Alzheimer's Fundraiser Aug 21, 2021

 On August 21st, 2021, I worked my first full size sound gig since the Covid pandemic hit. The venue was outside Sarnia Bay Marina and Dockside Restaurant. The band Borderline was the featured entertainment for the evening. The gig was a huge success and organizers were very happy!

For te tech side of things, I was mixing on.thr band's full, analog sound system. Peavey passive speakers and subwoofers with  Peavey power amps. Allen & Heath WZ316:2 Mix Wizard analog mixer along with signal processing from Lexicon, dbx, Alesis and Peavey. Stage monitors were all Alto Professional TS312s. Microphones by AKG, Shure and CAD. Temporary stage designed and built by local Carpenter's Union.

Yorkville Sound Synergy Array Series Loudspeaker System

Wow! The new Yorkville Sound Synergy Array Series Loudspeaker System looks to be quite a revolutionary speaker system available for a variety of venues and applications. Check out the video below to discover all the potential of this new speaker system. Made in Canada by Yorkville Sound...



*** Double click on the window to view the full screen video ***

Take a look at this video by Doug Jones of Danley Sound Labs as he explains about the new Synergy Horn technology...

Must Have It Tools Of Pro Audio

Ron Behro:  I am freelance sound technician and the piece of gear I would need the most is my Maglite 2D cell flashlight. It is always in my took kit at every gig. There are so many time during a gig where you need to be able to see in dark places. It is just an essential tool!


Click here to read the full article on the website:
https://www.prosoundweb.com/channels/live-sound/roundtable-the-must-have-it-tools-of-the-pro-audio-trade/3/

Yamaha DXS15mkII Powered Subwoofer: Road Test by Craig Leerman

Found this article on Prosoundweb.com.

It is a Road Test by Craig Leerman for the new Yamaha DXSmkII Powered Subwoofer

Click here on the link to read the full Road Test:

https://www.prosoundweb.com/channels/live-sound/road-test-the-newyamaha-dxs15mkii/

Yamaha DXR Series Powered Loudspeakers

I worked with a band called "Borderline" and they have changed out their passive stage monitors and power amps with compact, Yamaha DXR 10 power speakers for their stage monitors.

The first time I heard these speakers in action I was completely impressed with the excellent sound quality of such a compact, portable, powered speaker! There were so easy to setup and use and provide the band with an awesome stage monitor mix!

With 1100 watts of built in power and onboard DSP, these little beauties sound amazing!

There are very easy to setup and if you need more monitors, you can just plug in and add more to the signal chain.

Here is a video from Yamaha that highlights all the features of the DXR Series Loudspeakers:

Mackie DL32R 32 Channel Wireless Digital Mixer

Last night I was out at a local bar and grill for the weekly Wednesday Night Jam. The bar is small but, it has a new Mackie DL32R Wireless Digital Mixer installed along with some Mackie SRM450 V3 Powered Loudspeakers installed too.

Last night the owner and my friend Steve, gave me his iPad and told me to have fun with the mix! I am an old school, analog sound guy but, I have been trying out mixing on digital mixers whenever I get a chance. I had never mixed on an iPad until yesterday. After I figured out where everything is located on the pad, I got reasonably comfortable with the process of mixing without a console in front of me.

Mackie has done a wonderful job of designing the Master Fader app for the iPad device! I only scratched the surface of the mixer but, I plan on going back again next week for the jam and perfect my technique!

I visited the Mackie web site to get more information on the Mackie DL32R mixer. I found a number of videos pertaining to the features and operations of the system.

Here is an overall view of the system in this video along with well respected sound engineer, Martin Frey.
(Note: Double-click on the video to open up into full screen view)

Microphone Techniques For Performers On Stage in Plays and Musicals

Here is a great article about the challenges about using microphone for performers on stage in plays, musicals, dance, opera, etc. This in not the same kind of close, direct miking that you use when mixing a rock band. It takes a great amount of skill to make things sound right and you are always learning how to do it better on every new show...

Click the link to read the full article featured today on Prosoundweb.com:
http://www.prosoundweb.com/channels/live-sound/putting-them-microphones-that-is-on-the-floor/

New Stage Almost Complete at Centennial Park in Sarnia, ON.

After 4, long years, the remediation work at Centennial Park is getting near the end! Pictured is the new stage, washrooms and concessions currently in construction on the site where the old Dow People Stage once was.

The city says that Canada's 150th Birthday on July 1st, 2017 will be the first event to be featured in the newly updated Centennial Park. The work has taken much longer to complete than originally anticipated and cost much more than first thought.

The park will be reopened in two stages. First at the end of May, the fences will come down around the area of the stage, washrooms and concessions and the playground. Then by the end of June the west side of the park is expected to be opened where the new boat launch will be.

It has been too long since Centennial Park was usable and I am certainly looking forward to going back to it to see many events at the new stage and to just enjoy the park by Sarnia Bay.

Here is picture of what the old Dow People Place used to look like before the park was closed back in 2013 for environmental issues.

As a sound technician, I am hoping to get the opportunity to mix sound for some future shows at the new stage!

Here is a link to the recent article about this story in the Sarnia Journal paper:
http://thesarniajournal.ca/canadas-150th-first-big-event-in-centennial/

Win a Rode NTR Ribbon Microphone Pair

Here is a chance to win a beautiful pair of Rode NTR Ribbon Microphones worth $1600.00!!!
Click the link below to enter the contest on the Rode web site....

http://www.soundonsound.com/competition/win-rode-ntr-ribbon-mic-pair

Good luck everyone!

"A Night At The Musicals" - 25 Years Ago Today - February 28, 1992

Today is the 25th Anniversary of my first solo sound and lighting technician gig at the Capitol Theatre in Windsor, Ontario. The date was February 28, 1992.

My good friend Suu Taylor (Marwood) was instrumental in creating and putting together a production of songs and dance from some pretty famous broadway musical productions. My friend Suu wrote me a letter and asked me if I wanted to take on the challenge of being the Head Sound and Lighting Technician for the show. I wrote back and gladly accepted (the days before we had email).

One day before the show day, I drove down to Windsor, ON. to meet up with my friend Suu to get all the sound and lighting gear together for the show at the old Capitol Theatre - the black box theatre. All the gear was provided by Vincent Massey High School drama dept and I had to sign off on it before they would let me take it. The drama teacher was a bit reluctant to let me take the gear at first but, Suu convinced him that I was trustworthy enough and responsible enough to do so.

We loaded into the theatre and did the full tech setup for the show. The bulk of lighting fixtures were hung overhead above the stage on a 40ft lighting pipe that could be raised and lowered using a hand crank pulley system. The house technician, Peter helped me access the lighting truss by lowering it down to stage height so that I could hang the lights, gel, circuit and focus. Then the truss was on it's way back up. Or at least I thought.

A few minutes later I am back at my perch which was an upstairs hallways with only window access to view the stage. I was watching the lighting truss coming back up into position and disaster struck! The entire lighting pipe came crashing down onstage in one big mess!!! The falling truss nearly missed a few of the actors as they were leaving the stage and came within an inch or two of destroying an instrument amplifier at the side of the stage where the orchestra was setup.

We were all in shock after seeing the truss fall to the stage leaving a mess of broken glass and slighting twisted fresnels! Turns out that the main cable from the pulley was connected to a large plate with 5 other cables spread out across the length of the pipe. That plate is where the connection broke and let go!

We all came running down to the stage to make sure that nobody got hurt and to take a look at the damage. This happened 4 hours before show time!!!

So, Peter called some of the other house techs to come in help fix the problem. We stripped everything that was still connected to the truss. Light fixtures and cabling all had to be removed. Next, the house techs came in with pipe wrenches to dismantle all the sections of pipe that made up the single truss. Finally, cleaning up all the broken glass from the light bulbs from the strip light fixtures.

Now there is only 3 hour left until show time and we came up with a plan to use all the working fresnels and mount them to two t-bar lighting stands and place them on each side at the back wall of the stage to achieve the back lighting effects that I required for the show. The setup was going to work well!

Just about then I saw my friend Suu and she asked me if the show could still go on and of course, I said yes! I gave her a big hug and told her not to worry and she went on her dinner break with the rest of the cast. I stayed around to make sure my lighting was going to work well with all the scenes. I was using a Strand Mantrix 24 channel, 2 scene preset manual lighting console with programmable submasters. When I got the console to check lighting I then realized that all my programmed submasters were ALL WRONG!!!!
So, I wiped them all clean and proceeded to program some new submasters to work with scenes. The rest of the show I was now going to do manually with no presets!

Even with the lighting truss disaster, we did manage to open the doors on time for the show and I figured out a way to improvise much of the lighting during the show in real time with no presets!!! The show did go on and we got a great applause after it was all over!

Afterwards in the lobby, I had some of the theatre patrons tell me how great the lighting for the show really was. I tried not to laugh about it and just accepted the compliments. Little did anyone know the craziness that had happened only hours before!

Consider The Inputs That May Exist On A Mixing Console....

http://www.prosoundweb.com/article/audio_confusing_learning_audio_is_a_life_long_process/


I just saw this article on the Prosoundweb page and I wanted to post it. Most sound technicians are completely familiar with all the inputs featured in the picture however, for new sound technincians some have never seen or even used many of the inputs on a standard mixing console. So, here is a guide to help those people learn... Keep On Rockin' - Cheers from "Soundtechguy"!

Le Studio Continues To Die A Slow, Painful Death!!!!

Just found a newer video of the completely extreme death and deterioration of the former Le Studio in Morin Heights, Quebec. It is so sad to see such a historic, Canadian institution slowing dying a horrible death in the forests of Morin Heights.
Thank you to the person who posted this video published on Sept. 18, 2016 showcasing all the current and newer damage since the last videos posted from the year before. Whoever the owners are, they need to seriously consider how much longer this building will be standing and the loss of such a great piece of Canadian musical history this place really is!






A Message Of Mercy to the current owners of Le Studio:

Why are you not doing anything with the former Le Studio building and property?
You bought the property to do something with it and now you leave it rotting away in the forests of Morin Heights! Why are letting this building die????!!!!!

If you never plan on fixing or renovating the studio building then, PLEASE sell the property to someone who has a plan to make use of the property for good. By keeping the building and not fixing it, you are just letting it die a horrible, unnecessary death!!!

You should just sell the building/property to a person or persons who have some vision for the future of the property. STOP HOLDING LE STUDIO FOR RANSOM!!!!! Please let someone else buy the building to begin the rebuilding of an icon Canadian music landmark. There are some excellent ideas of how and what to do with the building even its currents state. Please let someone buy the building and begin the plans of renovating Le Studio Morin Heights. Please don't be property hoarders anymore!!!

Great Engineer Interviews: Martin Frey

Sound Instruction.net has an interview featuring Audio Engineering Veteran, Martin Frey.
Click the link to read the interview on the web site:
http://www.soundinstruction.net/the-blog/great-engineer-interviews-martin-frey


Back in the mid 90s I was working as the Head Theatre Technician at the Victoria Playhouse in Petrolia, ON. I first met Martin Frey when he came to town with touring artists. Many years had gone by since my VPP days and thanks to Facebook, I was able to connect with Martin Frey once again.

These days I work as a freelance sound tech around my regular day job. I look up to guys like Martin because, I get to tap into their many years of experience and knowledge and a put things to use for my owns gigs. Martin always has the best answers for any professional audio question I have ever asked. Martin has no problem passing on his knowledge to anyone willing to learn and better themselves in the field.

HOC Dance Club - Sarnia and Forest, Ontario

Welcome To The HOC Dance Club with two locations in Sarnia, ON. and Forest, ON.

My friend Hana owns and operates this local dance studio which is open to participants ages 2 1/2 to adult.

Group Dance Classes are offered for the following programs:

At the end of each dance class session, participants get to perform in a ballet/dance recital show that is held at the Sarnia Library Theatre. That is I where I come in. My job is as sound and lighting technician for each recital show. Recital shows are usually held on Sunday afternoons to allow all the parents and grandparents and friends of the students to attend the show. The next ballet/dance recital show is scheduled for Sunday, December 11th. at the Sarnia Library Theatre in downtown Sarnia. I have worked a few, previous shows and I am looking forward to once again helping out my friend Hana with her upcoming show.

Recording A Live Show - How To Get A Great Gig Recording by Matt Houghton

I came across this article from November 2011 on Sound On Sound web site. The author is Matt Houghton and he illustrates all the considerations necessary when attempting to Record A Live Show at a gig. Click on link below to read the complete article:


http://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/recording-live-show

20 Ways To Make Cash From Your Audio Gear and Skills

Here is a great article from Sound On Sound magazine that was published back in 2007 and the information is still viable. I have been thinking of ways to use my sound tech skills to make a little extra cash and this article has given a number of great ideas.

The article is entitled: "20 Ways To Make Cash From Your Audio Gear & Skills". The article features numerous industry professionals providing us with their input on the subject.

Click here to read the article:

http://www.soundonsound.com/sound-advice/20-ways-create-cash-your-audio-gear-skills

Within the article, audio professional Mike Thornton provides a point-form list of good practices for all freelancer technicians just like me. See below:

As for me personally, I have made some extra cash doing freelance sound work on fashions shows. The director of the fashion show wanted someone to handle all the sound related jobs so that she could concentrate of running the show itself. I did music playback for all the fashion sets and I also mixed sound for a solo acoustic artist playing acoustic guitar before the show and during the intermission.

Coming up, I will be mixing sound for a wedding ceremony for some friends who have hired me to be sound technician/DJ for their big day. Along with the music playback, I will also be mixing a vocalist singing one song with backing tracks. With the ceremony, dinner/reception and dance/party happening all inside the same venue, I am going to be busy making sure everything goes off without a hitch.

Cheers from Soundtechguy!

DIY Press Mult - A Simple and Inexpensive Design

Here is an article written by Mike Sokol and how he created a DIY Press Mult from a few DI boxes and cables. The idea is genius! Read the following article to see how Mike Sokol came up with the design.

http://www.prosoundweb.com/article/diy_press_mult/

Russ Freeman and The Rippingtons - Stage Plot - 2016

As a sound technician, I have always been curious about the stage plots for all kinds of bands and artists. So, when I was visiting the updated web site for the band "The Rippingtons" one of my favourite jazz groups, I noticed a link for a downloadable version of the band's 2016 Stage Plot. This stage plot is NOT your typical 4 piece rock band setup! Many more instrument mics and monitor mixes than your typical band. My dream as a sound technician would be to have the opportunity to work on show for a jazz group like The Rippingtons. 

Click on this link to view a PDF version of The Rippingtons 2016 Stage Plot;

http://www.rippingtons.com/pdf/RIPPINGTONS_STAGEPLOT_2016.pdf

The Rippingtons have been a band since 1985 and they have a large discography of great work.

QSC Amplifier Selector

Which Amplifier Is Best For My Speakers/Subwoofers/Stage Monitors???

QSC Audio has a great resource tool on their web site called "Amplifier Selector". It is great tool to determine which QSC branded power amplifier you would use to power "your brand" of speakers and subwoofers. It is really easy to use.

Step 1: Select your brand of speakers then select your speaker model. Once entered you will see a list of specific QSC model power amps that would work with your particular speakers. I chose Yamaha loudspeakers as my test. Here is a screenshot of the result:

(click on image to enlarge)


Step 2: Select your brand of subwoofers then select your subwoofer model. Once entered you will see a list of specific QSC model power amps that would work with your particular subwoofers. I chose Yamaha subwoofers as my test. Here is a screenshot of the result:

(click on image to enlarge)



Lets say your speaker brand is not listed in the choices in the drop-down menu. Here is what you do:

Step 3. You can click on the box marked "or Enter the Loudspeaker Specifications". The menu changes and asks you to choose Impedance in (Ohms) and Watts - Continuous (RMS) or Program. There is also a selection for "Two Loudspeakers Per Amp Channel". For my test I chose 8 Ohms, 350 watts (program) and 2 speakers per amp channel. Here is a screenshot of the result:

(click on image to enlarge)


Step 4: Repeat the same procedure for the subwoofers: I chose 4 Ohm, 1000 Watts (program) and 1 subwoofer per amp channel. Here is a screenshot of the result:

(click on image to enlarge)


***At the bottom of the web page QSC has a disclaimer stating that the amp selector is only to be used as a guideline to choosing amps for your speaker systems.***

This is great tool that every sound technician should check out on web site. Here is the link to get your there:
http://www.qsc.com/resources/amplifier-selector/

Improvising With Sound When You Don't Have Enough Inputs

Once again, Mr. Craig Leerman has provided us with yet another excellent article on how be creative with less when working with sound. This article highlights how to maximize mixing console layouts for those time when you don't have enough inputs on a show. Sometimes it happens when you are given tech rider for show and then things are changed on show day and you may not have enough gear to support those changes. That is when you need to improvise and make thing work. Read this great article and find out some solutions to help you out when you are stuck on a show.

http://www.prosoundweb.com/article//in_focus_making_it_work/?dtc=2

In the article, Craig Leerman talks about always carrying a compact "utility" mixer to every gig which can be put into service as a sub-mixer to the main console, a distribution amplifier for outputs, a press mult, and even an adapter to interface a device to the main mixer.


Personally, I have a BEHRINGER XENYX 1204 USB mixer that sports 4 - XLR mic inputs, one-knob compressors on mic inputs, 2 - stereo inputs, 2 - pairs of main outputs, control room outputs, ALT3/4 outputs and RCA inputs for interfacing an mp3 player, laptop or tablet with a simple y-cable.

Almost every mixing console manufacturer has a line of compact, utility mixers available. Here are a selection of a some below:

MACKIE ProFX8:

This mixer packs a load of features in a small footprint!
4 -XLR Inputs, 3 - Stereo Inputs, 7-band Graphic built-in, EFX processor built-in, 3-band EQ on every channel, USB Input with level control, RCA inputs and outputs with level control, Monitor Send, EFX Send, Stereo Return Inputs, and Phantom power.

YORKVILLE SOUND PGM8:

Similar features to the Mackie Pro8FX with the addition of 2 extra XLR inputs with stereo inputs when you need just a couple more mic inputs. Also included is a Hi-Z switch on one of the mono input channels that will allow to you patch in a high impedance instrument without the need for an additional DI box.

YAMAHA MG12XU:

Similar features to the Mackie, Yorkville, and Behringer mixers above.
Includes 2 in/2 out USB functions for connecting you laptop for audio or recording with included Cubase AI DAW software download version. For those times when you need to make a simple recording of a presentation or other audio feed on on show.

SOUNDCRAFT SIGNATURE 10:

Soundcraft took the best features from some of the past, analog mixing consoles and designed it into the Signature Series. Even in the the smallest model Signature 10 you get the famous Ghost mic preamps, Sapphire British EQ with sweepable mids, Lexicon branded effects engine, dbx Limiters (High Ratio Compressors on inputs channels, Hi Pass (Low Cut) filters and 48V Phantom Power on all mic channels, 2 in/2 out USB playback and recording, Switchable Hi-Z inputs for guitars, basses and other instruments, and GB Series Audio Routing functions.

As you can see there is so many features that can be packed into a compact mixer and you should always carry one with you to every show or gig your work. Think of it as your sound safety net that will help out in a pinch when you don't have enough inputs. Happy Mixing!!!