-
Tuesday, May 21, 2013One-Stop Shopping: Captain, What Does It Mean, This Term “Full Production”?
Teri Hogan 05/21 02:30 PM,Sound companies handle “one-off” shows every day. It’s usually formulaic, and after a while, we do it by rote. But what happens when the client wants one-stop shopping? This is also known as “full production” or “turnkey service,” and it’s quite a bit more involved than an average show. Generally months of planning and coordination are needed, as well as work with a number of subcontractors. It just can’t be done by the seat of the pants. Normally, when a… View this story
Filed in: Live Sound • Feature • Study Hall • Production • Audio • Business • Concert • Engineer • Sound Reinforcement • Technician -
Thursday, May 16, 2013Avoiding Poor Judgment & Getting A Handle On Subjective Audio
James Cadwallader 05/16 06:08 PM,I suspected trouble when I accepted responsibility for something I had no control over. There was a 50/50 chance of either being the hero or the whipping boy. I didn’t care for those odds, but I couldn’t change them. It all started when a friend of the family asked me to help make sure that the sound for his wedding didn’t ruin the ceremony. The catch was that I wasn’t handling the sound - his cousin, the part-time DJ, had… View this story
Filed in: Live Sound • Feature • Blog • Engineer • Measurement • Signal • Sound Reinforcement • System • Technician -
Monday, May 13, 2013How Do You Know What Sounds Good?
Karl Winkler 05/13 04:41 PM,Most of us feel that we know good sound when we hear it. We also have tools to help us analyze the properties of sound, and we’ve learned to interpret those measurements and equate them with good and bad. But I find it fascinating that sometimes even when things measure “poorly,” we say that it sounds good anyway. Or, conversely, sometimes the measurements look spectacular but “there’s just something wrong.” The challenge is defining what actually constitutes “good” sound, and… View this story
Filed in: Live Sound • Feature • Blog • Concert • Digital • Engineer • Line Array • Mixer • Signal • Sound Reinforcement • System -
Thursday, May 09, 2013Return To Form: Reinforcing The Special Energy Of The Black Crowes
Greg DeTogne 05/09 05:19 PM,The Black Crowes have returned with this year’s Lay Down With Number 13 tour, emerging triumphantly fit and in full fighting form from an “indefinite” hiatus announced in April, 2010 that put performances on hold in the U.S. after the band played San Francisco’s Fillmore Auditorium later that year. Now, with the band’s fourth live album, Wiser for the Time, released in March of this year as a digital download and 4-record vinyl set, timing was never better for the… View this story
Filed in: Live Sound • Feature • Blog • Concert • Consoles • Engineer • Loudspeaker • Microphone • Monitoring • Processor • Sound Reinforcement • Technician -
Microfiles: The American D-22, Form & Function In One Package
Craig Leerman 05/09 12:28 PM,When I got serious about collecting microphones I started a list of the models I wanted, and one of the first names on the list was the D-22 from the American Microphone Company. It’s a beautiful omnidirectional microphone with two-tone coloring and a very modern unique look. American was a popular manufacturer from the 1930s and into the mid-1960s. The company was founded by Fern A. Yarbrough in Los Angeles, later relocating to Pasadena, CA, and it built mics primarily… View this story
Filed in: Live Sound • Feature • Blog • Study Hall • Microphone • Sound Reinforcement • Studio -
Tuesday, May 07, 2013A Great Mix? Sometimes It Depends On Who You Ask…
Dave Rat 05/07 05:31 PM,Mixing sound in the live realm is not rocket science. In fact, it’s probably closer to voodoo. A studio engineer creates a masterpiece that will (hopefully) live forever in permanent hard copy existence. But the very nature of a live mixing dictates that every show will be unique - and that none will be perfect. A front of house engineer is in the business of creating a memory. Impact, excitement and anticipation form the landscape of the journey you’re guiding… View this story
Filed in: Live Sound • Feature • Blog • Study Hall • Concert • Engineer • Mixer • Signal • Sound Reinforcement • System -
Monday, May 06, 2013Frickin’ Lasers: Exploring Better Drum Sound
Andrew Greenwood 05/06 04:46 PM,The Sennheiser Technology & Innovation lab in California has created a new concept microphone designed to explore new tools for drum capture. At its core, the Element system offers the ability to detect when an individual drum has been physically hit. This allows the engineer to carefully craft the sound of the drum set with less bleeding and tighter control over tone and dynamics. As with previous concept mics, this prototype is aimed at sharing new ideas with our users… View this story
Filed in: Live Sound • Feature • Blog • Video • Education • Microphone • Sound Reinforcement -
Friday, May 03, 2013Making It Sing: Microphones For Lead And Background Vocals
Gary Parks 05/03 05:31 PM,The crowd waits impatiently for the lights to come up, to hear a single voice rise in song, riding above the instruments. The vocal microphone in the singer’s hand, reinforced by the rest of the signal chain, carries a voice to thousands of eager listeners that would scarcely reach the first rows unaided. Of course, mics have reinforced vocals for many decades, and by allowing singers to be heard, they’ve played an integral role in the rise of the popular… View this story
Filed in: Live Sound • Feature • Blog • Engineer • Microphone • Sound Reinforcement • Stage • Wireless -
Thursday, May 02, 2013Slick & Seamless: Developing A Live Digital Recording System
Todd Hartmann 05/02 03:51 PM,Choosing an audio console can be likened to a guitarist choosing an ax – it’s the pallet with which one creates. Some engineers have built their mixing techniques around plug-ins while others rely on complex channel grouping or outboard gear. It’s difficult to classify one platform as “better” or “worse” than another, simply because it boils down to one question: does it help produce the best-sounding show possible in the shortest amount of time? In addition, due to the enormous… View this story
Filed in: Live Sound • Feature • Blog • Study Hall • Consoles • Digital • Digital Audio Workstations • Ethernet • Interconnect • Networking • Processor • Software -
Wednesday, May 01, 2013Defying Gravity…Safely: Approaches And Best Practices In Flying Loudspeakers
Craig Leerman 05/01 04:36 PM,Some in audio think that the term “rigging” only applies when loudspeakers are flown, but it also pertains to lesser endeavors such as placing a single loudspeaker on a tripod stand. The bottom line is that for any piece of production gear not sitting directly on the ground, steps must be in place to insure that it does not fall and injure someone (or worse). The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the U.S. agency that sets and enforces work… View this story
Filed in: Live Sound • Feature • Blog • Study Hall • Installation • Interconnect • Line Array • Loudspeaker • Sound Reinforcement
Live Sound Features
Product Showcase
Advertising
Learn more about product showcase listings
Sponsored Links
- Review the latest products in the industry at the ProSoundWeb Product Showcase - PSW Product Showcase