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Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Dave Rat 01/10/12 06:27 PM,Beauty in art revolves around the realization that there is no “correct” way for something to look, sound or feel. I believe this to be also true about the way audio is presented at a rock show. In fact, there’s a fairly wide range of possible sonic footprints which a sound engineer can offer the music to the audience while still maintaining an impressive auditory presentation. An even bigger challenge is to find a “sound and mix” that optimally compliments… View this story
Filed in: Live Sound • Feature • Poll • Study Hall • Concert • Engineer • Mixer • Sound Reinforcement • Technician -
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Dave Rat 11/23/11 01:09 PM,At age 17, I dreamed of someday working in a recording studio and listening to music. Having no real idea what a studio engineer did other than record stuff, I loved the way music made me feel and it seemed to be a pretty good idea to get paid to listen to music. The energy, excitement and thrill received from unwrapping new sounds into my ears seemed to scoop me away into timelessness. Even still memories flood back of the… View this story
Filed in: Live Sound • Audio • Concert • Digital Audio Workstations • Digital • Engineer • Microphone • Networking -
Thursday, November 03, 2011
Dave Rat 11/03/11 03:26 PM,Strewn across the fields of true technological and artistic credibility, the world of pro audio is littered with misinformation, overhyped irrelevance and useless complexities. Sorting through the debris to distill useful and accurate concepts can be quite challenging. Whenever possible, I devise comparative test methods to prove or unravel various theories and assumptions. Rather than meticulously documenting the results, I opt for constructing and sharing simple repeatable test methods so that anyone who wishes to repeat the results can independently… View this story
4 Comments
Filed in: Live Sound • Feature • Poll • Audio • Engineer • Measurement • Signal • Sound Reinforcement -
Thursday, September 08, 2011
Dave Rat 09/08/11 09:20 AM,To accomplish anything in life, we, as humanly creatures, must utilize an assortment of resources to accomplish any given task. For example, going to a store to purchase something involves brain time in making the decision to venture out, “wear and tear” on our vehicle, and the depletion of our finances – all are expenditures of resources. Even something as simple as watching TV, in which our visual and auditory perceptions are held captive or distracted, can be viewed from… View this story15 Comments
Filed in: Live Sound • Feature • Poll • Audio • Consoles • Digital • Engineer • Mixer • Processor -
Friday, August 05, 2011
Dave Rat 08/05/11 03:22 PM,Back in 1974, the Grateful Dead put together what was easily the most unique, experimental and perhaps complex sound system ever configured for live sound reinforcement in that era. This system was named the “Wall of Sound” and jt was a complete divergence from conventional sound reinforcement thinking. There were two key concepts combined together resulting in a very interesting outcome: 1) Because PA systems of the day were stacked on either side of the stage and often blocked audience… View this story8 Comments
Filed in: Live Sound • Feature • Poll • Audio • Concert • Education • Line Array • Loudspeaker • Sound Reinforcement • Stage • System -
Friday, July 29, 2011
Dave Rat 07/29/11 06:01 PM,I’m asked a lot of questions about sound. Many of them focus on unraveling and understanding some particular function, feature or concept, while others are directed toward distilling my opinion on methods or industry trends. A while ago. I was asked some questions that led me to some in-depth pondering. The questions: Why are line arrays so popular? Are they a fad or here to stay? And what will be the “next big thing”? The fact is that line array-type… View this story9 Comments
Filed in: Live Sound • Feature • Poll • Concert • Line Array • Loudspeaker • Measurement • Sound Reinforcement • Subwoofer -
Monday, July 18, 2011
Dave Rat 07/18/11 07:23 PM, 0 CommentsIt’s pretty common knowledge that if you get the wires mixed up when hooking up two loudspeakers that something “not good” happens. Loudspeaker phase (actually, polarity) seems at first glance a pretty simple concept. If both loudspeakers are moving outward at the same time the sound adds together, and if one is moving out while the other moves in, the sound cancels out, especially the low frequencies. Hearing this effect is quite easily demonstrated - listen to your home stereo… View this story
Filed in: Live Sound • Feature • Poll • Study Hall • Consoles • Loudspeaker • Microphone • Mixer • Monitoring • Sound Reinforcement • Stage -
Wednesday, July 06, 2011
Dave Rat 07/06/11 02:02 PM,As live mix engineers, the audio reinforcement systems we operate typically fall into two categories: mono or stereo. Yes, there are the occasional opportunities to mix surround sound, and for many events, delay clusters or various fill loudspeakers are common, but for the most part it’s all about some version of mono or stereo. While on the surface it may seem that stereo offers just a version of dual mono, there is a lot more to stereo than just two… View this story
Filed in: Live Sound • Feature • Poll • Consoles • Engineer • Loudspeaker • Microphone • Mixer • Processor • Sound Reinforcement -
Friday, June 24, 2011
Dave Rat 06/24/11 05:45 PM, 0 CommentsEver notice that some shows sound really bright, I mean, the “ouch kind-of-crazy painful” type of bright - and what is the engineer thinking?” You’re a month into a tour, getting off a plane en route to another show. Hmm… Wonder if your ears are the same trustworthy, spring-fresh little helpers they were three weeks ago? Or maybe - just maybe - the rigors of travel combined with that head cold, eight beers and four hours of sleep last night… View this story
Filed in: Live Sound • Feature • Poll • Study Hall • Audio • Education • Measurement • Processor • Sound Reinforcement -
Wednesday, June 08, 2011
Dave Rat 06/08/11 01:04 PM, 2 CommentsThose of us who indulge in live sound spend countless hours paying attention to every detail in the audio signal chain - comparing, pondering opinionating and deciding every issue that crosses our path. Does this mixing console sound better? Do I need to spend an extra $2,000 on a vocal compressor? Can you please move the guitar mic two millimeters to the left? Does phantom power really ruin ribbon mics? One question persists, however: to what end is all this… View this story
Filed in: Live Sound • Feature • Poll • Audio • Education • Engineer • Loudspeaker • Signal • Sound Reinforcement • Subwoofer • System
Articles Tagged Dave Rat
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