Editor’s Note

There is no shortage of signs that fall has arrived. The kids/grandkids are back in school (finally) and in many areas, trees are undergoing their annual transformation of colors with a dazzling display of autumn foliage. However, for the true pro audio aficionado, the REAL sign of fall is the Audio Engineering Society’s yearly U.S. convention.

Over the past few months, the production industry has been awash in rumors about some big changes afoot among several large players in the biz, who may soon be combining their operations. Unfortunately, we can’t report on these rumors until they are factually confirmed. But if you turn to these hallowed pages in the months (or weeks) to come, we’ll keep you informed just as soon as we can break the news.

…Or, “How I Spent My Summer Vacation”

Don’t get me wrong. Nobody is more addicted to tradeshows than I. After all, what is not to love about being surrounded by racks and stacks of the latest audio technology?

In traditional audio terminology, “microphonics” typically refers to sounds that can emanate from vacuum tubes that are subjected to vibrations — say, from a guitar amp speaker — and can induce feedback (not the good kind) into a system. But this month, I wanted to rant a bit about microphones and figured “microphonics” seemed appropriate, especially as our “Buyer’s Guide” on page 34 spotlights high-end handheld condenser models.

I might be showing my age, but I recall as a kid in 1963, hearing Nat King Cole’s “Those Lazy Hazy Crazy Days of Summer” when it first came out. With its carefree, feel-good theme, it was perhaps the perfect summer song for the time. Of course, no one could have predicted that five months later, the country would be plunged into turmoil with the events of Nov. 22, 1963, when perhaps we all lost a bit of innocence.

As anyone who has produced a large (or even small) concert event can tell you, there are lots of details to be taken care of. Fortunately, on the audio/lighting/video/staging side, many such technical minutiae can be taken care of with a few phone calls to the right vendors who will handle such details professionally. In fact, if you are looking for a few suggestions, more than 4,500 companies and resources offering expertise in every facet of event production can be found using the Event Production Directory (epdweb.com), a searchable database that is available in print and as a free app.

Not sure if you believe in the prognostications of a certain groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil, but as of March 20, springtime is officially here — at least from a calendar, if not a meteorological standpoint. Oddly enough, for me, one of the first signs of spring is not new leaves on the trees and flowers starting to spring up, but the arrival of Musikmesse/Prolight+Sound in Frankfurt, Germany. Over the years, like Winter NAMM, this massive event has itself blossomed from an instrument-only show into an all-encompassing meeting of both the M.I. and Pro Audio worlds, with a healthy serving of DJ and lighting technologies thrown in for good measure.

No, it’s not my birthday, but exactly five years ago this month, I got an unexpected phone call from FRONT of HOUSE publisher Terry Lowe. It went something like this. “Hey George… Terry Lowe here. Do you want to run FRONT of HOUSE magazine?” My reply was “Sure.” That probably amounted to one of the shortest job interviews of all time.

Within the audio community, the major topic of discussion at this year’s Winter NAMM show was the new Anaheim Convention Center North Hall, which is slated for completion later this year and will expand the show’s exhibit space by 20 percent.