Welcome to 2013! If you’ve made it this far already, you’re gonna make it all the way, so this is a good time to start thinking about the days, weeks and months ahead. Here at FRONT of HOUSE we’ve already got off to a good start, with our amazing art staff coming up with a sharp new graphic design that makes articles easier to read, with faster access to what you need and a cool new look. Hope you like it!
Everybody makes New Year’s resolutions — you know, time to reflect on self improvement promises, such as renewing that gym membership you bought last January and only used twice, eating healthy, dropping a couple pounds or maybe cutting back on binge drinking, smoking or mainlining heroin. All those are lofty goals, but what’s really important is audio, and a fresh new year is a perfect time to dial in your expectations for sonic enhancements for 2013.
Upgrades!
If you operate a sound company, January is a perfect time to examine what you have, what you need and set some gear upgrade priorities for the year. It’s also a great time to reassess your systems — maybe looking at a new “A” rig, while you rotate the old A system down to the B system, the C down to the D, and so on. And as for your old, former D rig… there’s always Craigslist, or at least some worthwhile organization somewhere that can use a donation. The same applies to consoles and every other component. For example, if you’re still hauling a truckload of copper around, this might be an excellent opportunity to look into the many advantages of digital snakes, which are not only lightweight but also offer the advantage of multiple splits, etc.
The “M” Word: Maintenance
This isn’t the exactly the glamour part of the biz, but while you’re taking that well-earned breather after all those December holiday one-offs and New Year’s gigs, a little maintenance is probably in order. A few hours with a basic cable tester and some visual inspection for simple things like gashes in jacketing or loose set screws on XLRs can avoid problems in the field. The same applies to going through your cabinets, checking I/O panels, and identifying drivers with burned voice coils and blown diaphragms. Simply tightening loose driver connections can significantly improve performance. While I’m at it, I usually hit everything with a quick blast of a contact enhancer, like Caig DeoxIT, just to be sure. Either way, it’s better to uncover problems now, rather than when you arrive at that next big gig.
Think Smart!
I know that “thinking outside the box” has developed into a tired cliché, but maybe there’s still something to be said for it. If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years, it’s that there’s always a workaround for any (well, nearly any) problem you might face. This month, ace FOH engineer Joel Lonky talks about his creative approach to running his favorite suite of Waves plug-ins on a Midas PRO9 console on page 40. On a similar note, Omer Inan discusses some slick new techniques of using headset mics (see page 34), presenting some ingenious solutions to common situations that many of us face every day. But we all also face some tough non-technical issues as well and on page 52, Jamie Rio outlines a great idea for making house of worship sound system upgrades affordable to congregations of any size. And if any of you have a creative solution you’d like to share, drop me a line here and we’ll talk about it.
Explore!
Most of us are pretty fluent in things like signal flow, mic selection and gain structure, but how many of us really have a professional-level fluency in technologies such as MADI, AVB, audio-over-Ethernet (CobraNet, Dante, EtherSound, etc.), Wi-Fi networking/control, LANs, AES3, AES-X196 and dozens of other emerging protocols. Keeping current is part of staying successful, and organizations like SynAudCon (Synergetic Audio Concepts, synaudcon.com) and AES (AES.org) present excellent resources for keeping up with this wave of change and are worth exploring.
The Other Networking
Earlier, we’ve mentioned data networking, but networking has another side as well — human interaction. Online forums (such as ProAudioSpace.com) offer ample opportunities to converse, chat and exchange information and opinions with other audio professionals. Of course, nothing quite replaces actual face-to-face interactions, and tradeshows — such as this month’s NAMM (namm.org), Musikmesse/Prolight+Sound (pls.messefrankfurt.com), InfoComm (infocomm.org), the aforementioned AES and LDI (ldishow.com) — should also be on your list of things to check out. All of these offer opportunities for both attending educational seminars and programs, as well as a chance to check out new gear in a hands-on, close-up and personal environment. Beyond that, tradeshows are a great chance for meeting up with colleagues and friends — both old and new, probably the best kind of networking of all.
Live. Live!
So far we’ve discussed resolutions related to business and professional goals, but during 2013, make a pledge to take a little time out for yourself to share with your friends and family. Or maybe set aside a half hour or so to enjoy a sunset. Get out and enjoy life. And have a great 2013!
