Sound Reinforcement

From: mdelvec952@aol.com [mailto:mdelvec952@aol.com]

Sent: Monday, July 06, 2015 11:48 PM

To: mdelvec952@aol.com; fullboard@folkproject.org

Cc: joannelcronin@optonline.net; ghazel@aol.com; humphs75@yahoo.com; john_mahon@yahoo.com; wisecookie@gmail.com; lilrooster2005-info@yahoo.com; Klmulligan17@gmail.com; rjs@benevue.com; jeff_saxton22@yahoo.com; ltw@littletobywalker.com; bighim04@yahoo.com; lfvikingman@verizon.net; filwithsound@gmail.com; driemer@airworthy.com; andrew_dunn@embarqmail.com

Subject: Sound Reinforcement report for July 7, 2015

This month's big news is that the new speaker systems have arrived. And they are gorgeous, sound-wise. After seeing the tech rider for the Special Concert band Calan for this past Saturday, it made sense to go through the trouble to make the transition in time for this show. The band requested five monitors and mixes and lots of front end as the leader of the group runs his guitar through a synth effects and harmonizers to achieve a subsonic bass to fill out the audio spectrum. Larry and Mike Agranoff showed up at 1:00 p.m. Friday and we went to work. First order of business, before setting it up, was to figure out how to put it all away. The ultimate packing solution would come two days later by removing the partition that formerly kept the mic stands packed tightly. Thanks to Bill Henderson who always has the right tools for the right job, and the skills of a craftsman. He and I met there Sunday and it all fits. Pictures show show the components should be packed going forward. New canvas bags will hold the new power and signal lines for the new speakers. Sharing space with the kitchen stuff was not necessary.

As for the show, the new system was just the ticket. The spectrum was full and the nuance of each instrument apparent and separate, the vocals has clear as performers delivered. I did not tell the general membership about the new speakers as an experiment to see if anyone noticed the difference. Happy to say that a couple of those whose opinions I trust on matters of sound knew it right away, two of them mentioned that they knew it the minute the emcee Jean Scully issued her first words.

Functionally, the new speakers worked as intended. The additional monitors pointed in varied directions threw fewer audio reflections against the back wall and at the audience. The dispersion of the main speakers is wider than that of the old ones, so the coverage was much more even. The difference between a 12-inch and 15-inch speaker cone is about 35% in area, so they move a lot more air with much less effort. And these new EV speakers have wooden cabinets, so they have a more natural color to the sound they produce.

With a budget of $2600, we came in enough under to purchase a second new equalizer for the console for those nights when we need four monitor mixes, such as the Calan show. And we were still under by $50. I came across an eight-channel, 100-foot snake for $100, so I bought it, as it's always going to be handy for extra channels. We used it at the Calan show since we needed so many return lines. While the initial proposal used prices from the big-box websites, I tried to purchase as much as possible from local small businesses. Just the cables and connectors had to be purchased on line.

All did not go smooth. One of the four return lines in the snake was missing a connector. While replacing it, I discovered that two others had broken wires inside the barrels. For this reason, I was glad we had that spare snake. A new set of four connectors have been ordered and should be here Friday early enough to install, and adapters for the stage end to properly connect to the speakers, in time for the show. Open Stage would be a good night to train others to use the new stuff, and we'll begin to discuss mixing techniques with the new speakers. Also Friday we'll try to do a proper survey to determine just how worn out the connectors at the stage end of the snake have become.

Between the additional connectors, the canvas bags for new cables, and some other hardware items, the total may be about a hundred dollars over. We'll call it even.

The photos below show the equipment put away. The cables should fit near the shallow end of the speakers.

The four 10-inch monitors are under the reels of mic cables and the two speaker stands.

The new speakers are a great addition, and just the right thing for the series.

Permanent MUF sound:

Not much has happened. There are planned meetings between the Folk Project and MUF that will involve our discussion. Stay tuned.

Respectfully submitted,

Mike Del Vecchio

Sound chair