Le Studio Complex in Morin Heights, QC is dying slowly!!!

The former Le Studio Complex in Morin Heights, QC now sadly stands in ruins! The current owners of the once famous recording studio have let the building fall into great disrepair!!! It is sad to see this studio dying slowly deep in the forests of Morin Heights. I just found the most recent video taken in July 2014. The camera eye reveals the building in its current condition. The weather and elements have taken their tole on the building while vandalism is completely apparent.

The currents owners have done nothing to the building or the lands surrounding it since they purchased it a number of years ago. That is really so sad that they are letting this building die a slow death. I think the owners should sell the property to someone who is willing to put the work in to bring the studio complex back to life again. At the current rate of decay, there is a possibility that this building will not survive much longer!!! Someone needs to rescue it from its peril....

Here is a the video I found yesterday showing the deterioration of the building.

How The Aux-Fed Subwoofer Technique Works

Today, I saw a great article on Prosoundweb about the technique of using aux-fed subwoofers in your sound system setup. This is where you assign a post-fade aux send output to your subwoofers as an independant mix. So, for things like kick drum, bass guitar only those signals would end up at the subwoofers while other signals like vocals, piano do not go to the sub mix. The result is a cleaner mix.
Here is the link to the article:
http://www.prosoundweb.com/article/a_detailed_explanation_of_the_aux_fed_subwoofer_technique/

Provided with the article is a great diagram that shows the hookup schematics for a Traditional Subwoofer system and an Aux-Fed Subwoofer system. Personally, I have tried the aux-fed subwooder technique and it works great. (see diagram below). Happy Mixing!!!

Manteca Live at Aeolian Hall, London, ON.

On Friday, May 8th, I went to see Canadian jazz group "Manteca" live in concert at Aeolian Hall, London, ON. What an amazing performance by an awesome band! This gang really knows how to entertain! It was such a treat to see this kind of band up close and personal in a unique venue.

Speaking of the venue, it was my first time at Aeolian Hall in London, ON. What an excellent venue!
The acoustics are amazing inside this room! The venue is quite unique in that it has been many other things before becoming a concert hall. Now that I have discovered this place, I am looking forward to the next opportunity to see another show in this wonderful venue!

Tony Crea was at the Front of House helm working the excellent sound mix for the show. He is a master FOH Engineer. I actually had met Tony Crea back in the mid 1990s when I was working as a house theatre technician at the Victoria Playhouse in Petrolia, Ontario. Tony used to come in to mix concerts and he taught me so much about live sound engineering. It was so great to meet up with him again after many years!

After the show was over, my friend Ian Gifford and myself stuck around to meet some of the Manteca band members.

First, I met up with Colleen Allen the only woman member of Manteca. Such a wonderfully talented musician who plays many kinds of saxophones in the band.

Then I briefly met Doug Wilde, the keyboardist for Manteca who is also an amazing musician. He was busy tearing down his gear and getting ready to load-out of the venue but, I shook his hand and thanked him for a wondeful performance.

Then I finally had my chance to meet Matt Zimbel, the leader of Manteca in person! I have been chatting with him on Facebook for a few years now ever since the band started touring again after a 10 year hiatus. I was so happy to finally meet Matt in person and he gave me his attention while he was tearing down his kit of congas from the stage. We chatted for awhile until he was done packing up his gear and then we went our separate ways.

For me, this concert was one that I had wanted to see for a very long time ever since I became and fan of the group back in college. Now, if there was a way to get Manteca to come to my hometown of Sarnia, ON. to play a concert... That would be so awesome!!!

The Industry Theatre - Sarnia, ON - FOR SALE

The Industry Theatre in downtown Sarnia, Ontario is currently on the market FOR SALE. Asking price for the former movie theatre turned night club is $289 900.00. It has a size of 10,000 Square Ft. and is zoned for many different uses.

Click on this link to view information about this property on the ICX.ca Commercial Real Estate web site:

http://www.icx.ca/propertyDetails.aspx?propertyId=15319587&PidKey=866337256

Le Studio - Temple Of Sound - Episode Two

Today, I watched episode two of the Le Studio - Temple of Sound documentary series. Episode one was released last year which is the history of how the studio was created.
Episode two talks about the studio in its current state of ruin. The current owners of the building purchased it with ideas to create something new but, to date those plans have fallen through the cracks. Episode two talks about 80% of the building except for the actual recording studio part. That part is will be dedicated to a full episode three.

Here is the video of episode two:
\

If you didnt watch episode one then, you probably should watch it first so that you will be informed of the history of the studio first.

Here is the video for episode one:

Real World Gear: The Latest Passive and Active 2-way Loudspeakers

For the majority of work I do as a sound technician, I make use of 2-way style loudspeakers. You have choices of either passive or active types. Passive type that requires external amplification and Active type that has onboard processing, amplification and even a mixer. Both types have their advantages.

Passive type speakers are a great companion to the powered mixer setup. Plug in each speaker with one cable to the powered mixer speaker outputs and you are done. Great for simple setups in all small venues like coffee houses, record stores, and small bars. Only thing that limits this setup is the power output of the powered mixer. You need to match the speakers with available power amp output. Most powered mixer have two power amp channels and work nicely with most passive speakers.

Active type speakers have the advantage of onboard amplification and processing that is perfectly matched for the individual speaker. Also great for small setups with or without a separate mixer depending upon your input count required. Active speakers can be used with any regular mixer by using a standard line level cable for hookup. The active speaker requires the addition of an AC cable to supply the speaker power. Active speakers eliminate the need for a separate power amp rack and crossover setup at the gig. Most active speakers can also be daisy-chained together with a simple signal cable connection from one to another. This allows for a flexible setup that can added onto easily.

Many speaker manufacturers have both passive and active and speakers available for just about any kind of use. A current photo gallery on the Prosoundweb.com web site showcases numerous passive and active 2-way loudspeakers available on the market.

Click on the link to view the gallery:  http://www.prosoundweb.com/photos/category/C165

SarniaRocks.com - Sarnia, Ontario's Online Entertainment Guide

The web site for SarniaRocks.com is a great resource highlighting all the entertainment happening around the city of Sarnia. It features listing for all kinds of local events from bar shows to theatre performances. There is also business listings for everything from A to Z in Sarnia. If you are a local Sarnia/Lambton county resident, check out the web site regularly to keep up with all the great, local entertainment happening.

Here is the web site link:  http://www.sarniarocks.com/