March 31, 2005
Ch-ch-changes
March 31st 2005 will be my last day as moderator of the Prosound Web Live Audio Board, or LAB as it is often refered. In the 10 plus years since I started the live-audio mailing list and later migrated that to the live-audio_Board I've been privileged to meet some very interesting people and I will be grateful for that. I'd like wish the best of luck to Mark Herman, Lucy Mendelsohn, Keith Clark and Julie Clark in their future endevors with PSW.
Most of all though, I'd like to thank all of the community members, lurkers and others that made it possible. As business people we can throw all sorts of money around but at the end of the day it's the community that gives a forum value. Not only in the monetary sense but in the human sense as well. It's been a kick in the pants gang, and I'm glad to have been a part of it but now I need to open myself to new challenges. I plan to kick around the Internet forums posting when I can and continuing to post on the blog at A Barking Dog. And of course, touring and doing gigs. I just won't be the moderator of the PSW/LAB any longer.
Posted by Dave at 07:09 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
March 30, 2005
Some Tidbits
This Friday Ellison Northwest and Mc Cauley Sound will demo in Seattle. Call David or Ferd a eNW for details. I would ASSume it's a trade only thing, though I don't know. Me? I'm just going to crash the thing... ;-)
Word is the demo rig will be piloted by a Digico D1 I hear that the surface will spend some time making the demo rounds which at some point will spend some quality time with some guy in short pants. Interested demo parties might want to contact Digi Ivan...
I kicked the tires on a tc EQ station at a couple of gigs last week and may post something on it as soon as I can write something coherent. Nice box, a few quirks...
My pals next to the BBQ joint have embarked on a monitor system upgrade and standardization for 48 or so biamp mixes. The new packages will use more roadie friendly racks and panels standardizing on QSC PL236s and Ashly Protea 4.24Cs. I was in barking on it doing some QA with it and it's a studly little package with presets for the various packages including 12AMs, SM400 and the proprietary EVDH1A/DL15X that's loving called a Carlmax by some. They'll also be able to drive a variety of other biamped boxes...
I'll be in SF Monday night for a VIP party. We're only doing two songs so it will be an early night. I may drop in on Grampa Lee's joint if I get the chance. I'll be in JAX Beach next week, Fri, Sat, Sun. I've gone back to being jazzboy this season and should be summering at the Euro jazz fests this summer. If anyone wants to catch a drink or bite, ping me and we'll see if we can make it work...
Posted by Dave at 11:09 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
March 29, 2005
Followup: MGM v Grokster
For a couple of hours this morning the Supreme Court Justices heard arguments in the MGM-Grokster appeal. It pretty much sounded like the two previous cases that were argued in that under current law producers of products that have substaintial non infringing uses can not be liable for the actions of the users. There is more to the story than what RIAA spin would like us to believe. I think it's also true that the software companies know damn good and well what's being done with thier products, that is, violating copyrights by not paying for the music or movies they download.
It's not about starving artists, either. There were pics today of some young, bohemians with protest signs saying how file sharing was costing them their living. A barefoot hippie chick with a guitar and a protest sign isn't the victim in this case. In fact at this point if she put her work online she may just make more and sell more than with a major label deal. As an artist on a major, you have to sell a few million units to make any sort of real coin. This essay by artist/producer Steve Albini offers some insight into the process. Though it's a bit dated, it does give an inside look as to what the record biz is like for a "baby band". Of the scores of baby bands I've worked with over the years as soundguy, tour manager, production manager or any combination of the three, exactly one has become a mega band. IOW, kids, the chances of becoming a major pop star are pretty slim. Sorry to burst the bubble. Another act I've known for a while pocketed more money selling 50,000 units in few months with an independent than with the 300,000 plus with the previous release on a major, while concert attendence remained steady. It's the labels that are losing money, though just how much is not quite known. I don't have anything against the labels per se. I've worked with artists signed to most labels and also have worked directly for the labels. I also owned a small label in the early '80s.
In Wired's coverage of the hearing today Dan Glickman, head of the Motion Picture Association of America, said that the case "has to do with the future of the movie and music business. If people leech off the system for free ... music and movies won't get made."
I agree with Dan about one thing, it does have to do with the future of the movie and music business. Though more specifically it has to do with the major players controlling the distribution and medium of the content they sell and imparting their will on the distribution and medium of anyone else's content, as well. It has nothing to do with saving arts or the artists and everything to do to retain the near absolute grip on promoting, distributing and selling records and movies. In recorded music specifically, the established players benefited substaintially each time the medium changed. When music went from vinyl to tape, the labels profited handsomely from not only reduced costs, but from catalog sales in the new medium. This was particularly true when CDs hit as there was a downturn in the biz and the sale of midline catalog that had already recouped, already been promoted was basically free money for the cost of being mastered and slapped onto CD.that was a bonanza for both artists and labels alike.
Another soundbite from the seemingly improptu post hearing press conference...
Songwriter Lamont Dozier, who wrote the Supremes' hit "Stop! In the Name of Love," said he wanted to ask the Supreme Court to "stop (illegal file sharing) in the name of creativity."
He said if this problem existed in the 1960s, "we never would have had a Motown."...
Using the Motown era as an example of equitable and responsible business dealing in the industry is revisionist history at best. Many artists, players and songwriters were basically swindled out of any of the rights or royalties they had to the songs. Lamont, did you forget that Motown filed a US$ 4 million (in 1967 dollars) suit against you, Eddie and Brian? Or about the US$22 million (again, in 1967 dollars) countersuit you guys filed? You and your partners have made a significant contribution to music and have penned some truly iconic tunes. I love your stuff, but you guys didn't need file swappers stealing from you a couple of pennies a time. The label was taking it by the truckload. The amount of money lost during the Motown era makes the file swappers look like 12 year olds and grandmas.
From the other side...
"Nobody is suggesting that piracy is good," said Fred von Lohmann, attorney for StreamCast. While copyright owners have a right to protect what they have created, he said, "it doesn't entitle them to control what others have created."
Piracy isn't acceptable, even if it is difficult to judge the impact. I think the copyright owners should be able to sue infringers, as long as they follow proper legal guidelines and not those shady DMCA subpoena rules that the courts struck down. That way perhaps they won't sue 83 year old dead women. OTOH, I think it's counterproductive to pursue swappers in this manner. It's basically a combination publicity stunt/ scare tactic. Claims of hundreds of millions in lost profit are made, though the settlements in each case are a paltry couple of grand. Using a carrot and stick method, with no carrot, the swappers will only be driven underground further making it more difficult and more expensive to find. These are potential and current customers. Stop using lawyers and start using ideas and technology to solve this problem. Others from both within and outside the music biz are starting to develop strategies and business models for the sales of online music.
"it doesn't entitle them to control what others have created."
That bears repeating. The issue here is the continued control of not only the distribution but the medium of the content as well. In selling lots of copies of physical media, distribution is key and as a music artist, if you don't have distribution through a major, it's going to be difficult for you to get your work out. Over the counter music retail is all about big box these days. Target, K-Mart, Wal-Mart, Best Buy. If you can't get into there, even with an explict lyrics disclaimer, it will be difficult to sell a multiplatnum release from a major artist. The independent stores are doing strong in some areas, but by and large they have dwindled not due to swapping, but due to big box. When Best Buy can loss leader the Billboard Hot 100, Local Joe Records is going to have a difficult time keeping up with them. If you control the distribution, you control the market.
Even with a legal sharing alternative like Weed or legal download like iTunes, it takes the control from the current system. That's the greatest danger, allowing control of future technologies to be based on what the dominant content providers think is right, regardless of what the market would dictate. Given the past history of the industry, the power to dictate technology very well may be used not only against unlawfully infringing, but also against legit businesses that wish to use the technology to compete against the established players.
Posted by Dave at 10:43 PM | TrackBack
March 28, 2005
Supreme Court to Hear Landmark P2P Case Tuesday
The US Supreme Court will hear arguments in MGM v. Grokster Tuesday. The EFF has been having a countdown featuring devices that were made possible in the granddaddy of copyright infringement/ fair use cases, the Betamax case. The media companies lost the first two rounds over the last couple of years and seem more determined than ever to control and own end to end the technology we use for entertainment.
Billionare Mark Cuban is underwriting the Grokster defense and has a good post on his blog about the issues. This sums it up pretty nicely...
We are a digital company that is platform agnostic. Bits are bits. We dont care how they are distributed, just that they are. We want our content to get to the customer in the way the customer wants to receive it, when they want to receive it, at a price that is of value to them. Simple business.
Unless Grokster loses to MGM in front of the Supreme Court. If Grokster loses, technological innovation might not die, but it will have such a significant price tag associated with it, it will be the domain of the big corporations only.
A ruling is expected by June.
Posted by Dave at 09:00 PM | TrackBack
March 24, 2005
Foghat's Rod Price Dead at 57
Founding Foghat member Rod Price has died from injuries sustained in a fall at his home.
Posted by Dave at 04:46 PM | TrackBack
March 22, 2005
SXSW Conference on Music Sharing
Wired is running a piece from the seminal South by Southwest Music Conference that just concluded in Austin. I was there a few times in the early years as it used to be a place to break new bands or get good ink and buzz for upcoming tours or records.
Among the quotables...
"It's stopping new artists from coming forward, and it's killing mid-level artists across the board," charged Jay Rosenthal, a music attorney at Washington, D.C.-based Berliner, Corcoran & Rowe and a board member of the Recording Artists Coalition. "There has never been an issue that has been so galvanizing."
Jay, do you think the decline in sales could be more due to not breaking any new acts or the inability for the labels to develop new artists rather than the same old packaged crap? I'm not for people stealing or sharing music without the artists consent, but let's face it, the labels aren't concerned with the well being of the artist, rather for the bottom line of whatever multinational happens to own the label. It's a fact that most records, particularly records from young and emerging artists lose money.
A March 2004 study by Felix Oberholzer-Gee, associate professor at Harvard Business School and Koleman Strumpf of the University of North Carolina says the opposite (and what many artists have found) that file sharing actually enchances sales for the artist.
The debate is far from over but this is the time when labels need to be proactive about promoting and selling music online. It's time for you Armani clad record execs to haul your asses out of your BMWs, roll your sleeves up and get back to work. Go after the real prirates in Asia and the former Eastern Block that are cranking out tens of thousands of illegal CDs. Work on developing a business model that will work for selling music on the Internet and not filing lawsuits against the very people that would buy the work. Steve Jobs was able to figure it out. And he wasn't even in the music industry.
Posted by Dave at 03:19 PM | TrackBack
March 16, 2005
Amazon Testing MI/Pro Audio Waters
Amazon currently has an MI/pro audio store in "beta". Just one more step in the commoditisation of the entry level pro audio market. Like other Amazon partnerships, particularly toys and electronics, this is in partnership with established dealers in the channel. Musician's Friend, (nee Guitar Center), arch rival Sam Ash, ZZounds, Full Compass and others. It also signals something I've seen many manufacturers fight over the years. The large scale integration of pro audio sales on the Internet. While many pro audio marketers are shopping at Wal-Mart, getting the best deal they can on their new car or house yet feel compelled somehow to isolate their products from the normal give and take of market forces and the changing shopping habits of the public in general.
The store is not quite ready. I suppose that's why they have the "beta" moniker on it. It appears they need a merchandiser or some sort of product manager as the categorization is plain wacky in some cases. (a check of Amazon job listings shows no such opens for that store, but like openings in other Amazon stores) For example of the 23,000 plus items returned in the "sound and recording" feature product listing, many of them were not appropriately categorized. For example guitar, bass and keyboard amps as well as effects pedals and footswitches appear in the listings in addition to other items like DJ gear. It would be like listing a mop in the vacuum section of the appliance store. Most of the sub categories seem to return relevent searches so I would expect they don't quite have it dialed in at all levels. In fact, digging down further into product descriptions or trying to buy routes you back to the electronics store on many items. I have found a few items that are being advertised and offered at the true street price (just like they should), instead of the inane, archaic practice of Minimum Advertised Pricing.
Notable brands include Midas, Shure, Crown, QSC, Allen & Heath, Soundcraft, Audix, Mackie, AKG, Sennheiser, Neumann and others. I think can be seen as a positive thing and once Amazon gets the kinks out, it should benefit customers in that they have easy access to shopping and comparison.
I must be having a deja vu (no not the club...) as I seem to remember more than one company trying this thing six or seven years ago...
Posted by Dave at 02:27 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Dogtown Biopic Set For June Release
Yahoo currently has a pre release of the trailer for the new Stacy Peralta biopic "Lords of Dogtown". This appears to be a fictionalized version of Peralta's award winning documentary "Dogtown and Zboys" that follows Peralta, Tony Alva and Jay Adams through the explosive period in the '70s that set the tone and blazed the trail for what modern skateboarding is today.
For about five years, basically eighth grade through graduating high school I was obsessed with competitive skateboarding, pretty much mirroring the period of both films with my own front row seat in the action. During that time my family owned one of the premier skate shops in OC. Later I worked at legendary skatepark The Big O with the park team and as a park manager. The guys I skated with were the guys I started working in music with, including rehearsing on the QT in the near bankrupt skate park pro shop and arcade in the early 80s. We crosssed paths with those guys a great deal during that period. I enjoyed the documentary and it will be interesting to see the dramatized version. Opens wide June 3rd.
Posted by Dave at 01:46 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
March 15, 2005
Sabbath and Maiden to Headline Ozzfest
It's official, this seasons annual run of the sheds will feature Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden. Starts at Great Woods July 15th and ends at Coral Sky Sept 4th (or Tweeter Center and Sound Advice Amphitheater as they are now known...) Look for tens of thousands of nubile young concert goers to be "throwing the horns" just like their grandparents did before them.
There is no truth to the rumor they will change the tour's name to "Geezerpalooza"...
Posted by Dave at 06:42 PM | TrackBack
March 12, 2005
Video From Recent Geo-T and Geo-S Demo
Here's some video from my recent Nexo Geo-T demo.
http://www.roaddog.com/video/geo_t_demo.mov Quicktime .mov format, 16.8MB
Posted by Dave at 04:21 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
March 11, 2005
Industry Bits and Pieces
As a followup to a post a couple of days ago, Mark Seaton has joined Tom Danley at the newly formed Danley Sound Labs. The only producs listed at this point is the TH subwoofer line. I'd expect a top in the future.
After Mackie (now LOUD Technologies) unloaded the unprofitable Mackie Italy (which contained speaker manufacturer RCF, used in many EAW designs) there was some concern over US distribution and some product shortage. Charlie Tappa from Pro Sound Service in Braintree, MA just told me that they have been appointed not only as the new US distributor of RCF, but the primary warranty service and recone center for the US market. They've had in demand parts shipped in via air and have a container with a wider selection in route. Looks like this should solve any RCF product shortage.
After speaking with a few colleagues attending NSCA this week, they're not reporting anything of great interest. I can't help but wonder if they've skipped out on the show to take in Disney World or Universal Studios. There has to be something, if you see or hear about it, let me know. Lee Richard reported on the LAB that a fire sprinkler over the Christie Digital booth malfunctioned and drenched the booth. That should keep a bunch of lawyers busy for a while.
Kart racing season opens this weekend in many parts of the country, including the opening round of the Stars of Karting "Race of Americas" CIK World Calendar event at the Oklahoma Motorsport Complex. The Roaddog Racing/ Team Carlson Rocket RK1/Swedetech CR125 will again campaign a limited season including stops at the Puget Sound Roadrace Gold Cup, the Cascade Regional Sprint Series and perhaps a couple of other stops on the national calendar. Sponsorship opportunities are available for all races.
Apparently Winfuel is an energy drink from Trim Spa to be released next week. Damn, I was hoping it would be an affordable race gas though I could use some Trim Spa as well. Dale has decided to race the truck this season. Good, maybe he can now get some decent finishes...
Posted by Dave at 01:03 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
March 10, 2005
DMB Bus Driver Gets Fine and Probation for Tank Dumping
Last year Stefan Wohl, a Dave Matthews Band tour bus driver dumped his holding tanks crossing a bridge drenching a party boat below with 800 lbs of raw sewage. He gets a US$10,000 fine, 18 months probation and he'll likely lose his gig because of the poor judgement. Additionally, the Illinois AG has filed a US$70,000 lawsuit against the driver and the band. Several others, including The boat company's parent, Mercury Skyline Yacht Charters Inc. have filed civil suits. if the band gets out of this for less than a million bucks, I'll be surprised. They've already contributed US$100,000 to a couple of Chicago based conservation groups. Full story at Crain's Chicago Business Daily.
Posted by Dave at 02:12 PM | TrackBack
Chris LeDoux Dead at 56
Country singer Chris LeDoux had died from complications from liver cancer according to a story at Pollstar.
Posted by Dave at 12:40 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
March 09, 2005
UPDATE: Driver's Hours of Service Change Shelved
Due to lobbying from the Teamsters, AFL-CIO and others, US Representitive John Boozman (R-Ark.) has withdrawn HR623, a proposal that was to be attached to the highway bill earlier today.
According to Daphne Izer, founder of Parents Against Tired Truckers (PATT), whose son and three friends were killed October 1993 in a crash involving a tired Wal-Mart truck, “What Wal-Mart is seeking will lead to more highway slaughter and more shattered lives. Congress bestows enough gifts on industry as it is. Lawmakers should not give Wal-Mart this gift.” Apparently others thought the same thing as well.
In researching this issue, I found that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration are only using the current hours of service as an intrim measure. In July 2004 a federal court struck down the current hours of service. There is a request for comments at the FMCSA site that has a deadline of tomarrow. The court has given them until Sept 2005 to revise the rules to make them consistent with current federal rulemaking procedures.
Posted by Dave at 08:18 PM | TrackBack
March 08, 2005
Walmart to Propose Longer Hours of Service for Commercial Drivers
In it's latest effort to squeeze every last productive hour from it's workforce, Rep. John Boozman (R-Ark.) will introduce an amendment on behalf of retail giant Walmart to increase the hours of service from the current 14 hours on duty per day, to 16 hours on duty, provided a two hour, unpaid break is taken during the shift. The current standard of 11 hours driving-on duty would be maintained. This according to CNN and Common Dreams. For those that don't know, I've had a commercial drivers license since the inception of the Federal program and have been driving trucks the entire span of my soon to be 25 years in this biz.
It's no secret that driver fatique is a leading cause of fatal accidents involving commercial drivers. According to the National Transportation Safety Board, as much as 40% of all fatal accidents involving heavy trucks were due to driver fatique issues. Additionally, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration have conducted many studies on the matter.
Considering all the slippery shit Walmart has been involved in this doesn't surprise me in the least.
Posted by Dave at 07:50 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
LOUD Technologies Aquires St. Louis Music
From a press release on LOUD's site, LOUD Technologies (OTC LTEC.OB), (Mackie, EAW, et al) aquired privately held St. Louis Music (Ampeg, Crate) as an indirect wholly owned subsidiary for US$38.4 million in cash and stock. I think this signals that Sun Capital Partners, the turnaround specialists that bought a controlling share of Mackie (later rebranded as parent company LOUD Technologies) have turned the corner from being at deaths door to starting to grow the company again. I bet we see at least one other interesting announcement from LOUD before the year's end.
Posted by Dave at 07:07 PM | TrackBack
NSCA Sneak Peaks
A couple of things passed through Roaddog Manor that are worthy of sharing.
The long antipacted Meyer Galileo 616 uber zone controller/matrixer (a long needed box for selfpowered apps, IMNSHO) will release a new brochure detailing the device in time for the show. It's only available on the dealer side of the Meyer site (which happens to be in public space, no password) so I'm not going to post the URL as not to anger my pals in the compound in Berkeley. ;-) I just downloaded it, looks good. It's a 12 page detailed brochure that should give you most of what you wish to know. A new little box that looks interesting, the Meyer MVC-5. There is also a new addition to the Milo line that isn't named yet. There will be a contest at the show to name it.
And speaking of marketing, writer Seth Godin's latest book "All Marketers are Liars" will be released May 23rd. I wonder if some of those lies include using a provocative book title to hype sales?
Another scoop here at A Barking Dog, a first look at the prototypes of the APB-DynaSonics Spectra T-48 Console. It's 48 mono mic/line inputs with 4 stereo line inputs, 10 auxes, with the ability to do three stereo pairs, 8 VCAs with mute plus four selectable mute groups, Burr Brown mic preamps and THAT VCA elements and a list price of US$15,690 and 3 year transferable warranty. I'm sure the dealers here can do the math, it's pretty affordable. (PSST, no one ever pays list these days...) This has church and small PA company written all over it.
The pics are pretty big so you can zoom in on them.
Pic 1 (jpeg, 944kb) http://www.roaddog.com/images/Spectra_Glamor_T48.JPG
Pic 2 (jpeg, 853kb) http://www.roaddog.com/images/Spectra_T48_EQ.JPG
Pic 3 (jpeg, 216kb) http://www.roaddog.com/images/Spectra_T48_Pre_NSCA.JPG
Posted by Dave at 04:36 PM | TrackBack
March 07, 2005
Me and Geo T
A few weeks ago I had the chance to kick the tires on a Neo Geo T system. The Reader's Digest version is that it's an outstanding sounding system in a small package utilizing the latest in technology. The downside is the rigging and array predictor are a bit complicated, compared to other solutions and the transport package still needs some refinement for touring use. All in all I was very pleased with the system.
We hung an array of six Geo T 4805s and a Geo T 2815 from a forktruck. They were powered by Camco Vortex 6s and controller by the Nexo NX242 controller. The thing that strikes you right out the gate is the look of the box. It's kind of Batman meets Starwars meets the Matrix. It definately has a unique appearance. The boxes are small and light and pretty easy to handle. The rigging appears to be pretty complicated and took me most of the rest of the morning to get my head around it. It's a combination of cams and holes drilled in side plates and not intuitive at all on first glance. Unless the local crews have worked with it before, they'll be hard pressed to get it down in short time so delegating the pinning to more advanced local crew is probably not advisable at this point. Transportation, while compact is problematic at this point for daily touring use. The demo rig came in case over boxes, three modules per case with the under hangs, (2815s) having to be manually taken off the array and loaded into the case. For locals and one offs it's probably not so much an issue but for daily touring it's going to be a chore and I'm told that the larger providers and making racks or carts to accomodate more boxes. Something like two groups of six on a set cart style rack would make a pretty slick little package though there might have to be two versions, one for US truck sized and one for Euro truck sizes.
Once you get your head around the system of the rigging it does go up pretty quick. The bumper and associated piece known as the kelping beam are robust and pretty heavy. There are two modes of hanging the system, compression mode and tension mode. Compression mode uses one set of holes in the grid and requires use of the kelping beam as a pullup which is basically what I call a "tight pack" of the array. Tension mode uses another set of holes on the side grid and allows for the array to shape by the natural gravity of the hang, or what I call "loose pack" of the array. Tension mode is limited to 12 modules but that's a pretty fair sized rig. We hung the rig in tension mode and couldn't quite get the amount of height required for the size of the array. In many if not most of the proscienium theaters in the US tension mode will have to be used due to the footprint of the rigging. Compression mode should have no problem in sheds and arenas. The difference in the two modes from a rigging standpoint is the front to back distance of the two hoists.
Well, how did it sound? Good. Really good. As good as or better than anything out there very punchy for such a compact size. I railed the shit out of it and as it went into clip then protect it handled it gracefully, though the local rep was a bit squeemish at that point. (I've known him since I moved up here in 1990). The ol' Camco's blinked pretty hard and as the rig was due at a gig in Portland in a couple of days and I'd bet that they didn't want to tell the mothership "Well, we let Stevens drive it and we need a bunch of drivers". I had the array just south of 120A at about 50 feet, plenty loud but not as painful as a traditional array or waveguide or horn at that SPL and distance.
The technology behind the box is not a traditional Olsen based line array, though the box produces output in a curve linear fashion. They call it a "Tangent Array". The coherency of the output is based on a few different things, the design and configuration of the array, the makeup of the waveguides and phase plugs and pattern control using DSP and rear firing mid range woofers giving the array as a whole a cardiod polar pattern. The CD12 sub in particular had good rejection characteristics at the rear to the point where we could carry on a conversation at a normal level while the stack of two CD12s was playing at concert level. One thing I see as a major downside of the CD12 sub is there has to be about four feet of lateral clearance between stacks and you can't back them to a hard surface. I think that limits the applications for many folks for that cardiod sub. Hnaging them in vertical arrays, either with the Geo Ts or on their own seems like the perferred method of deployment for the CD12. I don't see the CD12, or the Geo T for that matter, being used in situations where the system isn't able to hang.
All in all, it's one of the better sounding systems I've heard though there are some deployment concerns that need to be addressed. I look forward to using it sometime on a real gig.
Posted by Dave at 12:55 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
March 06, 2005
Yamaha Ships Effects/Dynamics Software for V2 Digital Mixers
Being a fan of the DM2000, I have to mention that Yamaha has shipped two plug in packages for the V2 series consoles. The Reverb Pakage appears to add the Rev-X algos of the SPX2000 and the onboard effects of the PM5D to the the DM2k and 02R96V2. The Channel Strip package appears to add classic dynamics processing to the mediocre but usable eq and dynamics used in the surface. From the marketing propaganda, it looks like it emulates 1176s, LA2As and the lot though I'm sure Yamaha is not permitted to use those trademarks to market plug ins. Rather than trying to emulate and reverse engineer the algorythms, the software models the discrete electronic components. That is they make a software model of the individual electronic components of each device. Each package will set you back about US$500 each. And you'll need V2 upgrades which you should have anyway.
The Master Strip emulates the sound of an analog tape deck including selectable tape type. Pretty ironic considering the hubbub about the availability of analog tape lately. Coming soon are Surround Sound plugins and a stomp box emulator.
What I'd like to see is the Channel Strip plug in ported to the PM5D and PM1D surfaces. Ultimately, I'd like to see a TDM engine on an expansion card so we can pick and choose from third party plug ins. We'll see if Yamaha is either willing to license the technology or provide developers with the plug in API. Tradidionally Yamaha have kept things pretty tied up inhouse and hasn't been overtly open to such operations.
Posted by Dave at 02:16 PM | TrackBack
Mark Seaton Leaves Servodrive/Sound Physics Labs
According to a post on the LAB Mark Seaton has left Servodrive/Sound Physics Labs to in his words "explore what other mischief I can find in the audio world. The simple explanation would be that my interests and ambitions were divergent from the path I was on; so it was time for a change."
It's no secret that SPL is more interested in government industrial work these days than sound reinforcement. This marks the second departure of highly visible staff in the last six months or so. Respected designer and sub woofer guru Tom Danley left the company late last year.
I think the two most pressing questions are, how long until John Halliburton bails and does this signal the end of the commercial SR product biz for SPL?
Posted by Dave at 01:46 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
March 03, 2005
NSCA Expo Just Around The Corner
This year's edition of the Systems Integration Expo (old guys just call it NSCA) starts next week. The show is primarily for contractors and designers but there is plenty for portable sound geeks to do. There is a plethora of good workshops for sound reinforcement. One I find pretty noteworthy is Practical Acoustical Measurement Techniques and Technologies presented by John Murray. I first met John in the early '90s when he was with TOA and we were a test site for the Saori product. John is now a consultant and owns ProSonic Solutions, a Rocky Mountain territory rep firm. John is very good at this sort of thing and can explain advanced concepts in such a way so even short pants wearing sound roadies will understand.
As noted previously, new console company APB-DynaSonics, Inc, booth 1352 (site is on the way) will debut the first of the new designs, expected to ship Q3 this year. I saw a bit of it at NAMM and based on what I saw, the projected pricing and the history of those involved these guys will be the one's to watch in the mid level console biz in the coming year.
The Network Integration Center looks pretty interesting as well. Though if I hear another rep or manufacturer use the buzzword "convergence", their ear is going to converge with my outdoor voice. The point of NIC is to demonstrate real life applications running in a networked environment. In this case, the systems are the actual systems controlling and providing AV services for the various parts of the show. That's my understanding, anyway. The network geek show Networld+Interop does the same sort of thing with InteropNet that's a functioning, real world deployment showcasing the latest in technology. It's a great idea and if anyone would like to report on it or snap some picks I'll put them up here.
I should have made plans to go but at the time I was scheduled to be on tour. If anyone would like to post some updates or have something they think we should go see, product, party, whatever, let me know and I'll help you get the word out.
Posted by Dave at 05:28 PM | TrackBack
March 02, 2005
How to Dismantle Fair Use Rights of Users
With great fanfare some months back Apple introduced the U2 branded iPod. Regular victims at A Barking Dog are well aware of my fascination with my 2nd gen iPod and iTunes. I'm listening to Nevermind on mine right now. I think they are great innovations in commercial music though many times Apple has fallen on a bad case of "head in ass syndrome" (tm) when defending what they consider intellectual property rights. They basically bully the most ardent supporters with a litney of legal filings that would bust all but the most wallet worthy supporters. With friends like this, who needs enemies...
In 1991 U2's label, Island Records sued the band Negativland for using extensive samples of "I still haven't found what I'm looking for". The irony of course, is that U2 used several unauthorized satellite video samples on the Zoo TV tour as a primary part of the visual production. In the words of Fred Rogers, "can you say hypocrisy and double standard? I knew you could". Anyhow, Island sued the shit out of Negativland and they eventually settled out of court.
Fast forward to present day. A few months ago tech geek and artist by the name of Francis Hwang decided it would be cool to buy a U2 special editon iPod. If you want to pay a hundred bucks more for a black and red iPod with some Irish pop stars sigs on the back, be my guest, though it does look pretty cool. Hwang bought the iPod and the entire catalog of Negativland, eight CDs in all and loaded them onto a U2 iPod, modified the packaging as a parody and offered the unit for sale on eBay. After a bit, eBay pulled the auction citing copyright issues after Apple whined like a little bitch. Hwang purchased the iPod at full retail price as well as the Negativland CDs which he included in the auction. Last I heard, in the US we are free to resell consumer items that we have legally purchased. I just read all my iPod docs and I don't see any EULA restrictions against this sort of sale. Neither does The Electronic Frontier Federation's Jason Schultzaccording to this story at Wired
"The key is to be upfront and disclose that information and then there is no misrepresentation at all," said Schultz. "Apple has no copyright claim over an iPod once they sell it to you."
Hwang, not one to back down has now offered the iPod on his own site. If Bono, The Edge or the others in the band are really what they represent themselves to be, they'll put their collective foot down and stop Apple from making a mistake that may sully the U2 name. Otherwise, they are no worse than the corporate money grubbers that U2 seem to rally against.
Posted by Dave at 02:42 AM | TrackBack
March 01, 2005
Wahl to Wahl Microphones
Tonight (last night by the time this posts) I had the opportunity to attend the Pacific Northwest Section AES meeting featuring a presentation by AES Fellow Juergen Wahl, retired from Sennheiser but still doing some work for them. As discussed previously this presentation was at the Art Institute of Seattle, in conjuction with a visit there by Wahl as a guest of the recording arts program. My first thought was, "shit, the kids in school these days are a lot younger than when I was in school". The reality is, they aren't, I'm just an old guy. Good to see a fresh crop of smart young folks interested in pursuing careers in pro audio.
The presentation is not only very informative, but also entertaining as well. Wahl has given this many times and has the delivery and supporting material honed to a tee. Basic mic technology and applications were discussed from a basic to mid level. One of the things that impressed me the most was the animated graphics developed in Adobe After Effects and Photoshop used to demonstrate the raditating effects of sound sources with regards to microphone placement and application. There were also different audio playback samples involving polar pattern basics, mic placement and the finale using mic comparison techniques from the Aspen Fall Festival.
It was very informative and though I already knew most of the material it was good to see the reasoning and physics of the material in a way that reinforced what I knew and opened me to some other things I didn't know. The material was based on basic principles, much of it using symphonic program material to demonstrate subjective differences when comparing different microphones. The knowledge contained in this sort of presentation is the sort of thing that makes the difference between being a bunch of apes in short pants turning up at a gig with a truck load of gear, plugging it in and making noise or being an artisan practicing a craft.
I wish more professionals of Wahl's knowledge and stature were so generous in sharing what they have learned and experienced over the years.