SOUND REINFORCEMENT

All,

As a report for this month:

Minstrel sound system:

It has been functioning as intended with no negative reports from the volunteers this month. On March 22 a collection of pieces that used to be one of the Beta87A condensor mics was handed to me at The Minstrel. It was reassembled and put back into service that night with no reports of further problems.

Festival Sound:

The Chairfolks requested names for the sound crew this coming spring. Same as last year: Greg More, Andrew Dunn and Bob Safranek. The latter two may have other Festival responsibilities that weekend, it turns out, so one additional name will added in April or May.

Requests of the committee:

Opinions and recommendations on two items have been requested for potential purchase by the Folk Project:

First: A portable sound system that the Folk Project can use, or members may borrow, to provide sound reinforcement in smaller settings such as house concerts, low-key outdoor events and the like. Some discussion may be warranted here, as everything is going to require speakers on poles and a certain amount of weight. We hope to provide some recommendations at the May meeting.

Second: The gang working the front table would like some sort system that would permit them to listen to the performers on The Minstrel stage. The variables here are that a microphone in the room or a feed from the sound board be sent to the front table, either via wire or wireless system. Idealy this system should be easily assembled so as to not burden the sound crew who are already on a tight schedule. Research has begun to be reported on later. Almost any system would best work with a feed from the sound board, and the sound crew that night will need to make sure that a little of everything on the stage is in the system.

MUF Improvements:

This project is moving at a moderate pace, though everything is still in the discussion phase. On March 22 an audio design engineer Jim Ferrante from Stirling Audio visited The Minstrel space during a performance to hear the room. Gabor Kiss from MUF provided a general-arrangement drawing of the room. Through visits and discussions, Jimmy feels there are a couple of paths that would work to improve live acoustics in that octagon space with parallel walls in every direction. He suggested a few scenarios. He feels that curtains on rods would work best along the walls behind the stage, and that more acoustic treatment surface should be added along the walls facing the stage. An alternate option to a rear-stage curtain would be to assemble sections of acoustic treatment, much like the room divider screens of old, that could be positioned as needed based on the type of performance. With that, storage becomes an issue and it's likely that MUF services wouldn't benefit if they are stored. Jim also suggested closing the curtains over the glass walls with the doors on each side of the stage. To do that, whe should obtain exit signs to hang so that people know there are doors behind the curtains during a show. Jim strongly preferred curtains on roads over the screens.

In the coming weeks we'll be coming up with some prices on acoustic treatments and sound system recommendations to get more of a real feel of the numbers involved, outside of the carpentry should some of the physical changes to the room become a reality.

The physical components of the sound system may turn out to be remarkably simple to operate. Our goal is a natural sound with the system being invisible to the ears. After a little more research, I hope to report in more detail about that next month.

Respectfully submitted,

Mike Del Vecchio