Fun in a new theater

[Jenn[_2_]]

I've been having some good fun lately (especially today) and I thought
of all the good people of this group who have been helpful to me in the
past.

My college is about to open a new theater (actually two theaters). As
the Chair of the Performing Arts Division and the coordinator of the new
building, I've been involved in a bunch of decisions about colors,
allocation of space, scheduling, and so forth. Since the training
started today on the sound system, I thought that it would be important
to take part in as much of it as I can, so I can be available to help
the techs, stand in when someone is ill, etc.

I am certainly no pro when it comes to FOH sound, recording, etc. In
the guitar part of my performance life, I plug the cable that the sound
person hands me into my DI and I'm good to go. But today I was totally
blown away by the "coolness" of what is being handed off to us in the
next 5 weeks. I'm going to work hard to get as much hands on experience
as I can; sort of a new hobby that is related to what I do in my work.
We got the nuts and bolts of the Meyer Sound Constellation system today.
Very cool. Next week I get an intro to the Digidesign D-Show board.

Anyway, it made me think of you guys and all of the fun you must have in
your work ;-)

[Jenn[_2_]]

In article >,
"Soundhaspriority" > wrote:

> "Jenn" > wrote in message
> ..
> .
> > I've been having some good fun lately (especially today) and I thought
> > of all the good people of this group who have been helpful to me in the
> > past.
> >
> > My college is about to open a new theater (actually two theaters). As
> > the Chair of the Performing Arts Division and the coordinator of the new
> > building, I've been involved in a bunch of decisions about colors,
> > allocation of space, scheduling, and so forth. Since the training
> > started today on the sound system, I thought that it would be important
> > to take part in as much of it as I can, so I can be available to help
> > the techs, stand in when someone is ill, etc.
> >
> > I am certainly no pro when it comes to FOH sound, recording, etc. In
> > the guitar part of my performance life, I plug the cable that the sound
> > person hands me into my DI and I'm good to go. But today I was totally
> > blown away by the "coolness" of what is being handed off to us in the
> > next 5 weeks. I'm going to work hard to get as much hands on experience
> > as I can; sort of a new hobby that is related to what I do in my work.
> > We got the nuts and bolts of the Meyer Sound Constellation system today.
> > Very cool. Next week I get an intro to the Digidesign D-Show board.
> >
> > Anyway, it made me think of you guys and all of the fun you must have in
> > your work ;-)
>
> Jenn,
> Danger! You may become a gadgeteer :)
>
> Bob Morein
> (310) 237-6511

lol I'm afraid that I've started down that road ;-)

[Mike Rivers]

Soundhaspriority wrote:

> You've been a musician too long for this to happen to you, but I read an
> "oped" type piece in which the writer opined that building the home studio
> had derailed many who might be better musicians if they had concentrated on
> the music.

I've seen a lot of that. It's not that they stop developing as musicians
when they
get into the recording technology, it's that they get too distracted
with the technical
details when they should be concentrating on playing their best.

I think that it's inevitable today that recording is a part of a
musician's tools, but
I also think that it is better to use the home recording technology as a
writing,
arranging, and rehearsing tool and when it comes time to bring the songs
out to
the paying customers, go to a studio where someone else can worry about the
gear and its operation.

But alas, we've been shown time and time again that it's possible to
have all the
same gear at home at a fraction of the cost of going to a studio, so
that becomes
one more skill that the musician or writer needs to learn.

[George's Pro Sound Co.]

"Jenn" > wrote in message
...
> I've been having some good fun lately (especially today) and I thought
> of all the good people of this group who have been helpful to me in the
> past.
>
> My college is about to open a new theater (actually two theaters). As
> the Chair of the Performing Arts Division and the coordinator of the new
> building, I've been involved in a bunch of decisions about colors,
> allocation of space, scheduling, and so forth. Since the training
> started today on the sound system, I thought that it would be important
> to take part in as much of it as I can, so I can be available to help
> the techs, stand in when someone is ill, etc.
>
> I am certainly no pro when it comes to FOH sound, recording, etc. In
> the guitar part of my performance life, I plug the cable that the sound
> person hands me into my DI and I'm good to go. But today I was totally
> blown away by the "coolness" of what is being handed off to us in the
> next 5 weeks. I'm going to work hard to get as much hands on experience
> as I can; sort of a new hobby that is related to what I do in my work.
> We got the nuts and bolts of the Meyer Sound Constellation system today.
> Very cool. Next week I get an intro to the Digidesign D-Show board.
>
> Anyway, it made me think of you guys and all of the fun you must have in
> your work ;-)

That is some nice stuff!
have fun, get the basics of mic position and gain structure under your belt
before you fall into the 'I will fix it with eq" mindset
while eq is a wonderful and powerful tool
its place is after everything else that can be done to resolve a sound
quality issue
George(who runs Meyer Sound systems)

[Jenn[_2_]]

In article >,
"George's Pro Sound Co." > wrote:

> "Jenn" > wrote in message
> ..
> .
> > I've been having some good fun lately (especially today) and I thought
> > of all the good people of this group who have been helpful to me in the
> > past.
> >
> > My college is about to open a new theater (actually two theaters). As
> > the Chair of the Performing Arts Division and the coordinator of the new
> > building, I've been involved in a bunch of decisions about colors,
> > allocation of space, scheduling, and so forth. Since the training
> > started today on the sound system, I thought that it would be important
> > to take part in as much of it as I can, so I can be available to help
> > the techs, stand in when someone is ill, etc.
> >
> > I am certainly no pro when it comes to FOH sound, recording, etc. In
> > the guitar part of my performance life, I plug the cable that the sound
> > person hands me into my DI and I'm good to go. But today I was totally
> > blown away by the "coolness" of what is being handed off to us in the
> > next 5 weeks. I'm going to work hard to get as much hands on experience
> > as I can; sort of a new hobby that is related to what I do in my work.
> > We got the nuts and bolts of the Meyer Sound Constellation system today.
> > Very cool. Next week I get an intro to the Digidesign D-Show board.
> >
> > Anyway, it made me think of you guys and all of the fun you must have in
> > your work ;-)
>
> That is some nice stuff!
> have fun, get the basics of mic position and gain structure under your belt
> before you fall into the 'I will fix it with eq" mindset
> while eq is a wonderful and powerful tool
> its place is after everything else that can be done to resolve a sound
> quality issue
> George(who runs Meyer Sound systems)

Good advice, thanks George. THe Meyer Constellation system is something
to behold. All of the measuring, 20 tiny little mics, the programming
of the computers, etc, etc. Next week we start bringing ensembles and
individual musicians in there for tweeking. All so interesting. We
have Meyer Sound guys here for the next 2 weeks; good folks.

[Jenn[_2_]]

In article >,
"Soundhaspriority" > wrote:

> "Jenn" > wrote in message
> ..
> .
> > In article >,
> > "Soundhaspriority" > wrote:
> >
> >> "Jenn" > wrote in message
> >>
> >> g..
> >> .
> >> > I've been having some good fun lately (especially today) and I thought
> >> > of all the good people of this group who have been helpful to me in the
> >> > past.
> >> >
> >> > My college is about to open a new theater (actually two theaters). As
> >> > the Chair of the Performing Arts Division and the coordinator of the
> >> > new
> >> > building, I've been involved in a bunch of decisions about colors,
> >> > allocation of space, scheduling, and so forth. Since the training
> >> > started today on the sound system, I thought that it would be important
> >> > to take part in as much of it as I can, so I can be available to help
> >> > the techs, stand in when someone is ill, etc.
> >> >
> >> > I am certainly no pro when it comes to FOH sound, recording, etc. In
> >> > the guitar part of my performance life, I plug the cable that the sound
> >> > person hands me into my DI and I'm good to go. But today I was totally
> >> > blown away by the "coolness" of what is being handed off to us in the
> >> > next 5 weeks. I'm going to work hard to get as much hands on
> >> > experience
> >> > as I can; sort of a new hobby that is related to what I do in my work.
> >> > We got the nuts and bolts of the Meyer Sound Constellation system
> >> > today.
> >> > Very cool. Next week I get an intro to the Digidesign D-Show board.
> >> >
> >> > Anyway, it made me think of you guys and all of the fun you must have
> >> > in
> >> > your work ;-)
> >>
> >> Jenn,
> >> Danger! You may become a gadgeteer :)
> >>
> >> Bob Morein
> >> (310) 237-6511
> >
> > lol I'm afraid that I've started down that road ;-)
>
> You've been a musician too long for this to happen to you, but I read an
> "oped" type piece in which the writer opined that building the home studio
> had derailed many who might be better musicians if they had concentrated on
> the music. My own experience is that there is an inverse relationship
> between technical expertise and musical talent. But I have no doubt that at
> the top of the pyramid, there are people talented at both.
>
> Bob Morein
> (310) 237-6511

Much truth there, Bob. In the solo guitar part of my work especially.
Laurence Juber and Ed Gerhard are the two that I know who are really
excellent at both ends. And our recording faculty at the college,
George Stone, is one of those two-way talents. Pro jazz pianist and
arranger (old Tonight Show Band, Maynard Ferguson, et al), and is an
amazing recording guy. WOrks the Digi D-Command like he was born there.

[Mike Rivers]

Richard Webb wrote:

> IF one insists on doing it at home without going to the
> studio then the working musician with a desire to present
> the songs to the customer shoudl at least hire an engineer
> to come to the home studio to solve the technical problems
> while he/she makes music.

I've been trying to get someone to pay me to do that for years
but all the skinflints want to "learn it myself." (or on line)

[Richard Webb[_3_]]

On Wed 2037-Oct-14 08:18, Mike Rivers writes:
> I've seen a lot of that. It's not that they stop developing as
> musicians when they
> get into the recording technology, it's that they get too distracted
> with the technical
> details when they should be concentrating on playing their best.

wOuld agree. But they're told that you can do this at home. THen they try to get a general purpose computer to be the
heart of the system and run into issues there, as well as
issues with the compromises in acoustics and working
methods. sOme pretty steep slopes along that road full of
learning curves.

<snip>
> I also think that it is better to use the home recording technology
> as a writing,
> arranging, and rehearsing tool and when it comes time to bring the
> songs out to
> the paying customers, go to a studio where someone else can worry
> about the gear and its operation.

IF one insists on doing it at home without going to the
studio then the working musician with a desire to present
the songs to the customer shoudl at least hire an engineer
to come to the home studio to solve the technical problems
while he/she makes music. A friend of mine back in central
Iowa was developing a bit of a successful business modeled
on this. Haven't heard from him in a few years, but he was
suplementing his income doing vo work and other such from
his home studio using this approach quite well. Last I
spoke to him his income from making "house calls" equaled
and was on its way to surpassing his vo and session gun
income.

> But alas, we've been shown time and time again that it's possible to
> have all the
> same gear at home at a fraction of the cost of going to a studio, so
> that becomes
> one more skill that the musician or writer needs to learn.

True, but by bringing the engineer to your place you may not get the better acoustics of the studio, but at least you get somebody who can concentrate on the technical details of
getting good tracks while you concentrate on what's of the
utmost import, and that's delivering a quality performance
to the business end of the microphone.

Regards,
Richard
--
| Remove .my.foot for email
| via Waldo's Place USA Fidonet<->Internet Gateway Site
| Standard disclaimer: The views of this user are strictly his own.

[Richard Webb[_3_]]

On Wed 2037-Oct-14 15:02, Mike Rivers writes:
>> IF one insists on doing it at home without going to the
>> studio then the working musician with a desire to present
>> the songs to the customer shoudl at least hire an engineer
>> to come to the home studio to solve the technical problems
> while he/she makes music.

> I've been trying to get someone to pay me to do that for years but
> all the skinflints want to "learn it myself." (or on line)

Agreed. HE's cultivated some relationships over the years and they've done him well in this endeavor.



Regards,
Richard
--
| Remove .my.foot for email
| via Waldo's Place USA Fidonet<->Internet Gateway Site
| Standard disclaimer: The views of this user are strictly his own.

[Badmuts[_2_]]

>I plug the cable that the sound
> person hands me into my DI and I'm good to go.

Better plug that cable in your instrument. The sound person has already
plugged the other side into a DI for you.
You're a musician, you're supposed to hardly know what a DI is for, let
alone own one ;)


Bm

[Mike Rivers]

Badmuts wrote:
>> I plug the cable that the sound
>> person hands me into my DI and I'm good to go.
>
> Better plug that cable in your instrument. The sound person has already
> plugged the other side into a DI for you.

Maybe she has her own DI. Many guitarists who are fussy about their
sound have picked out the one they like and carry it so they don't have
to plug into some unknown box. Not everyone is famous enough to get
exactly what gear they request in the technical rider. Some musicians
can't even spell "technical rider" but they know what sound they like.

[Jenn[_2_]]

In article >,
Mike Rivers > wrote:

> Badmuts wrote:
> >> I plug the cable that the sound
> >> person hands me into my DI and I'm good to go.
> >
> > Better plug that cable in your instrument. The sound person has already
> > plugged the other side into a DI for you.
>
> Maybe she has her own DI.

Yep.

> Many guitarists who are fussy about their
> sound have picked out the one they like and carry it so they don't have
> to plug into some unknown box.

Exactly.

> Not everyone is famous enough to get
> exactly what gear they request in the technical rider. Some musicians
> can't even spell "technical rider" but they know what sound they like.

lol

[Laurence Payne[_2_]]

On Thu, 15 Oct 2009 08:36:06 -0700, Jenn
> wrote:

>> Many guitarists who are fussy about their
>> sound have picked out the one they like and carry it so they don't have
>> to plug into some unknown box.
>
>Exactly.

A guitarist will normally carry his own effects and combo amp, surely?
Beyond that point I see little point in getting precious about the
sound of one DI box over another when it's going to end up in a
strange PA, a strange room.

The reason I carry my own DI box (in fact a selection of them) is that
sometimes one interfaces better in terms of hum and level.

Point in case, a few weeks ago I set up in the Theatre Royal, Margate
(one of the oldest theatres in Britain.) The house DI box hummed. I
pulled out a really cheap unit (about 10UKP from Thomann). It didn't
hum. Good, job done, on with the sound check and (the important bit)
the rehearsal.

[Jenn[_2_]]

In article >,
Laurence Payne > wrote:

> On Thu, 15 Oct 2009 08:36:06 -0700, Jenn
> > wrote:
>
> >> Many guitarists who are fussy about their
> >> sound have picked out the one they like and carry it so they don't have
> >> to plug into some unknown box.
> >
> >Exactly.
>
> A guitarist will normally carry his own effects and combo amp, surely?
> Beyond that point I see little point in getting precious about the
> sound of one DI box over another when it's going to end up in a
> strange PA, a strange room.
>
> The reason I carry my own DI box (in fact a selection of them) is that
> sometimes one interfaces better in terms of hum and level.
>
> Point in case, a few weeks ago I set up in the Theatre Royal, Margate
> (one of the oldest theatres in Britain.) The house DI box hummed. I
> pulled out a really cheap unit (about 10UKP from Thomann). It didn't
> hum. Good, job done, on with the sound check and (the important bit)
> the rehearsal.

In the solo acoustic guitar part of my musical world, we usually play
small rooms, and seldom is there a competent sound guy present, if there
is even one at all. Very often a PA is set up and that's it. So I take
a DI with EQ, set it to a "baseline" setting based on my particular
instrument, my experience with the size and type of room, etc. Then,
using a long cord, I'm able to get out into the room a bit and make
further adjustments. THen I experiment with the PA's 'verb, adjusting
to taste. Many of my colleagues take their own reverb as well, but I
haven't gone there.

[Jenn[_2_]]

In article >,
"Soundhaspriority" > wrote:

> "Jenn" > wrote in message
> ..
> .
> > In article >,
> > Laurence Payne > wrote:
> >
> >> On Thu, 15 Oct 2009 08:36:06 -0700, Jenn
> >> > wrote:
> >>
> >> >> Many guitarists who are fussy about their
> >> >> sound have picked out the one they like and carry it so they don't
> >> >> have
> >> >> to plug into some unknown box.
> >> >
> >> >Exactly.
> >>
> >> A guitarist will normally carry his own effects and combo amp, surely?
> >> Beyond that point I see little point in getting precious about the
> >> sound of one DI box over another when it's going to end up in a
> >> strange PA, a strange room.
> >>
> >> The reason I carry my own DI box (in fact a selection of them) is that
> >> sometimes one interfaces better in terms of hum and level.
> >>
> >> Point in case, a few weeks ago I set up in the Theatre Royal, Margate
> >> (one of the oldest theatres in Britain.) The house DI box hummed. I
> >> pulled out a really cheap unit (about 10UKP from Thomann). It didn't
> >> hum. Good, job done, on with the sound check and (the important bit)
> >> the rehearsal.
> >
> > In the solo acoustic guitar part of my musical world, we usually play
> > small rooms, and seldom is there a competent sound guy present, if there
> > is even one at all. Very often a PA is set up and that's it. So I take
> > a DI with EQ, set it to a "baseline" setting based on my particular
> > instrument, my experience with the size and type of room, etc. Then,
> > using a long cord, I'm able to get out into the room a bit and make
> > further adjustments. THen I experiment with the PA's 'verb, adjusting
> > to taste. Many of my colleagues take their own reverb as well, but I
> > haven't gone there.
>
> Jenn, what's the mike in this situation?
>
> Bob Morein
> (310) 237-6511

I play with pick ups, not mics.

[Don Pearce[_3_]]

On Thu, 15 Oct 2009 17:02:08 +0100, Laurence Payne
> wrote:

>On Thu, 15 Oct 2009 08:36:06 -0700, Jenn
> wrote:
>
>>> Many guitarists who are fussy about their
>>> sound have picked out the one they like and carry it so they don't have
>>> to plug into some unknown box.
>>
>>Exactly.
>
>A guitarist will normally carry his own effects and combo amp, surely?
>Beyond that point I see little point in getting precious about the
>sound of one DI box over another when it's going to end up in a
>strange PA, a strange room.
>
>The reason I carry my own DI box (in fact a selection of them) is that
>sometimes one interfaces better in terms of hum and level.
>
>Point in case, a few weeks ago I set up in the Theatre Royal, Margate
>(one of the oldest theatres in Britain.) The house DI box hummed. I
>pulled out a really cheap unit (about 10UKP from Thomann). It didn't
>hum. Good, job done, on with the sound check and (the important bit)
>the rehearsal.

I have gone a step further, and built a DI into my Gibson SG. It has
variable loading on the pickups so the humbuckers will happily sing
like single coils (it does a very good Strat imitation). It will drive
several hundred feet of cable without change in tone should the need
arise, and it will plug into literally any amp.

It doesn't even have an on-off switch because the battery life is
better than five years. It is a totally venue-proof guitar.

d

[Mike Rivers]

Laurence Payne wrote:

> A guitarist will normally carry his own effects and combo amp, surely?

An purist acoustic guitarist who only plugs in for the purpose of making
the guitar loud enough to hear in a large venue won't carry effects and
and amplifier. In that world, you want to be sure that your DI is a good
match for the guitar (or at least not a bad match).

ACOUSTIC guiarists sometimes do play with effects and
definitely have ot carry them. They may or may not carry a DI.

> The reason I carry my own DI box (in fact a selection of them) is that
> sometimes one interfaces better in terms of hum and level.

Level shouldn't be a problem unless the PA operator is incompetent,
in which case a different DI isn't going to help. Hum is frequently a
problem and you want a DI that really has a ground lift.

[hank alrich]

Laurence Payne > wrote:

> On Thu, 15 Oct 2009 08:36:06 -0700, Jenn
> > wrote:
>
> >> Many guitarists who are fussy about their
> >> sound have picked out the one they like and carry it so they don't have
> >> to plug into some unknown box.
> >
> >Exactly.
>
> A guitarist will normally carry his own effects and combo amp, surely?
> Beyond that point I see little point in getting precious about the
> sound of one DI box over another when it's going to end up in a
> strange PA, a strange room.

If DI'ing I'm playing acoustic instruments with pickups, and the quality
of the DI/instrument pre is important to me, regardless of setting.

> The reason I carry my own DI box (in fact a selection of them) is that
> sometimes one interfaces better in terms of hum and level.

The one I'm down with interfaces nicely with the pickups, and feeds the
system a balanced signal via a transformer. Good PA or bad, it works
well.

http://www.fire-eye.com

--
ha
shut up and play your guitar

[Arny Krueger]

"Jenn" > wrote in message


> In the guitar part of my performance
> life, I plug the cable that the sound person hands me
> into my DI and I'm good to go.

There goes your real musician's card, Jenn. *Real* guitarists only play
unplugged. No DI. Maybe a mic. Maybe just a big loud guitar whose strings
are being plucked really hard in a very live or small room. ;-)