
Acct# 0500009481
Group One Ltd. Appoints
National Sales Manager
Ad info:http:// foh.hotims.com
Ad info:http:// foh.hotims.com
Group One Ltd. has announced the
appointment of Matt Larson as its national sales manager for Professional Audio Products. In his new position, Larson
will oversee the U.S. sales efforts of Group
One’s roster of audio products, which include DiGiCo, MC2 and XTA. Larson is a
pro audio veteran, whose previous experience includes business & sales manager
for the Midas and Klark Teknik lines.
“As the former head of sales for Midas and Klark Teknik, this is quite a coup
for Group One,” said Group One President Jack Kelly. “Matt brings a wealth
of sales and marketing expertise and
knowledge, as well as extensive contacts and a fabulous reputation within
the audio community. We are thrilled to
have him as part of our team.”
6
JANUARY 2009
www.fohonline.com
News
Regional Companies Expand Despite Down Market
continued from cover
the company can use less truck space, saving
money for its clients.
The company purchased the sizable inventory to stay ahead of the curve instead of
following its competitors’ moves. “By the time
everyone jumps on the bandwagon panicking and selling, it’s already too late,” Rat says.
“And that applies in both the economic upswings and downturns.”
While Rat Sound has experienced some
challenges in the down market, mostly difficulties obtaining financing, business has remained fairly normal for a winter season.
“In my experience, bands tour no matter the economy,” he explains. “The size of the
tours may drop a little because people don’t
have money to go to the shows, the ticket prices will be under pressure, and to keep prices
down the extravagance might be reduced, but
the quantity of tours will be the same.”
By staying aggressive in its pricing to
maintain profitability and adding value to its
inventory and services, Rat believes his company has an action plan in place to stay strong
while its competitors fall behind. “We’ve been
working hard to ensure we’re running efficiently, but also that we’re in a position to buy
and expand in the New Year.”
Similarly, Gand Concert Sound of Glenview, Ill., has made strides to stay ahead of
its competitors to gain market share. The
company recently expanded its warehouse
space by 50 percent, a move prompted by
Gand’s purchase of a third complete NEXO
GEO T/Yamaha-powered system earlier in
2008. Now home to one of the largest inventories of NEXO in the U.S., the company
needed more space to stage gear for upcoming large-scale events.
“We have seen some competition disappear in the Midwest market place, and we are
going to concentrate on expanding market
share to make up for any downturn in the industry,” said Vice President Tim Swan.
In order to meet the needs of its growing
business, H.A.S. Productions in Las Vegas has
expanded its warehouse space from about
5,000 sq. ft. to 11,000 sq. ft.
The sound company needed more space
because it has recently acquired a lighting
department, increased its backline inventory,
started manufacturing cases and purchased a
complete Adamson line array system featuring Y18s and Y10s.
Larry Hall, owner of H.A.S. Productions,
says he didn’t hesitate to expand because he
signed a couple of long-term contracts with
local casinos, which he describes as a “blessing in this economy.”“I want to be ready when
the market picks up,” he says.
John Stiernberg, president of Stiernberg Consulting in Sherman Oaks, Calif.,
says expanding in a down market can be a
wise choice for live event companies that
have good management, finances under
control and the right gear. A reason some
companies tend to expand in a down market, Stiernberg explains, is to build stronger
relationships with existing clients.
“The better-run companies already have
a stronger, more collaborative relationship
with their end-user clients,” he says. “So, when
they see a downturn coming, they want to do
something for their existing clients that says,
‘We’re in it for the long haul.’”
Mix Magazine
Ends Sponsorship
of TEC Awards
continued from cover
Ad info:http:// foh.hotims.com
Attempts to contact Penton Media
for comment were not returned.
The Mix Foundation plans to continue the TEC Awards without the support of its main sponsor, Resner says,
adding that the foundation’s board of
directors is currently in discussion with
supporters in the industry to decide
the best course of action.
The replacement for Mix magazine’s sponsorship could take the form
of one sponsor, or a group of them,
which Resner says could result in a
broader voting group that better represents the industry.
“The TEC Awards could conceivably change in format,” Resner says.
“Mix readers have been the voters, so
the board of directors of the Mix Foundation are discussing how to replace
that voting group.”
The awards have a considerable
amount of support in the industry beyond Mix. Last year’s 24th Annual TEC
Awards had 45 sponsors, including top
sponsors Harman Pro Group and the
Gibson Foundation, among others.
“I think the industry has an interest
in preserving the TEC awards,” Resner
says. “I’ve already talked to quite a few
people about it and there is a lot of
industry support for the Mix Foundation.”
The Mix Foundation aims to advance hearing health to prevent hearing loss among audio professionals
and music consumers. The Foundation also gives away yearly scholarships and grants, including the TEC
Awards Scholarship, to students in
audio, video and media communication arts.
www.fohonline.com
2009 JANUARY
7
News
Wither the World of Wireless in 2009?
continued from cover
“At that time, Audio-Technica’s new product development was immediately directed to vacate
the 700-MHz range, delivering new models to
the market beginning in 2001. The pinnacle
of our efforts was the introduction of SpectraPulse, the only ultra wideband (UWB) solution
in professional audio today, which avoids all of
the issues posed by the 700-MHz migration as
well as white space devices.
“The current challenge for manufacturers
and customers is that there is not yet a final
ruling by the FCC regarding wireless microphone operation in this band. This makes it
very difficult to know how to properly proceed in the best interests of our customers
and within the directives of the FCC’s rulings.”
While we are sure that all of the manufacturers are working furiously to come up
with solutions, at present the only concrete
steps from most are some rebate programs
for owners of 700-mHz units if they replace
them. Some companies are also offering to
retune existing units to “legal” frequencies.
Examples: Lectrosonics is offering a
discount on replacement or changing the
“block” on any units purchased in the past
five years. Pricing depends on the unit. Sennheiser is doing a “tiered” rebate program of
up to $1,400 for its evolution G2 models or
$500 per channel for their 3000 and 5000 series when upgrading to the newest versions.
They also offer a retuning service for 3000
and 5000 series. Shure is offering up to $1,000
rebates per unit. Again, the amount of the rebate depends on the system being traded in.
Both Shure and Sennheiser rebates apply to
their stuff and trade-ins from other manufacturers. AKG’s offering is a $100 instant rebate
on the purchase of a WMS system.
Keep in mind that most of the rebates being offered are only good for units purchased
in the past five years. Having vacated the 700mHz range seven years ago, A-T has not yet
put a rebate program in place, but will if conditions require it.
“We have already worked diligently to
prevent or minimize the eventual exposure of
our wireless customers to inconvenience and
Ad info:http:// foh.hotims.com
8
JANUARY 2009
www.fohonline.com
cost due to the 700-MHz band changes, Pinto wrote. “Under these uncertain conditions,
Audio-Technica has a policy to help our customers through frequency coordination and
ultimately rebates if interference from new
700-MHz devices renders their systems inoperable. We will issue a final policy addressing
this matter once we have clear direction from
the FCC. In the meantime, as always, any customer experiencing problems with our wireless products can contact us for assistance.”
In addition to the Audio Technica SpectraPulse, wireless systems currently in production that that avoid the issue altogether
include the Sabine SWM7000 series, which
operates in the 2.4-gHz range and the Line
6 Digital Wireless, which operates in the 900mHz range. While the Line 6 is currently shipping three different wireless instrument systems, a wireless mic system is expected to be
introduced at the Winter NAMM show.
Another manufacturer who did not want
to be identified put it pretty bluntly.
“The truth of the matter is that the FCC
has created one of the all time greatest catch
22s. You have to have a license to operate
ANY wireless device that operates in the UHF
bands. And the only way you can qualify for a
license is if you are in the professional broadcast industry, meaning that the FCC has only
issued about 1,000 licenses. So that means
that all the other hundreds of thousands of
systems that are out there being used right
now are, uh, you guessed it, illegal. That puts
the wireless manufacturers in a pretty precarious position, don’t you think?
“It is too screwy to be believed. Truth is, I
don’t know if the FCC has any way out of this
except to grant immunity for all the systems
that are out there and grant some frequencies for music and possibly require a nominal
license for wireless end users (like they do for
HAMM radio or CB). There are a lot of government agencies, corporations, educators and
religious groups that use wireless so FCC has
to either continue to ignore the situation or
come up with something that works.
Meanwhile, users—especially large
installs—are already feeling the pinch. The
head of audio at a large Las Vegas property
recently related this nugget: “I just yesterday
got final approval on $135K+ of Sennheiser
gear (with very generous trade-ins) to try
and get in compliance with the 700-MHz
thing. We had to jump now, since our window of opportunity is small, having only a
few dark periods in a year during which we
could do such a retrofit. It was an interesting exercise, seeing as there is a very serious
hiring and spending freeze throughout the
company. But we had to look hard at the
unknowns of the future and the potential
fallout. In the end, the Government Affairs
office advised that we stay in compliance, so
they bit the bullet. Pretty big deal. And this
was only 700-MHz stuff!”
We’ll end this installment with another
observation from Greg Pinto. “The regulatory
environment is muddy at best. It can be perceived as heavily manipulated by influential
big-money forces. However, the same forces
that created the 700-MHz situation today will
be offset by the needs of wireless microphone
manufacturers to respond to their customers.
We will find ways to work around the problems we are faced with, and will likely develop even better solutions to the issues faced
by wireless mic users today. Smarter devices,
smarter frequency plans, better-tuned antennas and better support will be the outcomes
of the problems we face today.”
International News
Scouting For Girls, The Scorpions Hit UK Tour Circuit
specified by the band’s
FOH engineer Andy Williamson. It was the first
time Williamson had
toured with V-DOSC. It
was also his first time using ADLIB on a full touring show.
The show used eight
V-DOSC elements per
side with six of the new
L-ACOUSTICS SB28 subwoofers per side and four
ARCS per side ground
stacked. Due to the large
differences in venue
sizes, they also carried
24 dV-DOSC and four
dVSUBS to act as side hangs. For the arenas
on the itinerary, they upped the total V-DOSC
count to 24. The ARCS also served as front fills
Scouting For Girls in concert
ENGLAND — ADLIB Audio supplied an
L-ACOUSTICS V-DOSC sound system to the
recent Scouting For Girls UK tour, which was
together with two dV-DOSC for front lip fills.
The system was driven by the new LA8 amps
with onboard processing.
At FOH, Williamson chose a Digidesign Profile. He ran 33 channels into it and used all the
onboard processing and plug-ins. There was a
standard ADLIB control rack at FOH, complete
with Lake DLPs run on a wireless tablet system.
For additional fine-tuning and time alignment,
they also ran a Meyer SIM 3 system.
Adlib also supplied audio for German rockers The Scorpions’ UK tour. ADLIB’s Hassane
Essiahi and Otto Kroyman babysat the band
FOH and monitor engineers Achim Schulze
and Glen Schmeling, ensuring their JBL VerTec
system rocked to the required extremes.
They carried VT4889 mid highs and 4880A
subs for the larger shows flying 10 89s with
four ground-stacked subs a side. Infills and
outfills were a mix of Adlib FD2 and AA122s,
with these and the main stacks driven by a
Colombia’s Roman Catholic Cathedral Installs Proel System
Roman Catholic Cathedral in Colombia
COLOMBIA — The beautiful
Roman Catholic Cathedral in Colombia recently installed a Proel
system. The installation, which
was carried out by the Colombian
Proel distributor Yamaki, features
a distributed system of the SPARK
series of speakers.
Melissa Zagonel, Proel export
area manager, said, “Yamaki LTDA
is renowned in Colombia as a company dealing with high level projects and installations
and have once more shown what they are
capable of. We are very proud to have Proel
speakers installed in this important historical location.”
The world-famous “Cathedral Primada
de Bogotà” was constructed between 1807
and 1823 and has been called an inspiring
and brilliant tribute to worship.
combination of Camco Vortex 6 amplifiers
and Crown I- Tech 8000s. Processing and EQ
was achieved using Dolby Lake Processors
and a tablet remote, as is standard with most
ADLIB rigs. Schulze also used BSS 902 graphics.
Schulze ran 40 channels into his Midas
Heritage H3000 front-of-house console,
picked for its classic rock ‘n’ roll sound. As
with any exceedingly loud, in-your-face
rock band, one of the challenges was dealing with the guitars blasting out onstage,
“Achim is a real expert at this,” states Essiani,
adding that after working with the Scorpions for about 20 years, he’s well aware of
how to engineer the best sounds out of
them whatever the venue or the system.
“He takes a very classic approach to rock
‘n’ roll mixing—listening intensely to each
instrument onstage and then EQing each
channel to it.”
Monte Carlo Gets
In the Mood
Moods music venue in France
Sam Roberts Band Rocks with Innovason
TORONTO — Following the No. 1 debut of their latest album in the Canadian album charts, indie
rockers the Sam Roberts Band is currently on tour throughout Canada with “Love at the end of the
world.” At the heart of the show are Innovason digital mixing consoles. At FOH, engineer Phil Hornung mixes on a Sy80 supplied by Metalworks Production Group in Toronto, while Denton Fraser,
monitor engineer and tour manager, uses a Sy48. When it comes to favorite features and functions on
the desk, Hornung explains: “The input delay is a big one that is often overlooked,” he explains. “For
things like kick drums with two mics, or bass rigs with a direct line and a mic on the speaker cabinet, it
allows you to align the two signals, which are nearly always out of alignment to start. Many consoles
have a delay feature, but I think Innovason has the most accurate type being able to measure by
distance, time or samples.
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10
200.0901.10-11.indd 10
JANUARY 2009
MONTE CARLO — Outside of Paris, it is
unusual to find a club-style live music venue
in France. Moods, however, is one such place.
It boasts an intimate atmosphere that lends
itself very nicely to the task, and an audio system that features a DiGiCo D1 Live and XTA
DP448 digital signal processing.
Philippe Barguirdjian, of French sales
and rental company Arpège Son Lumiere,
carried out the specification and installation of the system. “We specified the D1
because it is a great sounding console, because the space it has to fit into is very tight
and because of the price,” he says.
Another factor in Barguirdjian’s decision
was that the engineers at Monaco SBM (Société des Bains de Mer) were already familiar with DiGiCo consoles. “During the summer, an SD7 and a D5 were used at Monaco
Sporting Club,” he explains. “We needed a
console with the capabilities of the SD7 because there is a resident show that runs for
the whole summer that uses around 60/70
inputs.”
This in itself is not excessive, but in addition, three or four times a week, the Sporting
Club hosts additional shows. Sometimes acts
brought in their own desks, sometimes not,
in which case the second band also had to
be mixed on the SD7, necessitating a large
amount of available inputs.
“The main PA comprises an L-ACOUSTICS
dV-DOSC system with KIVA cabinets. “The
acoustics at Moods bar are good because the
place was designed to give the best result,”
adds Philippe Dagau, resident engineer at the
club. “However, its still not easy to mix there
because the FOH booth is upstairs on a raised
platform looking down onto the stage, so we
don’t have the same sound at the desk as we
do in the room. Nevertheless, the D1 is very
easy to use with great ergonomics. Visiting engineers are usually very happy to work with the
desk and they love the sound of the system.”
www.fohonline.com
1/5/09 8:32:27 PM
International News
Great Indian Rock 2008 Brings On the Bands
BANGALORE, India — The Palace
Grounds in Bangalore, India were transformed into a celebration for thousands
who turned out for “The Great Indian Rock
2008.” Bangalore transcended into the
Rock Capital of India with an international concert that featured three prominent
Indian bands, Slingshot, Rainbow Bridge
and Extinct Reflections, and two Norwegian popular acts, Sahg and Satryicon.
V&P Sound deployed a Harman sound
system that featured Soundcraft’s Vi6 and
included products from JBL, Crown, dbx
and AKG.
The sound system consisted of 20 JBL
VerTec VT4889s with two main hangs of
10 per-side, 16 JBL VerTec VT4880A subs
were flown in on four per-side hangs,
eight JBL CSR subs were ground-stacked
with four per side and JBL VRX932LAs
were used as center-fills. Crown I-Tech
4000, 6000 and 8000 amplifiers powered
the entire system and front-of-house was
mixed using the Soundcraft Vi6 digital
mixing console running the new Version
3.0 software
Svein Solberg, Satyricon’s FOH engineer who was working on the Vi6 for the
first time, said that he was amazed with
the intuitive interface and the ergonom-
ic layout of the console. Solberg stated,
”This is as comfortable as working on any
analog console and the ease of operation
allowed me to mix on the console with little prior experience.“ Solberg continued,
”The VerTecs are loud and clean sounding
boxes, and this is, indeed, the best sounding system that we’ve operated in India.”
The stage monitoring system
was equipped with 10 VRX915M, two
VRX915M, two PRX518S/230 along with
two PRX 512M/230s were used as drum
fills. The side fills were four VRX932LA
and four VRX918S. The monitors and side
fills were bi-amped using Crown ITechs
and managed by another dbx DriveRack
4800.
The Great Indian Rock 2008
Stranglers Keep
Sound Checks
Short and Sweet
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IRELAND — The Stranglers embarked on their recent tour of Ireland and the UK with an Allen &
Heath iLive digital system to manage monitor mixing. Comprising an
iDR10 Mixrack and iLive-144 Control
Surface, the system was specified by
the band’s monitor engineer, Kev Allen. “When the band comes on stage
they know what they are going to
get. iLive not only gives them the
same great results every night, but
it saves them from lengthy sound
checks at each venue because of the
system’s memory recall,” explains Allen. “I also worked out that I save a
third of a ton by carrying iLive and
a pair of CAT-5 cables rather than a
copper multicore, a heavy analogue
desk and racks, so it makes load-in
really simple and there’s more room
on the tour bus.
www.fohonline.com
200.0901.10-11.indd 11
2009 JANUARY
11
1/5/09 8:33:00 PM
New Gear
Audio-Technica In-Ear
Headphones
EP1: In-ear dynamic
headphones,
featuring
an ultra-compact design
and delivering a clear, articulate high-fidelity audio signal, are compatible
with M2 and M3 Wireless
Systems. EP1 Headphones
come with three sizes of
interchangeable flexible earpieces (small/medium/large) and
universal-fit foam tips for a custom fit, increased isolation and
long-wearing listening comfort. A gold-plated right-angle stereo mini-plug with locking collar provides corrosion resistance
and a secure connection. Comes with a soft pouch. $59.00
U.S. MSRP. EP3: In-ear dynamic headphones are equipped
with proprietary A-T dynamic drivers. EP3 Headphones come
with three sizes of interchangeable flexible earpieces (small/
medium/large) and universal-fit foam tips for a custom fit,
increased isolation and long-wearing listening comfort. Their
compact design is designed for on-stage use with M2 and
M3 IEM Systems. Includes 9.8" extension cable/adapter with
3.5 mm connector for use with MP3 and other portable players. Also includes a protective carrying case and soft pouch.
$139.00 U.S. MSRP.
www.audio-technica.com
Harman Professional HiQnet
System Architect Version 1.9
HiQnet System Architect
Version 1.9, a free download,
delivers a host of new features,
including network troubleshooting tools, file compression and management and
advanced control panel customization. Control of the three
models of the new Crown ITech HD Series will be possible with the device plug-ins included with System Architect 1.9, which support the configuration
of the FIR filters and LevelMAX limiters included in the new
touring amplifier, the algorithms for both of which were codeveloped with BSS Audio. Worldwide frequency restrictions
and digital TV present a huge challenge for wireless systems
operators, and to assist with keeping wireless technologies
running, AKG has added the new “1 Click Setup” to its System
Architect HUB 4000 Q plug-in. With a single mouse click, the
tool runs an extensive environment scan and calculates intermodulation-free frequencies for the entire wireless system on
the fly.
www.harman.com
Heil Sound “Greatest Hits”
Package
Heil Sound has premiered three drum microphone kits, the HDK-8 Primo,
the HDK-7 and the HDK-5. All
of the HDK drum kits feature
proven microphones from
the Heil Sound product line
as well as several new mics
designed specifically for demanding drummers. “Think of it as a greatest hits boxed set
with previously unreleased bonus tracks. Only instead of CDs
you get top-of-the-line drum mics.” That’s how Bob Heil company Founder and President, describes Heil Sound’s first foray
into package drum mic kits. The HDK-8 Primo kit consists of
two PR 22s, a flagship mic in the Heil Sound product line that
is already in use by many world-class drummers for snare and
high hat. Three PR 28s for toms, two PR 38s for overheads and
one PR 48 for kick round out the package. All three models
are new and have features, both sonically and physically, that
make them ideal for miking drums. In addition, a new tom
mount called the HH-1 is included. The HH-1 is a breakthrough
mount that was developed with input from Hunter Herman,
jazz drummer, producer and studio owner who also engages
in metalworking as a hobby. His input has been invaluable,
hence the model designator HH-1.
www.heilsound.com
SoundBroker.com Pro Audio
iPhone App
In a move that is sure to deepen the iPhone envy among
live audio guys, SoundBroker.com has put it's entire service
into an application for the iPhone. No,
this is not just a link to the company's
Web site. This is a way to access and
search new and used gear listings
via an interface made for the phone.
SoundBroker.com provides a “link” between buyers and sellers of gear, protecting the interests of both parties
in ways that an open auction site like
eBay is not equipped to do. The app,
available for .99 cents through the App
Store section of the iTunes Music Store
or downloadable directly from the iPhone, allows users to browse gear listings or search for specific items by brand or product type.
When you find what you are looking for, there is a direct
link to call or e-mail SoundBroker.com for more info or
to complete the transaction. To download the app, go to
the iTunes Music Store and click on the link to the Apps
Store. Type "SoundBroker" into the search box and you are
ready to download the app. As if this were not cool enough,
SoundBroker.com owner Jan Landy reports that a new, improved version 1.1 is being developed and may be available in at least beta form by the time you read this.
www.soundbroker.com
Yamaha SW1112 Subwoofer
Significantly smaller than 12”
subwoofers of other manufacture,
the SW1112 features 2,800-watt input capacity with peak 127 dB sound
pressure level output. The B&C driver
features a large 4” voice coil. Discrete
nominal impedance measures 8Ω
with power ratings delivered at
700W (Noise), 1,400W (PGM), 2,800W
(Max). Discrete sensitivity measures
93 dB SPL. The SW1112 is easy to handle with flexible installation
and includes 12 x M10 rigging points, two handles, a pole socket,
NL4 and barrier strip connectors. Vibration damping rubber feet
are supplied. The new sub is available in durable black or white
exterior finish. Weighing in at only 53 lbs., the new Yamaha sub
measures 14.9” x 15.5” x 17.9”. The Yamaha SW1112 has an MSRP
of $1,199 and is currently available.
www.yamahaca.com
On The Move
Future Sonics
has announced
the appointment
of Dayna Gelenberg to the position of director of
communications.
Gelenberg is a
graduate of TemDayna Gelenberg
ple
University’s
School of Communication and Theatre program with a concentration in public relations.
She will be involved in all aspects of corporate
communication. Her music industry experience
includes venue booking and promotion, artist
management, crisis management and all aspects of public relations.
“Dayna has a unique combination of experience and educational background to make
her the perfect fit for this role,” said President
and Founder Marty Garcia. “We are thrilled to
have someone of her expertise ensuring that all
of our corporate communications and information is accurate and on point.”
Harman Professional
has
announced the
appointment of
Alexander Rojas
to the newly created position of
director of sales,
Intercontinental
12
Alexander Rojas
JANUARY 2009
200.0901.CVR+NEWS.indd 12
South, as part of the company’s continuing
initiative to better serve the emerging and
established markets of Central America and
South America. Rojas, an experienced sales
leader and accomplished audio engineer,
joins Harman with a clear mandate to develop sales opportunities, advance distributor
relationships and contribute to support services for Harman Professional brands in his
territory. He will report to Jaime Albors, senior director of sales, Intercontinental, Harman Professional, and will operate from the
company’s new Intercontinental sales office
in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The company
also announced
the promotion of
Bill Raimondi from
market development
manager,
Crown Audio, to
group-wide
diBill Raimondi
rector, sales U.S.
distribution/strategic accounts. In this new
position, Raimondi will manage and direct
sales of the U.S. distribution channel and
strategic account activity for Harman Professional. Raimondi joined the Crown marketing group in 2006 to develop the commercial audio business segment. During his
time at Crown, he contributed to the growth
that Crown’s commercial product line has
enjoyed particularly with U.S. distributors.
Meyer Sound
has added Tom
Cavnar to the company’s expanding
technical support
team as digital
products support
and service specialist. In his new role,
Tom Cavnar
Cavnar will assist
customers in the use of Meyer Sound’s digital
products, including applications of the Matrix3 audio show control system and the Galileo loudspeaker management system.
Cavnar comes to the position after spending more than a decade working in sound
design and audio technology for live theatre
productions, including three years with the
Matrix3 system at South Coast Repertory in
Costa Mesa, Calif. While with South Coast Rep,
he took part in sound design, programming
and operations for more than 20 major theatrical productions.
The company
has
also
hired
Chimène Stewart to
the position of public relations manager to lead the company’s PR program.
In her new position,
Stewart will inChimène Stewart
crease visibility for
Meyer Sound’s products and strengthen the
company’s position. Stewart comes to Meyer
Sound with 15 years of experience in hightech public relations. She previously worked
as head of product public relations for SAP
and Oracle, as well as several years at a leading Silicon Valley PR agency, driving results
for a variety of startup and enterprise technology companies.
Sound Image
has announced the
promotion of Mike
Sprague from production supervisor
to director of touring. Sprague will
be responsible for
the management
Mike Sprague
of Sound Image accounts as well as bringing in new clients. The
announcement was made by Dave Shadoan,
president, and Ross Ritto, CEO of Sound Image.
Sprague joined Sound Image in June
2004 when he cut down on his extensive
touring schedule of the last 25 years. He had
been Aerosmith’s monitor engineer for 10
years and also worked with Kiss for four years.
Sprague still works with Rage Against The
Machine when they do occasional shows. He
also worked with then Silver Fish Audio from
1980 to 1983 and toured with Jimmy Buffett
with Ross Ritto. Silver Fish Audio became
Sound Image in 1983.
www.fohonline.com
1/6/09 1:47:43 PM
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Showtime Top 10 Tours of 2008 *
Bon Jovi’s Lost Highway Tour
CREW
GEAR
Band Manager: Paul Korzilius
Production Manager: John “Bugzee”
Houghdahl
FOH Engineer: Dave Eisenhauer
Monitor Engineer: Glenn Collett & Mike
Adams
Systems Engineer/CC: Mike Allison
ME: Dave Ferretti
Systems Tech: Jason O’Dell
FOH
Console: Midas XL4
Speakers: Clair i-4/i-4B Front/Side Clair i-3
Rear, Clair S4, and Clair FF-II front fill
Amplifiers: Crown and Lab.gruppen
Processing: TC M5000 Effects, Drawmer
DS-201 gates, Summit tube compressors, TC
2290 delay
MON
Consoles: Midas Heritage 3000 x 2
Speakers: Clair 212AM and SRM floor monitors, Prism L3 NT/LF, Clair ML-18 sub cabinets
Amplifiers: Crown
Processing: TC M5000 Effects, DBX 160 compressors, Summit Tube compressors, TC 2290
delay, Yamaha SPX 990 Effects,
Mics: Shure, Audio Technica, Sennheiser,
AKG,Countryman/Radial DIs,
IEM: Sennheiser G2, Shure PSM 600 Hard
Soundco: Clair Global
Wired, Shure PSM 700
RF: Shure U4R/Beta 58 capsules
Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band’s Magic Tour
CREW
FOH Engineer: John Cooper
Monitor Engineer-SL: Monty Carlo
Monitor Engineer-SR: Troy Milner
Systems Engineer: John Bruey
Systems Engineer/Pro Tools Tech: Brett
Dicus
Systems Engineer-Europe: Klaus “Bob”
Bollender
PA Techs: Rob Zuchowski, Ray Tittle, Todd
Hartman
GEAR
FOH
Console: Digidesign Profile (96 input)
Speakers: JBL VerTec 4889, 4880 subs, 4887
Amplifiers: Crown IT4000, IT8000
Processing: Dolby Lake Processors
MON
Console: 2 Yamaha PM1D V2.0
Speakers: 15 Audio Analysts VFX 1 x 15”, 12
VFX 1 x 12, 8 JBL VerTec 4888 sidefills
Amplifiers: Crown MA 36x12
Hardwired Mics: Shure KSM32, KSM141,
Beta98, 91, SM57, VP 88
Wireless Mics: Shure UR wireless with custom Audix OM3 capsule
Soundco: Audio Analysts
PMS: Westone ES2, Sennheiser G2
Madonna’s Sticky & Sweet World Tour
CREW
GEAR
Band Engineer: Tim Colvard
Monitor Engineer: Matt Napier
Crew Chief: Mark Brnich
System Techs: Danny Klocker, Demetrius
Moore, Bill Flugan, Chris M essina, Ron Sharpless, Chez Stock, Brian Procuk
FOH
Console: 2 DiGiCo SD7
Speakers: d&b Audiotechnik J8, J Sub, B2,
Q1, Q7 L-ACOUSTICS V-DOSC, dV-DOSC
Amplifiers: d&b Audiotechnik, Lab.gruppen
MON
Console: 2 DiGiCo D5T
Speakers: d&b Audiotechnik M4
Amplifiers: d&b Audiotechnik
In-Ear Systems: Sennheiser
RF Microphones: Sennheiser
Soundco: Eighth Day Sound
The Police 2008 Tour
CREW
FOH Engineer: Michael Keating
Monitor Engineer: Ian Newton
Systems Engineer/CC/Support BE: Jay Summers
Systems Techs: Tom Ford, Shaun Clair, Sean Baca
Systems Engineer: Marcus Meyer
Monitor Tech/Recording Engineer: Aaron Foye
GEAR
FOH
Console: Yamaha PM5000
Speakers: Clair i4, S4, P4, P2, R4, S4 Subs
Amplifiers: Crest, QSC, Powersoft
FOH Equipment: Clair iO with wireless tablet and
SIA Smaart; dbx 900 with 903 cards; Empirical
Labs EL-8; Manley EL-OP; Summit DCL200; Lexicon 480L, PCM70, PCM90, PCM91; TC Electronic
D-Two, 1128, 2290, Aphex 612
MON
Console: Yamaha PM1D
Speakers: Clair Brothers 12AM, ML18
Amplifiers: Crown, Carver
Hardwired Mics: Sennheiser e609, e865, MD421;
Shure SM91, Beta52, KSM32,
SM57, SM58; Neumann KM184; Beyer Opus87,
Opus 88, M88; Audio-Technica
AT4050
Wireless Mics: Shure U4D with SM58 capsule;
Sennheiser 500
PMS: Sennheiser G2
MON Equipment: Yamaha PM1D onboard effects
Recording Equipment: Digidesign Pro Tools HD
7.2; Millennium pres amps
Soundco: Clair Global
Celine Dion Taking Chances World Tour
main, Marc-Olivier Magnan, Marc Depratto
CREW
Tour Manager: Denis Savage
Production Manager: Rick Mooney
FOH Engineer: Frankie Desjardins
Monitor Engineer: Jean Charles Ethier
Head PA Engineer: Sylvain Lemay
Wireless Engineer: Marc Theriault
SIM Engineer/Crew Chief: Sylvain Lemay
PA Techs: François Laforest, Marc-Olivier Ger-
GEAR
FOH
Consoles: Studer Vista 5 SR, Yamaha O-1V 96
Processing: TC Electronic System 6000, TC
Electronic Fireworx, XTA DP324, Junger B6,
Eventide Eclipse (2)
Drive Processors: Meyer Sound Lab Galileo,
BSS London, RME ADI-8QS M
Speaker System (Arena Standard In-theRound Configuration): Meyer Sound Lab
MILO (72), MICA (72), M’elodie (18), UPJ-1P
(6), DF-4 (4), Meyer Sound Lab 700-HP (56)
MON
Console: Studer Vista 5 SR
FX / Dynamics: TC Electronic System 6000
Ad info:http:// foh.hotims.com
14
JANUARY 2009
www.fohonline.com
Soundco: Solotech
Wireless Monitors: Sennheiser EK3253 (24),
Sennheiser SR3056 (12)
Kenny Chesney Poets & Pirates 2008 Tour
CREW
GEAR
Production Manager: Ed Wannebo
Stage Manager: Tom Nisun
FOH Engineer: Bryan Vasquez
Monitor Engineer: Phil Robinson. Bryan
Baxley
System Engineer: Matt Naylor
Systems Techs: Chris Moss, Kain Naylor, Will
Wilkinson, Jamison Beck
FOH
Console: Midas XL-8, 2 Yamaha PM5D
Speakers: 56 EV X-VLS, 8 EV X-VLT, 68 EV
XLC-127+
Drive: NET-MAX Controller, EV- IRIS control
software, EV LAPS
144 EV-P3000RL amps
Mics: Audio-Technica
MON
Sennheiser wireless ear systems
Soundco: Morris Leasing
Neil Diamond World Tour 2008
CREW
Gear
FOH Engineer: Stanley Miller
Monitor Engineer: Bernie Becker
System Engineer: John Drane
System Engineer: Art Isaacs
Crew Chief/Monitor Assistant/RF Tech:
Greg “Chico” Lopez
Stage Tech/PA Tech: Fumi Okazaki
FOH Assistant/PA Tech: Jonathan Melton
Ethersound Tech: Lonny Wayne
FOH
Console: Yamaha PM5D Console
Speakers: 60 VerTec 4889, 24 VerTec 4880,
24 VerTec 4888, 34 VerTec
4887A, 10 JBL Front Fill Speakers: JBL VRX
928 (10)
Amplifiers: Crown I-tech 6000 (77), Crown
I-tech 8000 (20)
FOH Signal Processing: Dolby Lake Messas
(4) and Crown I-tech.
MON
Console: Yamaha PM5D Console
Yamaha AD8HR mic pre amps
Yamaha DME 64N
Wireless (Mics and PMs): AKG
Soundco: Maryland Sound International
Spice Girls Reunion World Tour
FOH
Console: DiGiCo D5
Processing: Yamaha SPX-2000, Roland SDE
3000a, TC M6000, dbx 120, Focusrite channel strips, Klark-Teknik DN 6000, XTA 448,
Drawmer DA-6
Mics: Audio-Technica 4041, AKG C 414, Beyer
M88, Sennheiser 509, 904, 935, Shure SM 81,
SM 57, SM 58, SM 92, B52, B57a, Radial passive and active DI boxes, Emo twin passive DI
Speakers: d&b
MON
Consoles: DiGiCo D5, DiGiCo D5T 20 Unit
rack c/w:
Processing: Focusrite 482, dbx 160 xt
Soundco: Wigwam, Eighth Day Sound
The Eagles Long Road Out Of Eden 2008 World Tour
CREW
GEAR
Band Manager: Irving Azoff
Production Manager: Dale “Opie” Skjerseth/
Ian Kinnersley
FOH Engineer: J.D. Brill
Monitor Engineer: Connie Fernstrom & Bob
Windel
Systems Engineer/CC: Kevin McKenzie
ME: David Ferretti
Systems Techs: Kyle Gish & Paulo Joaquim
FOH
Console: Yamaha PM1D
Speakers: Clair i-4, Clair S4 sub low, Clair R4,
Clair P4, and Clair P-2 front fill
Amps: Crest, Crown, Power Soft
Processing: Lexicon 960L, PCM 91’s, Eventide H3500, TC 2290, BSS 404’s, TC EQ Station
MON
Consoles: 2 Midas Heritage 3000, 96-channel Digidesign Venue
Speakers: Clair 12AM, Clair ML 18
Amps: Crown
Processing: TC 1128, Lexicon PCM 91
Mics: Shure, Audio Technica, AKG
IEM: Sennheiser G2
RF: Shure
Soundco: Clair Global
Rascal Flatt’s Bob That Head Tour
CREW
GEAR
FOH Engineer: Jon (Jon) Garber
Monitor Engineer: Stuart Delk
Crew Chief: Landon Storey
System Engineer: Pete McDonough
Stage Tech: Jason Blackburn
Systems Tech: Jeremy Peters
Tech: Ian Maurer
FOH
Console: Studer Vista 5 SR 128 x 64 live
Console
ADK Plug-in Rack and record rack
3- DBX 4800
76 4889 VerTecs Highs, 32 4880 VerTec Subs,
12 Sound Image QSC all controlled by HiQnet
System Architect
2-Lexicon PCM 96
1-TC M5000
1- Eventide Eclipse
2- SPX 2000
1-D2
MON
Console: Studer Vista 5 SR 128 x 64 live Console
Speakers: 6 4889 VerTec Highs, 4 Sound Image Single MA-18” subs, 10 Sound Image G2
10 SPX 2000
Mics: 8 Sennheiser G2-IEM, 10 Shure U4D, 2
Shure PSM 700
2 Pro Wireless Combiners, 4 Pro Wireless
Helical Antennas
Soundco: Sound Image
Ad info:http:// foh.hotims.com
*Ranked by Billboard Magazine, according to total sales, Nov. 14, 2007-Nov. 11, 2008
www.fohonline.com
2009 JANUARY
15
FOH Interview
David Morgan has a lifetime of experience mixing
front-of-house for the biggest names in music,
Meyer Sound
including Paul Simon, James Taylor and his
current boss Bette Midler.
David Morgan
By BillEvans
A
s I was preparing for this interview, I
had an interesting talk with someone
in the biz who shall remain unnamed.
The gist was this: Is being a great mixer a
prerequisite to having a client list consisting of acts known for sounding great live?
Or does having such a client list give one an
automatic aura of, “Well, he must be a great
mixer?”
David Morgan has just such a list of clients, including Steely Dan, Paul Simon, James
Taylor, Stevie Nicks and his current fulltime
boss Bette Midler. Hell of a list, and in this
case, the preceding question answered itself
in two ways. First, when I arrived 30 minutes
late and was sent to the office of Production Manager Marty Hom, he told me they
were doing line check. “Line check? But this
is a stationary show. It has been going for almost a year, and this is the fifth or sixth show
in a two-week run. Line check?”
I was informed that this crew does line
check every day. And they sound check. Every day. And the entire band and the Divine
Miss. M show up for said sound check. Every
day. I was obviously among pros who do
not subscribe to the “do as little as possible
to make it work and I’ll sound check with
the Pro Tools tracks from last night’s show”
school of thought that has become increasingly common.
16
JANUARY 2009
The second part of the answer was the
show itself, which sounded phenomenal.
David gave me way too much great stuff for
print, so this is a kind of “greatest hits” version. The full interview can be found online
at www.fohonline.com/morgan.
Getting Here
FOH
FOH: Give us some history, an idea of how
you got here…
David Morgan: I was playing in various bands on the East Coast and moved
out to L.A. in 1975 when one of those bands
broke up. The drummer from that band and
I opened up a demo studio on the corner of
Sunset and Vine, and we shared that space
with a popular East L.A. band called El Chicano, who were coming off a national No. 1
single called “Tell Her She’s Lovely.” So, we
started doing all of the band’s demos for
them and for a lot of other East L.A. bands.
One day El Chicano’s sound engineer was
sick and couldn’t make a show, so they convinced me to come down and mix for them.
So, the first live show I ever mixed was for
8,000 people at USC.
I didn’t know what I was doing, so I didn’t
know if I did a good job or a bad job. I just had
big Altec mixers with big rotary pots. I had
treble, bass and volume and just went for it.
I ended up mixing a lot of East L.A. bands. It
was a lot of fun, and I ended up learning a lot
about drums, percussion and bass.
I wanted to be a staff engineer for an L.A.
studio, and I targeted ABC because I wanted to work for Roger Nichols. When I finally
got a foot in the door there, Brian Ingoldsby
was the chief engineer. He was a wonderful
teacher, and I learned so much from him. But
the main thing I learned from working in the
studio is that I don’t belong in the studio.
Gigs
FOH
Paul Simon
In ’86, we were doing a show over at
Wembley Arena and Paul Simon’s manager
was in attendance. I get a call the next day
and he says, “Hi, I’m Paul Simon’s manager
and I would like to know if you would come
and mix the Graceland tour for us.” I said, “Really?”, and he said, “Yeah, I was at Wembley
the other night and if you can make that
place sound good you can make any place
sound good.”
I went on to work for Paul Simon for 21
years. I would say that the band we had in
1990, ’91 and ‘92 was—bar none—the best
touring band that was ever on the road.
That tour resulted in the best day of my
life as an audio engineer—the 1991 Central
Park concert for 750,000 people. It was the
best day of my life. Phil Ramone and I are
www.fohonline.com
standing there looking at each other in awe,
I’m mixing, and my assistant is Mike Wolf
from Clair Bros., and the three of us are just
having the time of our lives. It was the most
joyful noise you can ever imagine happening
in New York City. With 750,000 New Yorkers
in one place there was only one injury and
four arrests. Contrast that to previous concerts in the park. The four arrests were one
pickpocket and three drunk and disorderlies. The one guy who got hurt was having
such a great time that he fell out of the tree
he was sitting in and broke his ankle. There
was no violence; there was no discord with
the police. Everybody came happy and left
happy. In subsequent years, I’ve had people
who were not anywhere near the park and
they said they could hear the show. I’ve
had cops tell me it was the best day of their
lives. It became an urban legend. There were
750,000 people there, but six million people
say they were there. It was one of those days
that make you glad you chose the music
business for your living.
James Taylor
It broke my heart to leave Paul, but you
can only do so much. I’m an old Boston boy,
so if I have the opportunity to mix James
Taylor, I’m gonna mix James Taylor. James
and I used to go to see all the same people
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FOH Interview
at the clubs in Cambridge and Boston at the
Unicorn or Club 47. So, he and I listened to
all the same stuff. We stole all our guitar licks
from the same guys—he plays them better than I do. We have so much in common
and when I went to work for him, he and I
became instantaneous friends. It’s such an
honor to be part of the James Taylor shows.
How many times have you heard an acoustic guitar onstage that sounds like crap?
How do you make James Taylor’s guitar
sound like James Taylor’s guitar?
Well, I had a lot of experience mixing
Paul Simon’s guitar, and Paul is very meticulous about the guitar sound.
With James we use an LR Baggs pickup.
We used to use the Baggs preamp, but we
discovered this wonderful tool that Radial
makes called the Tone Bone PZ Pre. It’s sonically maximized for the unique frequency
response and output impedance characteristics of a piezo pickup. We tried it out originally with Carlos Rios in Stevie Nicks’ band,
and boy, we knew it was a winner as soon as
we plugged it in.
So, for James, we replaced the Baggs preamp with the PZ-Pre and we take the direct
out of that and then we take the 1/4” output
and send it to a Fishman Aura. The images
we have in the Auras are all built off of James
two Olsen guitars. We took the guitars to
Fishman because they’re in Mass. and we’re
in Mass. They’re such nice people and Larry
“A lot of the transition to digital, for
us older engineers, is done kicking and
screaming. But every time I adapt myself
to the next step in digital, I end up having
more fun mixing. It really has created a
series of renaissances in my professional
environment.” — David Morgan
Fishman just built these images for us. James
actually went into a guitar store in western
Mass. and bought an Aura. It is not like he
asked them to supply one. Before anyone
knew what an Aura was, James Taylor went
out and bought one. James is a real handson guy. He loves turning knobs.
So, we get these images back from
Fishman and we load them into the unit
at James’ barn in Mass., which he’s turned
into a rehearsal/recording studio. So, I have
a little isolation booth for getting frontof-house together, and listen on my Tannoys. The two of us would sit there and we
would play the guitar, and we would turn
the speakers off and listen to the guitar
and turn the speakers back on and listen
to the guitar. We got it to the point where
it sounds exactly like that guitar. And that
was just with the Fishman. When we added
the body with the PZ Pre—with the DI you
can get more bottom, more thump—it re-
ally turned into a marvelous combination.
We get a lot of wonderful reviews with the
guitar sound on James’ guitar.
Gear
Morgan says everyone aspires to work for a performer like Bette Midler, who “wears every hat in the production.”
18
JANUARY 2009
FOH
Let’s start by talking consoles…
The in-house desk (bought for the Celine
Dion show A New Day) is a beautiful sounding
console, an SSL MT-Plus. I ran the show on the
SSL from January until July. But it is not a very
responsive live console. For example, say you
want to make an EQ change to one input. You
have to make the change and save it individually in every scene. There are no global commands. You can’t reorder your set list on your
snapshots, so whatever order you saved it in
you were stuck with that. Unless you wanted
to move it ALL over to other slots and move it
all back one by one. And, you know, that really maximizes your chances of screwing things
up. On the plus side, the shows I mixed on the
desk sounded great.
www.fohonline.com
In July, I had the opportunity to program and migrate the show over to the
Digidesign VENUE desk that Clair Global
was supplying for the Cher shows here in
the Colosseum Theater. I had most of the
mic EQs and plug-in presets available on
my USB keys from Stevie Nicks and James
Taylor tours, so the programming went
very quickly. We used the VENUE Pro Tools
to make multitrack recordings of the show
at the end of the July run, and I had the
desk and some Genelecs set up in an isolated room. We had another engineer mix
front-of-house for two shows while I ran the
recording rig. It was a great way to finalize
the setup of the VENUE. I have used it out
front for every show since July. The transition has been flawless, updating the show
is now instantaneous, and the audio results
have been excellent. Plus, I can now take
the show with me when we perform outside of Las Vegas.
A lot of the transition to digital, for
us older engineers, is done kicking and
screaming. But every time I adapt myself,
which is basically what I have to do is reeducate myself. Every time I adapt myself
to the next step in digital, I end up having
more fun mixing. It really has created a series of renaissances in my professional environment.
What about mics?
The only thing that exceeds the great
review on his guitar is the great reviews we
get on his vocal. A lot of reviews in the past
few years have said that James’ vocal has
never sounded better, and I have to credit
a lot of that to using a Shure KSM9. Shure
invited me to be part of the developmental
project on that thing and I got the original
prototypes. One was a cardioid, one was a
super before they became a switched dual
element. I still have those two microphones;
I’ll never give them up. They sound absolutely amazing. I have the first two production models of the KSM32 as well and they
are matched to 1/8 of a dB all the way out.
I cried when I had to give my review unit
back on the KSM9.
I didn’t give it back. Opinions aren’t free
and I don’t charge for my opinions on equipment; it is all done as professional courtesy.
I am not for sale and I don’t endorse anything. But if you want to pay me in microphones—that’s currency of the realm. Since
I don’t pay for them I don’t charge rental to
my clients. So, I’m a good deal. If someone
hires me they get a whole cartful of free
microphones. I don’t think Clair Global is
happy about losing that rental, but I do get
them a lot of good clients after all.
Bette sings on a KSM9 as well. The fixedpoint singer Shayna is on a KSM9. When the
girls are on handhelds, those are KSM9s.
The headsets are DPAs going through the
new Shure compact body packs. All of our
RF mic systems are Shure and all of our IEM
wireless systems are Sennheiser. Earbuds
are their own choice, but most of the band
uses Marty Garcia’s stuff (Future Sonics).
Marty also puts together the Sennheiser
rack for us. Shure and Sennheiser have both
been extremely supportive.
On Working with Bette Midler
FOH
David: Have you ever seen a Bette
show?
FOH: I saw her about five years ago in
L.A. and five weeks ago in Hammond Ind.
David: You saw the whole show?
FOH: Yeah and I NEVER stay for the
whole show. It was a really good show…
David: Did you know how funny she
was?
FOH: No, but she cracked me up.
David: Many of my rock ‘n’ roll friends
ask, “How can you work for Bette Midler?”
I answer, “I LOVE working for Bette Midler.
Have you ever been to a Bette Midler
show?” “Well, no.” “Then why are you judging Bette Midler so harshly? She is the most
intelligent, witty and dedicated performer I
know. She’s 62 years old and she sings every
note. There is nothing on Pro Tools in this
show except special effects. Everything that
is played or sung originates from the people on that stage. She dances every number
full out and she never sounds winded. How
come a 19-year-old girl can’t do that? I don’t
understand that. I have so much respect for
this woman.
Morgan’s boss, Bette Midler, in concert at the Horseshoe Casino’s The Venue in Hammond, Ind.
At the Indiana show she did “Midnight
in Memphis” and…
She killed it. She can still kill “Stay With
Me.” All of those old songs from The Rose are
still great. She sings the song “The Rose” every night. It makes the hair on the back of
my neck stand up, you know? She’s amazing. She sells songs in the old way—the way
you are supposed to sell a song.
You just WANT to work for Bette Midler.
It’s a real privilege. Everyone aspires to a
performance like this. She’s one of the greatest entertainers to ever hit the stage. Bette
is on top of every aspect of the show—the
singing, the dancing, the arrangements, the
lights, the video. I mean, she is on top of everything. It is really, really wonderful to see.
She’s the star, the director, the producer—
she wears every hat in the production. We
have regular meetings where she presides.
She is just as involved as you can be. It’s
exactly what you want in an artist. Because
you know exactly what she wants and you
know exactly what is expected of you on
any given day and at any given time during
the show. It creates a team. It creates dedication to a common goal of making Bette
Midler look good.
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Your client list is pretty impressive and
includes all the kinds of people who
know something. You can’t bullshit ‘em.
Absolutely, and that is what I prefer. I
like people who value a quality audio product being delivered to their crowd. I have
been very lucky in the people I have been
able to work with. I started getting paid for
gigs when I was 14 years old as a singer and
guitar player, and here I am at 59, still working, so I am very thankful.
www.fohonline.com
2009 JANUARY
19
Installations
“Honey, I’m going to the game… um, I mean, I’m going to work.”
Performance, EV Pump Up the Clarity
at EnergySolutions Arena
By David JohnFarinella
P
Pumping Up the Arena
erformance Audio’s Craig Hylton admits
with a laugh that he has spent more
time watching the Utah Jazz in person
this season than he has in recent memory.
It helps that Hylton is both a basketball fan
and that he can call his appearances at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City a work gig.
“The team had a rough start,” he says, “but it’s
fun to go to the games. I’m still learning what
their needs are and how to tune the system.”
The arena, which opened in 1991 as the
United Center, was named EnergySolutions
Arena after the company purchased the naming rights in 2006. Considered the largest
arena within five states, a variety of concerts,
ice shows, circuses and Olympic events, as
well as Arena Football, WNBA, IHL and NBA
games take place there. Depending on the
configuration, the arena can seat up to 22,000
patrons.
Bouncing Ideas Back and Forth
Foh
The design of the original PA, Hylton
says, was a good one. “But as they got along
through construction, corners had to be cut
and that was one of the things that had to
be lost,” he says. Over the years, the system
had deteriorated, leaving the upper bowl of
the arena barely covered. The lower bowl suffered from compromised intelligibility.
Over the years, Hylton reports, his Salt
Lake City-based company has been in on a
half-dozen proposals to replace the system.
Dave Hansen, who works with Electro-Voice,
approached the company in 2008 to put together a new proposal for the arena’s facility management company. “The engineers
at EV put together some designs and we
bounced some things back and forth,” Hylton recalls. “Then they put the installation
out to bid to two local suppliers. I guess I
was a little more eager than the competition. You don’t often get to see an install
that big in this neck of the woods.”
The staff at EnergySolutions Arena got to
work first, pulling out the existing system and
moving the chain motors to fly the new PA,
while the Performance Audio squad began
fine tuning the design with Hansen’s team.
The initial design called for a six-array hang,
but after taking a look at the boxes being
called for and the space, Hylton asked if they
Electro-Voice’s Monte Wise
20
200.0901.20.indd 20
EV arrays hanging above the scoreboard at EnergySolutions Arena
could do it with four. Upon further review, the
design was updated to include a four-array
hang that included Electro-Voice XLC 127DVX
loudspeakers.
The array—12 boxes pointed toward
each basket and 14 boxes aimed toward the
sides—is hung above the scoreboard, so it
had to be cranked hard at the bottom in order to cover the upper and lower bowls. “We
got maximum curvature out of the side arrays
without going to a second motor to pull up
the tail of them,” Hylton explains. “So, it barely
covers the bottom bowl, but it does a nice job
and keeps the sound off the floor, which the
NBA is kind of picky about.”
Keeping the NBA Happy
Craig Hylton of Performance Audio
JANUARY 2009
Foh
Keeping the Association happy, it turns
out, was not much of an issue. In fact, Hylton
reports, the NBA’s requirements “never got
expressed to me terribly clearly,” he says. “I
guess the NBA is like a lot of different noise
ordinance enforcers; they’re not out looking for a problem, but they respond to complaints, and those complaints would largely
come from players and coaches.”
Electro-Voice’s Dave Larsen
In addition to the 127DVXs that are
curved down to cover the lower bowl, there
are four FRX+640s hung from the scoreboard
to cover the court. “They are tuned such that
they kind of disappear,” Hylton says. “It just
adds a little bit of clarity on the floor, rather
than being real obvious.” Those boxes are
especially important for pre-game and halftime entertainment acts.
Where many audio installs of this nature would call for power and oomph,
Hylton says that the arena’s owners were
predominantly concerned with the intelligibility of the team’s announcer.
“We went back to them again and
again and said, ‘This is not going to rock
your socks off. We’re not putting subs
in this.’ They said they didn’t care about
that,” he says. “So, we ran with that, which
gave us a lot of slack. It turned out that we
don’t use all the low-end capability that’s
in the system, because in tuning the room
we took down the low frequency, even
though it’s a single 12. That room is one
that holds on to lows like crazy, and if you
excite it down there, you lose it.”
Foh
One thing that worked in the install
team’s favor was the fact that the arena
handled the highs and mids pumped from
the new boxes well, especially since there
were no acoustic treatments included with
the work. “When we were tuning the room,
the very high frequencies, say 5K and up,
there’s a surprising amount of width of
coverage,” he says. “I would be way off
axis listening to one array and I was able
to hear a lot of it. The boxes worked really
well for us.”
In addition to the EV boxes, Hylton supplied and installed a Midas console for the
venue. At first, he says, a Venice was purchased, but then things had to change.
“It turned out that the Venice didn’t have
enough aux sends,” he reports. “That didn’t
get looked at hard enough, so they had to
upgrade to a Siena. They need a ton of aux
sends, because they have two or three different radio feeds, two or three different
television feeds and feeds to different places in the building. It’s very helpful if they
can tweak each of those feeds, so it’s an aux
send rather than a matrix.”
The system is powered by 28 P3000RL
amps and one P1200 for the high end of the
down fill boxes and controlled by two NetMax N8000 digital matrix controllers that run
IRIS-Net software. The signal from the front
of house up to the amplifier rack is carried
via Cobra Net. The IRIS-Net software is helpful, Hylton explains, to monitor the activity
of the amps. “We can do system checks and
look for changes on the loads of the amplifier channels, so we can easily pick up on any
failures on the speakers.”
The system has been used at the Jazz’s
home basketball games successfully, Hylton
says, and he looks forward to a time when
touring bands will use it. “I think we may find
down the road that there will be shows that
will ask to use some of this system as a delay
fill for the back of the hall,” he reports. “There
are other kinds of traveling events that they
have in there—like any arena they do everything in the world from sporting events to
conventions to ice shows and circuses—and I
think we may find that it will be more useable
for those events.”
EV XLC 127DVX loudspeakers line arrays being hoisted to the ceiling
www.fohonline.com
1/5/09 10:36:39 PM
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Production Profile
Paul Creasy of Stone Mountain Media
Renkus-Heinz
Went Down to Georgia…
Updated system puts sound on par
with lights at Stone Mountain.
The Lasershow Spectacular at
Stone Mountain Park
By JonathanWilliams
W
hile theme parks and historic
sites are both known for attracting tourists and locals alike, it
isn’t often that you find them coexisting
in one location. But with miniature golf,
paddleboats, a skyride and other attractions centered on the world’s largest
piece of exposed granite, Georgia’s Stone
Mountain Park is equal parts kitschy fun
and ode to Southern history.
Located just outside Atlanta, Stone
Mountain is best known for the carving
of Confederate soldiers Robert E. Lee,
Stonewall Jackson and Jefferson Davis
on horseback across the rock’s face—
the largest relief sculpture of its kind in
the world. With last year being the park’s
50th anniversary, Stone Mountain celebrated many special events and new attractions, including the 25th anniversary
of its Laser show Spectacular, a laser and
fireworks show projected onto the commemorative sculpture following sunset.
Backed by pyro and music, the laser
show is a multimedia experience that pays
homage to Georgia’s history, local sports
teams and pop culture trends. While the
visuals are obviously the biggest part of
the show, which attracts thousands of
guests each year, the soundtrack is arguably of equal importance. To help make
the music an even bigger part of the experience, the park began upgrading its
sound system with Renkus-Heinz equipment last season.
Stepping Up the Sound
FOH
“The former sound system dated back
to the origin of the laser show, which was
back in the mid ‘80s,” says Chad Kuney of
22
200.0901.22-25.indd 22
JANUARY 2009
Stone Mountain Media, who has been
working on the laser show since 1996. “In
’99, we did an upgrade of the speakers
and sound, adding the locations on the
sides of the lawn. In 2008, we stepped up
and put the Renkus-Heinz gear in. What
we’re also going to do [in 2009] is get the
subs in; our next goal is to do a couple of
sub arrays to help really carry people on
the lawn and make them feel the show.
Additionally, we’re going to reposition
where some of the speakers sit. Now
they’re up on top of the towers and we’re
probably going to start sequencing those
down inside the towers just for vandalism
and weather reasons to keep them safe
and out of the way.”
While much of the laser show remains
the same each year, with crowd favorites
like Elvis Presley’s rendition of “An American Trilogy” (during which the soldiers
and horses on the mountain appear to
come to life and gallop away), “The Devil
Went Down To Georgia” by the Charlie
Daniels Band and a medley including
both Ray Charles and Willie Nelson singing “Georgia On My Mind,” it also changes
up a little each season. Last season, for
CREW
Paul Creasy - Principal
Chad Kuney - Operations
Dan Grimm - Special Effects
Paul Creasy of Stone Mountain Media
instance, included a segment paying tribute to America’s military and blue collar
heroes with songs by Aaron Copeland,
Mariah Carey and Michael Bolton, and a
section featuring parodies of films like
Star Wars, Gone with the Wind and High
School Musical with cow-related puns (a
nod to Chick-fil-A’s “Eat More Chikin” ad
campaign). There was even a brief segment with kaleidoscopic images and jellyfish set to new age music, which gave
the laser show a flash of surrealism.
GEAR
22 Renkus-Heinz PN102LA line-array speakers
6 Meyer M3D line-array speakers
2 BiAmp Audia Flex system
2 Alesis ADAT HD24
1 Mackie 1604-VLZ3 board
1 Fiber Options for distribution of audio
signal to speaker locations
Renkus-Heinz PN102LA speakers were moved from the
top of the towers to inside of them for safety and reasons
such as weather and vandalism.
www.fohonline.com
1/5/09 10:39:38 PM
Production Profile
The crowd awaits the multimedia laser show, where music plays a major part of the experience. The sound system had to be on par with the visuals.
But regardless of if you’re hearing
Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama” or John Williams’ Star Wars score,
the updated sound system will allow
crowds to feel it even more than they
have in the past.
“The sound improvement included
not only the Renkus-Heinz side of it,
but we also redid all the head-ins of
the sound system and put everything
digital with Biamp on the front end,”
says Creasy. “So, with the digital redo
of the whole head-in there was a completely new soundtrack this year with
even some of the existing songs being
remastered. That was another part of
the push this year to really address the
sound system.”
Make ‘Em Feel It
FOH
The first phase of upgrades helped
make the laser show’s 25th anniversary season (including a holiday show
in November and December featuring
sing-along favorites like “Rudolph the
Red-Nosed Reindeer”) the most aurally pleasing one yet. With the final
improvements being made in time for
the 2009 season, patrons will be able
to experience this event in an entirely
new way.
“Our goal is to have it done by May
of ’09 for the opening of our ’09 season,” says Creasy. “It’s two phases: One
was just to replace our existing stuff,
and the second is to address the subs
and really add some more rumble to
the lawn. We really want to make it so
you feel it in your chest.”
The Renkus-Heinz update is just the
latest in a constantly evolving show
that has seen many technological upgrades over the years.
“Since its inception there’s a couple
of things both on the creative side and
the technology side with advances in
the ways we can do it,” Creasy says. “On
a yearly basis there’s some program
swap-out of the actual content that’s
played on the mountain. With that has
come new methods for converting artwork into laser graphics and putting
that back on the mountain. The content
has changed as the capabilities of what
it is possible to do have increased.”
Ad info:http:// foh.hotims.com
24
JANUARY 2009
www.fohonline.com
A Renkus-Heinz PN103LA speaker hidden inside the tower
Ad info:http:// foh.hotims.com
“We can do a little bit more complex
imagery than we could when the show
first started. It’s still laser line art, but we
have a lot more capability to do more with
that line art than we did. Additionally, the
lighting continues to be an advancement
and we’ve added a lot more to the venue
itself. It’s not just a laser show anymore.
There’s intelligent lighting located all the
way throughout the venue with moving
head fixtures, strobe light fixtures, and
those are incorporated and programmed
into parts of the show. We’ve got special
effects that consist of large flame cannons that produce a ball of fire that goes
up about 150 feet, and those are supported by smaller flame torches that shoot
about 15-20 feet high at the base of the
mountain. Then, of course, the technology of the pyro has changed what we’re
capable of doing, and we’re getting some
new types of shells out here that are also
incorporated into the show.”
With a virtual ceiling of laser light
projected over the lawn, a choreographed fireworks display, laser images
synchronized to an eclectic soundtrack and a patriotic finale, the Laser
show Spectacular appeals to children
and adults alike. Whether you’ve seen
it numerous times or are making your
maiden voyage to Stone Mountain, this
year’s laser show will offer both familiarity and freshness with remastered
music that will be further complimented by the new speakers.
“There will be changes,” confirms
Creasy. “We’ll be adding a couple of new
modules, taking out some, and that’s
just part of keeping it fresh. Some of the
staples in there that people love, like “The
Devil Went Down To Georgia,” the “Trilogy”
where we trace the horses on the mountain (that’s been a part of the show since
almost the inception), will stay and we’ll
swap out some of the other modules.”
While visitors are likely to enjoy
the park’s many other attractions during the day, once the sun goes down
it’s time for the new and improved Laser show Spectacular. It is sure to be a
historic year for the show thanks to the
updates to the soundtrack and, more
importantly, the sound system’s new
capabilities.
www.fohonline.com
2009 JANUARY
25
Buyers Guide
Yamaha IM8-40
USB & FireWire Mixers
By BillEvans
OK, you’re not going to do a Madonna
show with one of these. In fact, you will be
hard pressed—given the channel count on
most of them—to do anything bigger than a
five piece. But that is not the point. The point
is that these small boards allow you to easily mix the show and record it without any
extra gear. Some of them actually will work
well in a small studio, which means you can
Company
use it to record during the week and pack it
up on the weekend for gigs—and record the
gigs with just the console and a laptop.
Note the big exception in terms of
price and channel count is the ever-morepopular Digidesign Venue system, which
offers a path to Pro Tools via FireWire. Me
thinks we will be seeing more of this very
soon…
Crest Audio CV-20
Model
Price/Frame (Channel) Sizes
VCA Channels
Subgroup Channels
EQ Description
ZED-420
$1,499.99/16 channels; $1,699.99/24
channels; $1,999.99/32 channels.
All frames also include dual stereo
inputs.
0
4 subgroups plus L, R and
main outputs
4-band EQ with 2 swept mids featuring
MusiQ optimized Q slope and high pass
filter.
ZED-R16
$2,999.99/16 channels
0
0
Two fully parametric mids with
frequency and Q control, plus high and
low shelving EQ and HPF.
Crest Audio
www.crestaudio.com
CV-20
32, 40, 48, 56, 64 mono + 8 stereo
frames; 32-$17,195; 40-$19,450; 48$21,450; 56-$24,195; 64-$28,450
128 VCA assignment
scenes
8
4-band sweepable EQ with Q control on
the mids and a variable high pass filter.
Digidesign
www.digidesign.com
VENUE
Profile Mix Rack
System
$39,995.00
8
8 (mono or stereo)
4-band fully variable PEQ with digital
and analog emulation modes, plus
separate HPF.
Onyx 1220
$689.00/12 channels
0
0
Allen & Heath
www.allen-heath.com/
zed
Perkins EQ circuitry‚ “neo-classic” design
based on circuitry from the ‘60s and ‘70s.
Mackie
www.mackie.com
Peavey
www.peavey.com
PreSonus
www.presonus.com
Onyx 1640
$1,799.00/16 channels
0
4
16FX
$1,049.99/24 channels
0
4
24FX
$1,399.99/24 channels
0
4
32FX
$1,599.99/32 channels
0
4
StudioLive
16.4.2
$1,999.00
16
4
4-band semi parametric.
MG206c-USB
$799.00/20 channels
0
4 groups
Mono channels feature 3-band EQ with
low, mid and high controls.
Yamaha IM8
IM8-24: $4,799; -32: $5,799; -40:
$6,499
0
8 group busses
4-band EQ on both stereo and mono
channels featuring high, hi-mid, lo-mid
and low controls.
Yamaha Commercial
Audio Systems, Inc.
www.yamahaca.com
26
200.0901.26-27.indd 26
U
JANUARY 2009
16 x
3-band EQ with sweepable midfrequency and fixed low cut filters per
ch; 27-band GEQ, 5-band PEQ.
www.fohonline.com
1/5/09 10:42:04 PM
F
USB
Mackie Onyx 1640
USB or Firewire Output
Number of Aux Send Channels and Pre/Post Groupings
USB
Console has 6 aux sends, 1 and 2 are pre-fade for foldback
monitoring, 3 and 4 are switched pre or post-fade for
effects sends, and 5 and 6 are post-fade. Auxes 1 and 2
can be sent to the USB bus for recording pre-fade signals
independently to the main mix. Auxes 5 and 6 can also be
sent to the USB bus for use as effects sends.
and
FireWire
Two pre and two post aux buses can be used as feeds for
headphone amplifiers in the studio, FX sends anywhere
or wedge foldback live. The talkback function is either
routed to the aux or studio outputs.
l on
ter.
USB
12 auxes with flexible configurations (1-4 mono, 5-10
switchable between mono and stereo, 11 & 12 stereo with
pre and post switching in the same configuration.)
FireWire
Up to 24 aux sends plus direct out per channel, selectable
pre/post per send, per channel.
FireWire option card
2 auxes, individually pre/post switcable.
16 x 2 FireWire option card
6 auxes w/ individual pre/post switching.
ing
pass
tal
s
Ad info:http:// foh.hotims.com
Allen & Heath ZED-420
with
no
mid
USB
USB
6 (4 pre, 2 post)
USB
FireWire input/output
6
USB, model includes Cubase
AI4
4, 1 pre, 1 post, 2 individually switchable pre/post.
USB
8 aux sends ‚aux 1 is pre/post, then switchable in pairs.
www.fohonline.com
Ad info:http:// foh.hotims.com
per
Ad info:http:// foh.hotims.com
sign
70s.
2009 JANUARY
27
Road Tests
KS Audio CPA Self-Powered Compact Line Array
By JamieRio
U
sually when I do a Road Test the manufacturer ships the gear to me, I read
the manuals, play with it a bit and
take it out on a gig. With the KS Audio gear,
the review process took on a slightly different scenario. I first got a call from my friend
and editor Bill Evans, but instead of waiting
for the gear, I was invited to a record release
party where the KS Audio CPA self-powered
compact line array was in use. Henry Strange
(system engineer for KS Audio) and his crew
had set up the line array and subs. I showed
up a couple of hours before the show to
check it out.
The Gear
rt
The CPA self-powered compact line array was designed with ease of setup and operation in mind. The array boxes are loaded
with 2 x 8" direct radiating carbon-fiber cone
transducer and a 1" neodymium compression driver with a Mylar diaphragm. The driver is mounted on a wave guide (like a horn)
that is similar to the one used in the KS Digital
Line Master studio reference monitor. In realworld terms, the 8" speakers are built to be
bulletproof and the compression driver is designed to be of studio quality.
The enclosures themselves are built out
of 18-mm Birch plywood and are coated in a
black plastic polyurethane finish. They sport
two amplifiers totaling 480 watts (400W + 80
Wrms) with an active 2-way crossover (1 kHz).
Frequency response is 60-20,000 Hz at an
SPL of 125 dB continuous. The boxes weigh
in at only 51 lbs. including flyware. Along
with the array cabinets there were four CPA
SUB/2 self-powered subwoofers. These subs
use 10 transducers with a long excursion and
double magnets. KS claims these powered
boxes will provide smooth low frequencies
down to 35 Hz. The power amp boasts 800
watts rms/1,600 watts peak, claiming 128 dB
continuous of audio and features a transformerless digital auto switching power supply.
The box is constructed out of 18-mm Birch
plywood coated in black polyurethane finish and weighs only 99 lbs. Of course, casters, handles and pole mounts are part of
the package. The active onboard crossover
is switchable between 70 Hz and 100 Hz, as
well as +6 dB boost switch at 35 Hz for some
extra low-end kick, if desired.
In addition, the array-rigging frame
mounts to the subs themselves and the boxes
have integrated quick-lock flyware for easy adjustments. This makes for a neat and manageable package. When I say manageable, I mean
that a two-man crew can put an array package
together made up of four subs, 12 array boxes
and cabling in less than two hours..
Henry did it that day for the very first time
without any help or introduction from us. The
real time to set this system up is less than an
hour. Between my technician and myself, we
stop-watched it at 38 minutes.
The array enclosures themselves are not
only easy to set up, but very easy to adjust
prior to a show. There are three knobs on the
back of each powered compact array box.
The first knob adjusts the volume, the second
selects how many cabinets are being used
and the third adjust "curving" in degrees,
which has been selected by the user between
the particular box and the one above. Preset
program angle suggestions covering typical
scenarios are provided with the system in the
manual.
With the selection knob of pieces in the
array and curving preset EQ programs are
being activated. Each adjustment of each
knob influences the effect that all of the
other knobs have on the sound, resulting in
a custom system program for each position
of the knob to achieve the best possible results with the least possible work. Internal
electronics protects the audio components
from overload and dials in the system’s time
alignment.
Each box has built-in time alignment,
limiter, crossover, filters and pre-set EQs builtin. With the subs and array boxes, we have a
compact and potentially very potent threeway array system. So, let’s look at how it all
sounds in a live setting.
The Gig
S
o, an affordable cardioid dynamic microphone with a step-up transformer that
will give me all the benefits of a dynamic
handheld, while delivering the detail and frequency range benefits of a condenser? We’ll see.
A rugged offering from a well-respected name
in professional audio that is tough enough to
withstand the rigors of the road, while equally
adept and worthy in the best of studios? All
while priced under $240? Let’s just say I had my
doubts.
When I first received the new M 80 from
Telefunken USA, I had no expectations, good or
bad. I was cautious, as it was the first time I had
walked into a microphone trial without having
any idea of what to expect, and no guiding words
from a staff of people who already knew the mic.
I used the mic at “both ends of the snake,” both
as a performer and mix engineer. What I experienced was surprising, to say the least, and has
left me excited to work with this mic in the future.
to say, it would have been incredibly easy to
lose my grip on a mic while running the length
of the stage and sweating like I was. Not with
the M 80. The mic stayed put in my hands with a
steadfast reliability that was very much appreciated, especially for that particular gig. The only
problem I ran into with the mic staying put was
that it did so almost too well for my purposes
while mounted in the clip. If you work with the
type of singer who likes to constantly pop the
microphone in and out of the clip during your
stage show, you will likely run into some resistance with this finish.
However, overall, the rubber grip proved to
be far more functional than a hindrance, especially for miking instruments. This rubberized
grip/clip combination is a godsend, allowing
you to make small, precise movements during
placement without worrying about the mic
“pushing back” into the clip and affecting its
distance from your source.
The Gear
The Gig
rt
The look and feel of the M 80 is impressive
and well up to par with the professional reputation that comes along with the Telefunken
name. The microphone is heavy with a rocksolid construction. It handles unlike any other
mic I’ve used, like the slimmer Shure KSM9s,
Beta87s or Audix OM7s. The most blaring difference comes in the form of a tight, rubberized
finish that covers the entire body. This has its
ups and downs.
For instance, I first used this mic onstage
at a summer festival outside of Chicago, and I
could say conservatively that temperatures rose
to around 360 degrees that afternoon. Needless
28
200.0901.28-29.indd 28
JANUARY 2009
rt
I was most pleasantly surprised with the
sonic performance. While the M 80 certainly
has the look and build of a high-performance
live mic, I had heard of even Green Day utilizing
them in the studio, so that is where I began. I’ll
admit that I spent very little time analyzing the
M 80 for vocals in the studio because, frankly,
why would I pitch my normal setup of a U87,
C-12 or U47 FET? However, in just speaking
into the microphone, it became instantly clear
that this could be a prime candidate for spoken
broadcast applications, podcasting, etc. The M
80 out-performed many of my standard “gotos” in the studio on both guitar, and surpris-
rt
The show was an NBC record release
party for an artist named Common at a ware-
Telefunken ELA M 80 Handheld Mic
KS Audio CPA SelfPowered Compact
Line Array
house in Los Angeles. This was a hip-hop
gig with a DJ playing some tunes before the
By MartyAbezetian
ingly, hand percussion and horns. The velvety
midrange, along with the low-mass diaphragm,
deliver a more focused “pop” in the transients
and eliminated the need for compression on
congas, bongos and djembe.
Reading into Telefunken USA’s specs of
the M 80, they boast a 30Hz-18kHz range,
which is audibly noticeable, and “condenserlike performance” delivered largely in part to
the American-made AMI/TAB-Funkenwerk
output transformer. As for the condenser
claim, I would argue both yes and no, but
neither in a bad way. The M 80 delivers when it comes to a wider frequency spectrum than your everyday
cardioid dynamic, and its sensitivity to small
details and nuances offer the performance
characteristics of a condenser. The mic shines
with the musicality of its output—the low
mids are smooth, detailed and not swampy.
The highs are crisp and detailed, without being overly coarse and bright. As I alluded to
earlier, there are namely two characteristics
that prove that the M 80 does not behave
like you’d expect a handheld condenser to
onstage. It does not become a nightmare
“cymbal amplifier” for a vocalist on a small
stage, and it does not exhibit uncontrollable
bleed, making it ideal for a drum kit.
Honestly, percussion is the last place I
expected to use the Telefunken M 80 onstage, but it quickly became one of my favorites on snare drum. The off-axis pickup
and rejection qualities of the mic gave me
excellent isolation from even the loudest
hi-hat source. Adding to that, the focused
transient response and slight boost in the
7-10K range delivered a crisp, detailed result, giving me the best of both worlds with
a loud, controlled “crack” in the pocket, all
while accentuating each grace note and
delicate stick play. At front-of-house, I simply laid the mic flat while miking snare,
gave a slight boost around 200 Hz (I just
love the chest-thumping snare!) and rolled
off under 100 Hz. Simply the best sounding
snare response yet!
The M 80 also made my life easier while
miking guitars for San Diego rock quintet My American Heart. The band’s style
demands that the guitar tones sit full and
heavy in the mix, all with plenty of bite. I
achieved this effortlessly with nothing but
a 120-Hz rolloff. I was blindsided by how
the mic was able to get two battling guitars
to sit so nicely in the mix, prominent, but
not overbearing, biting but not shrill, thunderously full, but not muddy. If I have the
choice, I will use nothing else on rock guitars and snare when I mix front-of-house.
At the end of the day, I am completely
sold on the newest offering from Telefunken
USA. If you’re a front-of-house engineer
looking for no-bull, best bang for your buck
(no pun intended), the Telefunken USA M 80
is a worthy contender. For this writer, I have
fallen in love with it, specifically on live guitars, live and recorded snare drum, hand percussion and horns. It is truly an ideal tool—a
weapon I can be confident in taking to battle
day in and day out. Simply put, I am looking
forward to making Telefunken USA M 80 a
staple in both my touring and recording microphone arsenal.
www.fohonline.com
1/5/09 7:59:38 PM
Road Tests
show. When I arrived the system was already
assembled and a sound check was underway.
I met Henry and he introduced me to the operational features of the subs and array boxes.
It was nice to have somebody knowledgeable to walk me through all the aspects of the
powered array system. It really is designed
with simplicity and ease in mind. I listened
carefully as the sound check progressed. The
first thing that caught my attention was how
clean, punchy and powerful the CPS/2 subs
were. The KS 4-x-10 design really delivers the
goods in terms of bass. As I listened to the
sound check, I was impressed with the quality and the clarity of the audio and also how
much SPL this little system was delivering.
The high mids and high frequencies
were clean, potent and sparkling, but I was
missing some of those warmer low midfrequencies. Once the DJ was working, I
could hear the frequencies I was missing
from the sound check. My only choice was
to blame the lack of frequencies on the
guy behind the mixing console, not the KS
equipment. The DJ’s music had a more rich
and fuller sound than the live band. I know
it's easier to play programmed music than
mix live sound, but I was sent to the event
to listen to the gear, not run it.
An important aspect of the KS powered line array sound system is what it
costs. The reality of today's economy is you
must balance quality and performance
against your cash investment. And “riderability” is an issue if you are a rental house.
While KS is well known in its native Germany, that is not the case in the U.S. With a list
price of more than $100K for a six-over-two
per side system, you can buy a lot of speakers
and amps that may not sound as good or rig
as well, but have far greater name recognition. So, it depends on your situation. If you
are not tied to the demands of touring riders
then the KS sounds good and rigs well. (The
optional fly-frame allows you to fly the array
above the subs without the need for chain
motors or rigging points.) But if the acts you
are bidding on have a couple of preferred systems, and you know your competition stocks
those systems, you may need to think twice
about name value.
Once Common started its set, the mixer
really cranked up the KS system, and I was
impressed with the potency and clarity of
the low end. I think the mixer was also feeling the power of the subs because he was
pushing the hell out of them. I was knocked
out by the sound quality and power of the
KS Audio array system, but the mixer was
not doing the band justice. As I mentioned
at the beginning of this review, I usually get
the gear and take it out myself for review.
I think I would still like to do that. The KS
equipment is definitely of high-quality design and function.
KS Audio CPA Self-Powered
Compact Line Array
Who It’s For: Sound companies, touring
bands, installations.
Pros: Powerful, clean audio, lightweight,
easy set-up.
Cons: Cost versus visibility.
How Much: Tops: CPA Line: $6,800.00; CPA
Sub2: $7,800.00; FF Cline 2: $1,200.00; TX/
CPA 11 Sub: $7,900.00
Web site: www.ksaudio.com
Telefunken ELA M 80 Handheld Mic
Telefunken ELA M 80 Handheld Mic
Ad info:http:// foh.hotims.com
What It Is: Handheld cardioid dynamic mic.
Who It’s For: Everyone.
Pros: Versatile, great sound, fair price.
Cons: Rubberized finish can make the mic
hard to get in and out of a clip.
Price: MSRP: $239.00
Web site: www.telefunkenusa.com
www.fohonline.com
200.0901.28-29.indd 29
2009 JANUARY
29
1/5/09 8:00:07 PM
The Biz
Sweat the Small Stuff
In business, the little things do make a difference.
A
s companies look toward the future, it is clear the market will
become more and more challenging—and as it does, many companies
will realize their success in the past was
in spite of itself.
Recently, a company in the home
entertainment, lighting control and energy conservation industry was enjoying
great success through sheer luck. Maybe
the owner is the best person to sell the
tion, sales and sales management programs. But there is a natural tendency
during harder times to cut back. This is
exactly the wrong move. In harder times,
when your competitors are cutting back
on marketing and sales spending, if you
possibly can, you should increase your
spending.
Think of it this way. On average, the
top five companies in your industry
spend $200,000-$500,000 annually on
In harder times, when your competitors
are cutting back on marketing and sales
spending, if you possibly can, you should
increase your spending.
product, but he has never been trained
as a salesperson. Service after the sale
was very important, but the company
did not have a service contract program.
Timely information about installations
was the best way to assure customer satisfaction, but no system existed to get
timely reports. The company never developed a budget to support its growth
plans. Finally, the company did not have
any kind of marketing and sales calendar, so every event, such as trade shows,
created a mad scramble.
Unfortunately, too many small- to
mid-sized companies face similar situations—gaps in planning and organization. As the market tightens, these companies will not prevail without change.
If you are doing the same thing today
expecting different results you will be
disappointed. The current market is
shrinking. You must take an increasing
share of a decreasing market to maintain
or increase revenue and profits. How can
you do this? Simple… the “little things”
have to be done!
Budget(s)
FOH
Most companies recognize that they
have to support their marketing, merchandising, advertising, sales promo-
marketing, advertising and promotion,
including trade shows, literature, media
advertising, direct mail, etc. If you assume
the five top companies average $300,000
in spending, and your company was at
one time matching those numbers, your
share of visibility in your market is 20%
[$300,000/$1.5 million].
So, now times are hard. Let’s say all
of the other companies cut their budgets
by 30%, so they are spending $210,000
on average. If you maintain your spending, you now have a 26% share of the
visibility in your market. If you increase
your spending by $30,000 or 10% to drive
business during slower times, you move
up to a 28% share of the market activity.
That is a 40% increase in share for a 10%
increase in spending. Amazing leverage!
What advantages can this bring to your
company?
Promotion
FOH
Getting a share of the “noise” can lead
to more opportunities for your company.
How can you stay visible to your customers and prospects? One very good way
is through promotion, which does not
mean “discounting.” Cutting prices is the
first tactic of a weak company. You don't
have to cut prices to survive bad times.
By JohnHaskell
Using your product as a promotional
tool can often help you develop interest.
There are many ways to get customers
to want to be involved with you, rather
than with your competition, who may be
giving product away.
Helping your customers, retailers or
distributors sell more is a great way to
increase your sales and market share.
Promotions can help them bring in
customers. For example, if you create a
gift-with-purchase program, where the
customer gets something “free,” it will
help the retailer or distributor sell more.
You can also create a self-liquidating
premium promotion. For example, you
supply TV sets or DVD players to be
sold by the retailer for a very, very low
price. The price you charge is what you
paid for it. That is the meaning of selfliquidating. The profit is not important.
You and your customers are not in that
business. You simply use that product to
push yours.
The number of promotions is limitless; the key is to do something all the
time. In the past you may have had a single “show special” during a major trade
event and then you did nothing the rest
of the year. Now it’s important for you to
do something all the time. Take out your
calendar and work with your team to develop a powerful promotional schedule,
budget and action plans.
Events
FOH
If your company participates in
shows or events of any kind—from a
chamber table top to a major trade
event in a grand convention center—
your preparation, performance and follow-up must be excellent to capitalize
on the opportunity.
When preparing for the show, think
about how you want to present yourself.
What impression do you want current
and prospective customers to get? What
image do you want to project? What
are you doing to bring visitors to your
booth? How will you handle them when
they arrive? Do you want to write business? If so, how much?
It is vital to be thoroughly prepared
for the show so that you can achieve your
goals. The show is a big investment. You
need proper preparation to get a good return on your company's investment.
After the show, what is the follow-up
process? Do you want to participate in this
show next year? You can only make that
decision based on all your experience from
the show.
It’s important to get feedback from
every member of your team working the
show. One very good option is called the
“show report.” Within a week of the event,
have each employee who participated
send an e-mail report to the executive in
charge of the event; this is most likely the
same person who will be responsible for
decisions regarding next year’s participation. The e-mail report should detail the
employee’s impressions of the value of
the show for your company, offer comments on new opportunities and suggest
recommendations for future participation,
including a “skip-it” recommendation.
The Bottom Line
FOH
Yes, times are tougher, but keeping
the “small stuff ” in mind will allow you
to see your way through difficult times
with great success.
Ad info:http:// foh.hotims.com
Ad info:http:// foh.hotims.com
John Haskell, aka Dr. Revenue, is
a professional speaker, seminar leader, marketing and sales consultant
and author of Profit Rx. As a former
CEO/COO of divisions of For tune 500
companies and as president of The
Professional Marketing Group, Inc., he
consistently demonstrates the value
of written marketing and sales planning. He helps his clients write and
implement marketing and sales plans.
His “Dr. Revenue Marketing and Sales
Clinics” result in immediate sales and
marketing focus. For more information, visit www.drrevenue.com or email drevenue@drrevenue.com.
30
200.0901.30-32.indd 30
JANUARY 2009
www.fohonline.com
1/5/09 11:55:00 PM
CURRENT JOB LISTINGS
Lighting Technician
Lighting Technician needed to perform factory
authorized commissioning and repairs.
Production Specialist
Cleveland area entertainment lighting company
office has job opening for a Production
Specialist.
TO FIND THESE AND MORE LISTINGS
JUST GO TO:
Xtreme Structures and Fabrication
Xtreme Structures Seeks Sales Associate.
Lighting Director
Do you have lighting and rigging experience?
Are you able to draft lighting plots using CAD?
Cirque du Soleil
Cirque du Soleil will be hosting a Red Curtain
Recruitment Event in Las Vegas for Technical
Positions & Stage Management positions on
Monday, February 23, 2009.
Theatre (Design/Technical) Instructor
Theatre (design/technical) instructor at
Miracosta College.
HartBeat Ensemble — Various Productions
Seeking -- Tech Director, Production Stage
Manager, Sound Designer, Lighting Designer.
200.0901.31.indd 31
1/5/09 10:04:27 PM
Theory and Practice
Mixing Tips
O
ccasionally, I get a chance to provide
the sound system and let other band
engineers take over once I have the
system settled. This gives me the wonderful
experience of kicking back from the pressure of mixing to mentally critique the band
engineer. But not all band engineers are
experienced, so I find little delight in their
lesser skills, but a lesson on what I would do
to improve the show if I were in their shoes.
From this experience, here are some of my
mixing tips.
Mixer Centric
FOH
The biggest offense I notice is engineers
who do not understand where front-ofhouse is relative to the layout of the venue.
If the FOH position is toward the back of
the room, you need to understand that you
should be mixing fairly quiet, as most of the
audience is getting a much louder show
than you are. I find many young engineers
mix at high SPL regardless of where their mix
position is. While 105 dB SPL peaks at FOH
are providing loud rock ‘n’ roll show for the
console operator, 111 dB SPL peaks for the
audience may be cause to complain or leave
the show in protest.
In club venues, the name of the game
is beverage sales. If audience members are
pinning their ears back in the front seats,
those patrons are probably not enjoyably
conversing, dancing or drinking as much if
the loudness were cut in half (-6 dB). I know
By MarkAmundson
some FOH engineers have egos and believe
if the audience does not pay rapt attention
to the performers on the stage, it is not loud
enough. Personally, I know I am having a
successful club gig if the dance floor is busy
and patrons around the FOH position can
still laugh, converse and enjoy the show at
the same time.
Now if your FOH position is a bit too close
to the stage, you are going to have to walk
the venue every so often, or get a trusty assistant to audit the loudness for you in other
locations. I find that upfront mixing hurts my
compensation for stage wash blending, and
I need that SPL audit walk to keep the loudness contained.
Mixing with Your Senses
FOH
Another problem I see is console operators getting lost in the show and not catching the song’s natural cues for musician solos.
With the exception of great musicians in quieter gig settings, most soloists do not pump
up the volume enough in large rooms. Thus,
the FOH engineer is responsible for goosing
the fader a touch when a solo happens. To
me, this is the worst console operator offense,
in that inattentive mixing of a show takes
emotion away from the performance, very
similar to a lighting director who paints a different color wash per song without providing
accent cues as the music presents them.
I surmise that inattentive sound engineers get caught up in the visualness of the
front men (or front women) and end up mixing with their eyes and not their ears. Yeah,
the house sound dude reading a paperback
novel while babysitting the FOH console
is inattentive, but at least his ears are not
betrayed by his eyes. I love to give kudos
to production pros who nail the cues, but I
have only silence for those who do not pay
attention.
Reverse Therapy
FOH
When your ears are working, but something needs to come to the top of the mix,
the easiest thing to do is goose the chosen
source’s fader up 5 dB in the hope of curing
the problem. But if you do not keep an eye
on things, you will soon succumb to fader
creep and will have to periodically rebalance
everything in the mix.
So, the old adage is to bump something
up by bumping everything else down.
There is no harm in this, but it is very hard
to teach newbie engineers this philosophy.
A lot of this comes from not using those
beautiful things called subgroup masters or
VCA masters, as a lot of operators just nail
the masters at 0 dB and continue to mix on
the source (channel) faders. The more maturity I get on consoles, the more I find that
setting the non-vocal subgroup masters 5
dB to 15 dB off of 0 dB for the start of the
show makes things easier to balance up as
the start of the set turns into the middle. If
just mixing the show on the channel faders,
I now am riding the bucking bronco of readjusting dynamics processors and delay/
reverb sends on channels as they go up and
down with the show.
Equalization Masturbation
FOH
A lot of FOH engineers, both new and
experienced, can fall prey to an EQ knob
orgy that could be called “equalization masturbation.” Just because they are available
does not mean that every EQ knob must be
tweaked and re-tweaked continuously during the show. I find that if I flatten up the EQ
sections of every channel, with a few exceptions, I tend to get a high fidelity copy of
what is going on for the sound onstage. I did
not spend thousands of dollars buying flat
response mics only to screw up the mix with
channel equalization.
I believe in the garbage-in, garbageout perspective on miking bands onstage. I
usually get paid to convey a reinforced version of the stage sounds, not perform sonic
miracles to dubious sources of bad instrument tonality. Yes, I will do some commonsense adjustments like balance the boom
and click in the kick, while scooping out 200
Hz and dump some lows off the hi-hat and
overhead cymbal mics if the other drums are
miked up. I have been amazed with many
gigs where I ended the night not having to
adjust many of the instrument mics flatness.
Of course, a lot of it can come from judicious
selection of mics on sources.
In The Trenches
Neal Robirds
Audio Engineer/Entertainment Tech
HFEC (Silver Dollar City)
Branson, MO
www.silverdollarcity.com
417.425.5039
turnitupneal@gmail.com
Production Manager/Monitor Engineer
Austin, TX
www.wailers.com
512.636.1964
mike@wailers.com
Services: Live theater sound.
Clients: Four years of Silver Dollar City's
Charles Dickens’ A Dickens Christmas Carol,
SDC's Circus on Ice, World Fest, Ireland's
Feet of Fire, bluegrass and BBQ festivals
with top names in Bluegrass.
Quote: “On my most difficult day, I still
love this!”
Personal Info: Audio engineer since 1982.
At SDC since July 1994, running live sound
for bands and production shows with fellow tech crewmembers I call my friends. I am
privileged to engineer shows for Grammynominated and Grammy-winning groups
that give our live audience a performance
that they usually only see on TV or hear on
the radio.
Hobbies: Sound was my hobby and now
it’s my career. I enjoy woodworking, camping with the family, hunting, fishing and
computers.
32
JANUARY 2009
Michael “Cochise”
Hernandez
Services: Touring production, stage management, audio engineering.
Equipment: Consoles: Yamaha LS9, Yamaha PM3000, Soundcraft LX7ii 32, Soundcraft
spirit monitor II 40 ch. Amps: QSC, Crown,
Crest, EQs: Ashly, Rane. Speakers: Yamaha,
JBL, Klipsch, Ramsa, EAW. Microphones:
Rack of 16 Shure UHF-R series wireless with
UR1M body packs. Shure Beta 53 headworn microphones, Shure Beta 58, Shure
Beta 57, Shure KSM44, AT4050, AKGD112,
Shure Beta 98, Shure SM81, Sennheiser
MD421II and E604, Snakes/cables: Horizon
and Proco. Direct boxes: Whirlwind and
Countryman, Computers: MacPro32-8 G5
Pro Tools. PreSonus Digimax, FireStudio,
360 Systems DR-554E Instant Replay.
Don’t leave home without: Briefcase with headphones, white board
tape, Sharpie, notepad, cell phone,
container of adapters, favorite CD
and patience.
Clients: I’ve been with the Wailers fulltime
since March 2008. Previous touring clients
include Morrissey, Duran Duran, Madonna,
Barry Manilow, Tom Jones, Earth, Wind,
and Fire, Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits
Festival and Bonnaroo.
on the road making it happen around the
world.
Quote: “Do what you gotta do to make the
gig happen. No matter how long our day is
all that matters is the two hours the band
is on stage.”
Equipment: Whatever I’m standing behind. Presently, we just carry band gear
and a Shure wirelesss mic and in-ears system for our lead singer.
Personal Info: Sixteen-year touring veteran who still loves each and every day
Don’t leave home without: Two pairs of
comfortable footwear.
Hobbies: Touring and more touring.
If you’d like to see yourself featured in “In the Trenches,” visit
www.fohonline.com/trenches to submit your information to FOH,
or e-mail trenches@fohonline.com for more info.
www.fohonline.com
Regional Slants
Bill Paterno
Walkin’ the Walk
From (L to R): Brandon Royer, engineer, installer and production manager; John Wagoner, engineer; Katie Robinette,
production assistant; Nick Mondo, production and install technician; Stephanie Seiple, production coordinator and
marketing; Rich Mckie, sales and rental manager; Brian Gilpin, president.
By David JohnFarinella
T
Poison rocking out in the country
here’s about a 50-50 chance that when
a truck pulls out of the Illusion Sound &
Lighting driveway it will find itself behind
a buggy. That will happen when a company is
headquartered in Ephrata, Pa.’s Amish country.
“Yeah, sometimes we’ll end up going three
miles an hour following a buggy,” admits Brian
Gilpin, president of Illusion Sound & Lighting.
“Being out here is kind of a cool thing, but manufacturers and bands come out and say, ‘Dude,
I didn’t even think you guys had electricity here
because you’re in the middle of farm land.’”
Gilpin has been working in the sound business since 1981, when he started gigging as
a mobile DJ. After 15 years of spinning discs,
Gilpin moved into installations and sound reinforcement for live entertainment. In 2000,
the company added lights and two years later
staging and roof systems. “I made the mobile
DJ thing go away because, to me, it was fairly
boring,” Gilpin admits. “It got to the point where
I was DJing through a concert rig and people
were asking why their house system didn’t
sound as good. That lead to the install work and
then I just kept adding gear.”
The move into lighting and staging came,
Gilpin reports, when he was looking for ways to
simplify the job for clients. “It seemed to me a
perfect marriage, because when you’re doing a
show the lighting guy is often in a sound guy’s
way and the sound guy is often in the lighting
guy’s way,” he reports. “The roofing and staging
happened because we were looking for a way
to make ourselves unique. We weren’t thinking
we were going to be the biggest sound, lighting
or staging company. We just wanted to be able
to answer the phone and say, ‘You bring a band
and an audience. We’ll take care of the rest.’”
Going One-Stop
FOH
Turns out that the local marketplace was
not quite ready for that approach. “We got a lot
of people saying, ‘Why aren’t other people doing that?’ Or they would ask us, ‘Well, what do
I have to do?’ It took awhile for them to understand that all they had to do was show up and
tell us where the right front edge of the stage
should be,” Gilpin says. “One of the things about
doing it as a turnkey package is that we’re not
waiting for anybody else and we can do it much
faster.”
At the same time, Gilpin made sure that
none of the company’s gear or trucks are
marked with a logo. “We have a lot of companies that will sub us,” he explains. “So, we show
up and fly the PA or whatever we’re doing and
provide great customer service. We found that
it’s better to not compete against everyone else
in the world, but to offer support to them along
with what we do.”
Considering CLAIR, Atomic Design and
Mountain Productions are all in the immediate
area, Gilpin’s invisibility policy is a smart one. At
the same time, he says, “I have a good relationship with all of those companies.”
While the company has been concentrating on servicing the local festival and fair market, Gilpin says that they are looking at getting
into touring in 2009. “We’ve been offered legs
of tours before, but we’ve turned them down
only because we’ve been busy with multipleday events,” he says. “But we’ve recently talked
to three acts, and it looks like we’re going to get
those tours. It’s the first time we’ve taken the
calls and had the meetings.”
The Right Gear for the Gig
FOH
To help service the additional work, Gilpin is in the process of buying two additional
speaker systems and consoles for Illusion.
“We’re building two more complete systems.
Some of it will be used for the tours, since two
of them overlap by two weeks, but it’s mostly
to support our growth,” he says. “We can do
four shows at one time. We have four roof systems, four stages, four lighting rigs, four audio rigs and then enough to be dangerous on
a fifth show. We don’t have a complete fly rig
and 120 K of lighting and a bunch of moving
stuff, but these other two systems will turn it
into six full-blown systems and then enough
gear that there is plenty of backup stuff.”
The company, he says, takes meticulous
care of its gear and then turns it over every
three years. The driving factor for gear purchases are the riders that he sees. “If I see
something that’s out of the norm, I’ll call that
engineer and say, ‘I notice you have a X-Y-Z
on here. That’s the first time I’ve seen that
on a rider. Why did you pick it?’ That sparks
enough interest that I’ll grab FOH to see who
else is talking about it. That typically starts a
snowball effect, and I’ll hear a lot about it and
we’ll determine if it’s something that we’re
going to add into inventory.”
As for 2009, Gilpin is seeing a change in
how promoters and producers are approaching the fairs and festivals in the region. Rather
than bringing in a major act for $100,000 or
so for one show on Tuesday night, the plans
are for doing six shows in a row with smaller
acts. “They say they’re going to spend a little
more money to have $35,000 acts six times
during the week, but they’re going to fill all
those days versus just one,” he says. “That’s
how it seems to be working, and at this point,
we’ve got about 20 percent more work on the
calendar for 2009 than we did for 2008.”
Illusion’s combination of gear and work
ethic has kept them busy. “We’ve been
lucky that we own the right gear, we’ve got
the right employees and the right attitude,
and that we can talk the talk and walk the
walk.”
Company
Page
Phone
Web
Company
Page
Phone
Web
A&S Case Company
14
818.509.5920
http://foh.hotims.com/23504-210
Meyer Sound Laboratories
C2
510.486.1166
http://foh.hotims.com/23504-112
Allen Products / ATM Flyware
10
562.424.1100
http://foh.hotims.com/23504-238
North American Pro Audio
17
870.755.6263
http://foh.hotims.com/23504-223
Audio-Technica
23
330.686.2600
http://foh.hotims.com/23504-131
OVO/ Mega Systems
30
210.684.2600
http://foh.hotims.com/23504-154
AudioEast
6
866.274.4590
http://foh.hotims.com/23504-124
QSC Audio Products
C4
800.854.4079
http://foh.hotims.com/23504-115
Bosch/Midas Digial Consoles
C1, 21
248.876.1000
http://foh.hotims.com/23504-161
Radial Engineering / Cabletek 13
604.942.1001
http://foh.hotims.com/23504-179
Carvin Pro Audio
6
800.854.2235
http://foh.hotims.com/23504-198
Sennheiser Electronic Corp.
29
860.434.9190
http://foh.hotims.com/23504-209
Checkers Industrial Products
30
800.438.9336
http://foh.hotims.com/23504-215
Spectrum Sound
10
615.391.3700
http://foh.hotims.com/23504-224
Crown Audio
9
574.294.8000
Telefunken
27
860.882.5919
http://foh.hotims.com/23504-242
dbx Professional Products
33
801.568.7660
TMB
15
818.899.8818
http://foh.hotims.com/23504-120
Ebtech
27
800.284.5172
http://foh.hotims.com/23504-239
Westone Music Products
4
719.540.9333
http://foh.hotims.com/23504-121
Eminence Speakers
7
502.845.5622
http://foh.hotims.com/23504-240
Worx Audio
27
336.275.7474
http://foh.hotims.com/23504-122
FDW-W / Cable-Up
11
608.227.2040
http://foh.hotims.com/23504-177
FDW-W / Sontronics
19
608.227.2040
http://foh.hotims.com/23504-177
Yamaha Commercial Audio
Systems
1, C3
714.522.9011
http://foh.hotims.com/23504-123
FDW-W / Vu
25
608.227.2040
http://foh.hotims.com/23504-177
Full Compass
8
49 (0) 9421/706-0
http://foh.hotims.com/23504-175
Hi-Tech Audio Systems
35
650.742.9166
http://foh.hotims.com/23504-127
Full Compass / Shure
24
49 (0) 9421/706-0
http://foh.hotims.com/23504-175
HME
35
858.535.6054
http://foh.hotims.com/23504-232
Kaltman Creations
3
678.714.2000
http://foh.hotims.com/23504-216
New York Case/ Hybrid Cases
35
800.645.1707
http://foh.hotims.com/23504-168
KS Audio
5
727.447.9656
http://foh.hotims.com/23504-241
Sound Productions
35
800.203.5611
http://foh.hotims.com/23504-129
Under Cover
35
508.997.7600
http://foh.hotims.com/23504-234
34
200.0901.34.indd 34
JANUARY 2009
MARKET PLACE
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1/6/09 4:39:13 PM
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2009 JANUARY
35
FOH-at-Large
And Now, The News…
By BakerLee
H
appy New Year! The news is back,
and due to the ingenious way the
media filled in with two years of
election coverage, barely anyone noticed
that it was even missing. Before the start
of the election coverage there was a good
two years of Britney, Paris and Lindsay
gracing the headlines with their partying
ways—flashing skin, doing jail time, going to rehab—basically entertaining the
masses with their wild and crazy antics.
Then suddenly, and thankfully, they
were gone from the television and newspaper headlines, only to be replaced with
two years of Hillary, Barack, John and
Sarah as they battled it out on the presidential trail to a historic and headlinemaking finish.
Since there was no other news that
made it to the papers, radio or television,
I assume that for the last four years of the
current political administration there was
not much going on around the world and
nothing to report. Oh, sure, there were
wars, bombings, a monumental financial
collapse and all the standard horrors that
people inflict upon each other, but it all
seemed to take a back seat to celebrity
party girls and the race for the U.S. presidency.
The News Is Back
FOH
Fortunately, that’s all behind us now and
the news is back. Unfortunately, the news is
not all that good, and in the last four years
we were preoccupied with the three party
girls and the minute-by-minute election
coverage, a lot has taken place. First of all,
the government has finally declared that the
country is officially in a recession. Woo, Hoo!
This means that all of our worst fears over
the past year are validated and we can move
on from worrying to being downright terrified. That’s the big news; the other big news
is that Brit is back. After her big and public
breakdown she laid low for a while (while
the election was being covered) preparing
COMING NEXT
MONTH...
FOH Interview
It’s the Mick and Paul
Show...
Production Profile
Two continents, two
soundcos, one band.
Oh, and a juicy lawsuit.
Welcome to Coldplay.
Buyers Guide
Digital consoles under
$80K
36
200.0901.36.indd 36
to restart her career (and news coverage) directly after the election. Well done!
In other news, it has been reported that
football star Plaxico Burress shot himself
in the leg and killed his career, Oprah is fat
again, weighing in at 200 pounds, and O.J.
is finally doing time. Crime is on the rise in
most major cities and a Wal-Mart guard was
trampled to death by overzealous Christmas
and the service businesses such as hair stylists, clothing stores and restaurants begin
to feel the pinch. The arts, which are usually
well funded by the wealthy, suffer as well
as the event and party scene. Fewer people
can afford concert tickets, and business negotiations at every level break down to a
point where vendors are slashing prices and
giving away gear to get new clients or just
“It may be hard times, but let’s not lose
sight of what we do and how we do it.”
shoppers. Tina Fey is now on the “A” list, while
Hilary and Barrack are now in bed together
(so to speak) after a brutal two years of bickering. Gov. Patterson of New York is considering Caroline Kennedy as a replacement for
the Senate seat once held by Hilary Clinton,
while an Illinois governor is being brought
up on corruption charges that he allegedly
was involved in selling the Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama. The big three car
manufacturers need a bailout in the form of
billions of dollars, and to show their solidarity with the millions of people who have lost
their jobs as well as their savings, the three
CEOs travel from Detroit to Washington in
their private jets to plead their case before
Congress.
Yes, it appears that the news is back and
just in time to report that the economy is
gone and soon to be forgotten. It’s true that
many lower echelon workers in the banking
and investment field have lost their savings,
but the real devastation is being wreaked
upon the very rich and those that they supported. This is where we start to see a real
trickledown effect as the uber-rich cut back
to keep a client from looking elsewhere to
fulfill his or her needs.
Desperate Times Calls For…
FOH
Unfortunately, it is desperate times
such as these that, in many cases, cause a
lapse in integrity. While it was greed that
unhinged the honor of the wealthy and
brought down the economy, I refer more
to the loss of perspective in how we go
about doing our jobs when confronted
with economic stress. While the calls for
the service that I provide have not ceased
to come in, I do find that there are more
people calling in and fishing for the lowest dollar amount. No one outwardly
wants to sacrifice quality but—more often than not—bids that just a year ago
went unquestioned are being scrutinized
in regard to the bottom line.
To survive, I have had to keep my ego
in check and figure out a new model for
placing bids. During the gilded age of
only a few years ago, I would bid a show
according to what I thought was the correct audio system in accord with the nec-
essary labor for the event. Most clients
placed their trust and faith in me, and
money was no object. Regrettably, after
the fall, people became wary of all bids
and tended to question each and every
cost involved with an event. To a fault, I
try to accommodate them knowing full
well that there are 10 other vendors who
would be willing to slash their costs just
to get the show.
Negotiating budgets is fine, but
slashing costs and compromising service should not be synonymous. As an
example, I found myself in an awkward
position when one of my clients—a wellknown national act—called upon me to
provide audio for an event they were doing in a small venue in Manhattan. I have
done a few shows at the venue and I am
familiar with the quirks of the club.
The system that I recommended
was the correct system for the space as
well as the act. We opted for only the
Yamaha PM5D to be used as both the
monitor and front-of-house console, as
there were only six or seven mixes being
used on stage The production manager,
being budget-conscious, told me that
he would rather use the house system
instead of my system for front-of-house,
even though I, along with my trusted
crew, pointed out that it was flown
inappropriately for a live show. I even
offered my system for a cut rate, but he
declined the offer, and against my better
judgment, I accepted the cut.
Maintain Pride and Integrity
FOH
I say against my better judgment because I knew that the club system was
not suitable for what they wanted to do.
Instead of just sending the racks ‘n’ stacks
at no charge, or for an unreasonably cut
rate, I let him hang himself because he
was so uncompromising and insistent.
On a business level, I may have been correct in my actions, but in circumstances
such as these we all hang by the same
rope. The show was difficult and not as
good as it should have been
As predicted, the house system was
not set up properly for a live show. Afterwards, the tour manager apologized
and told me that the next time he called
he would take my advice, but it was a
lesson for both of us in learning to deal
in a new financial environment. Keeping
a budget within limit is more important
now than ever before, but that does not
mean that either buyer or seller should
compromise quality of service for lack of
quantity in the wallet.
It may be hard times, but let’s not
lose sight of what we do and how we do
it. We need to find a way to maintain the
quality that we all expect since no one
wants or needs their name associated
with an inferior product. Remember,
we are only as good as our last show! In
volatile times such as these, if we decide
to do a show—even when the budget
is lacking—we must still maintain our
pride and integrity and do it right.
www.fohonline.com
1/5/09 10:43:12 PM
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