Just in time for the New Year’s upcoming presidential elections, the latest economic report has the annual rate of growth for the U.S. during the last quarter at 2.8%, in part due to new car sales and inventory replenishing, and though we’re still on a long slow climb out of 2008’s recession, modest sustained growth is not only possible, it’s likely. To quote Kevin Costner in the film adaptation of David Brin’s post-apocalyptic The Postman, “Stuff’s getting better. Stuff’s getting better every day.”
The NAMM Show…
In all of Pro Audio and Music, January means just one thing in the Western Hemisphere: The annual Winter NAMM Show in Anaheim. NAMM is an annual meeting for “music retailers” that has grown to include the entire pro audio segment, once quarantined in the George Jetson Arena that hosted the 1984 Olympics wrestling at the end of the five hall complex that reopened in 2000 after major renovations. Pro audio has now taken over all of Hall A next to the Arena and overflows.
This month’s NAMM Show Report details the offerings at this year’s sound and music cornucopia. The most significant release is JBL’s biggest development in 10 years and the subject of this month’s Tech Preview: JBL’s D2 high-frequency dual driver. I spent the week after NAMM in Northridge attending the first VerTec Training class to cover the new next-generation V25, taught by Tour Sound senior manager (and father of the V5 presets) Paul Bauman.
H.O.W. It’s Done…
With Easter just around the corner, many churches, big and small, are looking to upgrade their sound systems, and our House of Worship Installation Showcase takes a look at various installations over the past year.
It’s often the little things that make a big difference, and this month’s Road Tests are on Martin Audio’s mighty DD6 fill speaker and Professional Wireless System’s Domed Helical Antenna, two products that can make a big difference without breaking the bank.
Green Amps…
Our Green Amps feature discusses the cost of ownership of the components of a sound system that use the most energy, the amplifiers. Just like the gas saved on a new Prius can pay for the car over several years, buying new amplifiers can also pay for itself by conserving today’s high-cost electricity.
This month’s Buyers Guide looks at Cat5 Digital Snake stage boxes. Now that you own a few digital consoles, why not take full advantage of the technology and stop dragging a trunk full of multi-core out to front of house every day?
A Delicate Expansion…
Most sound vendors expand when demand exceeds supply. For Delicate Productions’ Smoother Smyth, the new San Francisco office was a way to put underutilized SoCal gear to good use. The now-blossoming SF office, led by by former SOS George Edwards, is this month’s Regional Slant.
…And More
Saving the best for last, as always, David Morgan deploys Waves’ CLA-3A plugin for keyboards, Jamie Rio talks about headset mics in “Sound Sanctuary,” Dan Daley discusses Austin City Limits’ new Moody Theater at the W Hotel in “The Biz,” Steve “Woody” La Cerra covers drum miking in “Theory and Practice,” while Baker Lee advises how break into The Big Time in “FOH-at-Large.”
