Sound

Greetings, all, welcome to March, hoping the winter weather is behind us.

First, we sound dogs wish the best and a speedy recovery to Jeff Saxton, who spent some time in the hospital after a stroke. His Facebook posts show signs of positive steps in his rehabilitation. The Sound Reinforcement committee misses his stalwart help and spirit at each show, especially with sound equipment duties.

The Basics

The work session for February didn't happen due to weather related issues, but we'll try to make something happen in the coming weeks. In the meantime, two new telescoping mic stands were purchased in January to add some flexibility t the mic stand armada, especially when mic'ing vocalists sitting at the piano. Mike Agranoff purchased a new cable to replace ol' No.9, which had grown wonky. There is still a supply of retired-but-working cables in the bin down in the basement if we run short.

Permanent MUF sound

The bids are in for the permanent sound and video system at MUUF, and they have been digested. The bad news is the installation of the MUF's dream system from two contractors and a sound engineer of MUF's choosing ranged from between $35k to more than $100k, not including the cosmetic work that would need to come after the installation, such as paint and carpets, and the acoustic curtains. The MUF budget was $12k, and even with the Folk Project assistance there is still quite a bit of distance. So, for now, the project has stalled while things are reconsidered. The cost of the electronic side was reasonable; it was the labor and construction that became the bulk of the price. We offered suggestions about consolidating some of the wiring and reducing the amount of complexity and automation of some of it, especially the video. And MUUF is willing to requote using engineers of our suggestion. I'm familiar with some good ones and have passed a couple along to see where that goes. That the sound system is integrated with the video system and wireless microphones and a hearing-assist capability, and that UUF prefers that audio processors take care of balancing the room to make mixing foolproof while parties in both groups want to keep the console analog, the project should be designed by and installed by pros. If we can't find a way to get the price down, then MUF will have to consider reducing its wish list.

So far we're in this project by more than six months, and it could go another six months at least, possibly a year. It would be wise to put the grant money into an interest-bearing instrument, such as the Vangaurd account, until it's needed. If it sits for a year, that grant could earn another $600-$800. Such a decision would be up to the Board.

Improvements anyway

One area where we can improve our sound system that won't affect what MUF decides is in the area of stage monitor speakers (wedges). The current ones are aging and inadequate. By the April meeting a proposal should be ready for four smaller powered monitors and cabling. Signals to them will be sent via the return lines built into the snake we already own, and through standard XLR cables and a console we already own we can easily run them in any combination; four separate mixes, two mixes of two each, three mixes or all on one mix. Smaller speakers and more of them will reduce the overall gain of each, thus reducing the on-stage sound levels. And they will be valuable at the Getaways both as monitors and as p.a. speaker during workshops.

Upcoming Getaway

Details are still forming, but it appears that the Memorial Day portion of the Getaway that will include a wedding and reception may need the stage and sound system. We may be looking for addition soundies to help cover that extra day, and to help with the packing up and returning everything to MUF and PCCT. Stay tuned.

Respectfully submitted ....Mike Del Vecchio (sound chair 2015)