It’s been a long time since a lot of us (including myself) were in school. In fact, learning about the techniques and tools of our trade didn’t come from formal classroom teachings, but grabbing what you could, either through trial and error or — if you were really lucky, having some one-on-one time with a seasoned pro, who could walk you through the ropes.
Some lessons simply come from kick-in-the-pants practical experience, such as the need to use non-ferrous tools when changing diaphragms on an HF compression drive. Here one slight slip and the power of a massive magnetic field can send that steel Craftsman screwdriver right through the delicate (and rather expensive) membrane you’re replacing. Oops!
I’m one of those old guys, who learned a lot of stuff the hard way, and from dozens of sources. When I was a kid, growing up in Italy in the late-1960s, it was even tougher, but I built Knight and Heathkit projects and subscribed to Radio Electronics which, while hardly a sound reinforcement book, did at least delve into circuit design and troubleshooting, two things that came in handy when working with less-than-reliable gear that was often road-abused and barely working.
Education: Yesterday and Today
Back then, I distinctly recall seeing ads from some serious-look guy who touted “Get more education or get out of electronics.” I’m not sure if the correspondence course he offered was any good, but his advice is still especially relevant today.
Sound system operation and design has changed dramatically — not only over the past decade, but in the past 24 months or so, as new technologies continue to alter our lives. Certainly a major part of that is digital control and interfacing, where today, audio and data transmission over Ethernet (and/or wireless) system protocols is more of the norm rather than the exception. Job qualifications, such as the ability to troubleshoot or set up a LAN system, routers and IP addressing are just as important these days as understanding the basics of balanced audio and gain structure. That point could be argued otherwise, but in many systems, when the network goes down, so does the audio. And while you’re at it, you better add iOS fluency to the list, especially with the number of iPad control apps for house/monitor mixing, system setups or configuring wireless rigs.
But before we’re done here, let’s also not forget DMX, especially with the debut of products such as Soundcraft’s Si Performer console, unveiling at this month’s PLASA show and featuring a fader bank for onboard lighting control. Hopefully, this doesn’t mean that FOH mixer engineers — with many also handling tour management duties while on the road — will also be adding lighting operator to their resume. However, in many instances and installs — where there isn’t a lighting tech anyway, so providing access to controls to handle a few (and let’s keep it a few, folks) lighting cues during a show, like lights up/lights down at the beginning/end of a set or hitting a couple presets or a blackout or two, should be manageable. Of course, any technology can lead to abuse, but — especially in some smaller venues, such as clubs and simpler HOW installs — this can make sense, yet either way, some lighting control may be in your future.
Sources and Resources
We may be in the midst of a period of technological upheaval and, unfortunately, that’s the nature of the beast, in this and other service industries — whether automotive repair or video production. And while scrambling to understand this new world order, also take time to appreciate the benefits offered, such as lightweight Class-D amplification, the ease of running a Cat-5 digital snake (as opposed to lugging hundreds of pounds of copper cabling), the benefits of using plugs-ins rather than outboard racks, the coolness of loading last night’s console setups into a digital mixer or the ability to “walk” a show with your iPad and tweak system parameters or the mix itself. Yet there’s a learning curve associated with each of these, and that’s the price we pay for stepping up.
For many of us, education is where you find it, and fortunately, there are plenty of resources to turn to. Tradeshow are valuable events for expanding your horizons, whether walking the show floor for product demos or getting on the spot answers from manufacturers, or dig into the classes and seminars available at many events. This month’s PLASA show in London added a full track of education programs, while here in the States, next month’s LDI (www.ldishow.com) and AES (www.aes.org) shows are planning a variety of seminars and classes on sound reinforcement. SynAudCon (synaudcon.com) hosts a wide range of learning opportunities, both online as well as in-person. And manufacturers are increasingly getting into the game, with recent regional workshops such as Soundcraft’s “Mixing with the Pros” or Sennheiser’s “RF Wireless Sound Academy.”
No matter where you live, educational opportunities abound. Here at FRONT of HOUSE, we’re glad to help you learn and grow. Back issues of the magazine are available on our website, fohonline.com, as free digital downloads, going back to 2005. A selection of best-selling industry books are available at the PLSN/FOH Bookshelf (www.plsnbookshelf.com) and we urge you to participate in ProAudioSpace (www.proaudiospace.com), our online forum that provides an excellent opportunity to ask questions, share experiences and network with other pros. So keep learning, and stay smart!
