Archive for June, 2009

Take The Big Mick Challenge

Wednesday, June 24th, 2009

mike2Big Mick Hughes is one of the best known live sound engineers in the concert industry.  He is the long time front-of-house mixer for Metallica, a larger than life personality, and until now, someone whose reputation as a legend was well earned.

The recent trend in print advertising to have technicians endorse audio products is, in general, a good one.  They normally have a useful perspective and their endorsements have value.  Big Mick has put the value of those endorsements at risk.

Here’s what Big Mick says about his microphone of choice, Audio Technica in May’s Pro Sound News.  “I love Audio-Technica mics.  You can definitely tell an Audio Technica gig as soon as you walk into it.”

Now, I’m no “golden ear” but I do know that between a microphone and my (and Big Mick’s) ears there is (at minimum) a mixer, an amplifier, speakers, and cables, all of which color the sound you hear, regardless of their quality.

The idea that you can identify a brand of microphone just by listening to a live sound system is laughable.

Put on your blindfold, Mick, and step into any music club in America.  Even your ears aren’t that good.

I hope Audio-Technica is paying you well.

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Permacel gaffers tape, Duracell Procell batteries, MagLite flashlights, Nashua duct tape, Bay State wire ties, Hosa and Entertainment One extension cords and OnStage Stand mic stands.   Click here to sign up for our newsletter.  Lots more good ideas at our Twitter feed.

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Copper Prices

Tuesday, June 16th, 2009

spokesguy  I came across an interesting article in last week’s Wall Street Journal regarding the continuing strength of commodity prices based on demand in China.

This article speculated that a lot of the Chinese buying was a stockpiling of material for which China’s manufacturers had no real demand.  If that’s true, then the Chinese buying binge may be over.

This may well explain the recent downturn in copper prices after a steady rise over the last six months. This rise made little sense in light of the overall worldwide decline in manufacturing.  If this downturn is real, it could be a harbinger for lots of commodity price reductions.

Why do we care?  The cost of extension cords (copper and rubber), mic stands (steel and aluminum), tape (cotton, oil and chemicals) and batteries (tin plate and many minerals) are all tied to world commodity prices.

Lets hope that if this recent reversal in commodity prices is real, that we will see it passed through to the products we sell.

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Permacel gaffers tape, Duracell Procell batteries, MagLite flashlights, Nashua duct tape, Bay State wire ties, Hosa and Entertainment One extension cords and OnStage Stand mic stands.   Click here to sign up for our newsletter.  Lots more good ideas at our Twitter feed.

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Looks Like Google “knol” Is Going “Knolwhere”

Monday, June 8th, 2009

spokesguy I said I’d get back to you with a report regarding Google “knol”, their new project to build a knowledge base.

I posted two knol articles back at the end of April to see if Google was ready to take on Wikipedia. I’m proud to report that my knol posting about microphone stands has had a total of 42 page views, several of which I am sure were me.

No one has bothered to rate it and no one has made any collaborative contributions.

While it appears that I might be right about Google not being in a position to challenge Wikipedia, I am certainly wrong about Google using knol as another way to display relevant ads.

The google ads on my mic stand knol page are about cell phones.

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Permacel gaffers tape, Duracell Procell batteries, MagLite flashlights, Nashua duct tape, Bay State wire ties, Hosa and Entertainment One extension cords and OnStage Stand mic stands.   Click here to sign up for our newsletter.  Lots more good ideas at our Twitter feed.

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Hit “Upside the Head” With A Mic Stand

Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009

mike2 I was helping unpack a large shipment of microphone stands yesterday, when I got a great “blast from the past“.  I am always amazed at the sorts of experiences that will turn back the clock for a few minutes.

I learned a lot of my “hands on” production skills working as a stagehand, first as a student, then as a part time employee at my alma mater, UNC Chapel Hill, on the tech crew there.

One of the first acts I had a chance to do sound for was John Sebastian, soon after he had left The Lovin’Spoonful to go out on his own.

In those days, acts never traveled with sound systems and rarely did any sort of advance work.

The day Mr. Sebastian showed up, the took a look at our sound system and said “where are the monitors?“.  Not only did we not know WHERE the monitors were, we also didn’t know WHAT the monitors were.

After having him explain to us what monitors were and what they did, we decided that we could achieve what he wanted by simply setting up two complete sound systems, duplicate mixers, speakers, mics, stands, everything.  One set for the audience.  The other set for the performer.

I’ll never forget the first thing he said when he hit the stage.  Looking at the audience through a forest of four big, shiny chrome microphone stands, he said “I feel like I’m in jail“.

Next time we produced a concert, we had the monitors.

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Permacel gaffers tape, Duracell Procell batteries, MagLite flashlights, Nashua duct tape, Bay State wire ties, Hosa and Entertainment One extension cords and OnStage Stand mic stands.   Click here to sign up for our newsletter.  Lots more good ideas at our Twitter feed.

Posted in Pro Sound, audio visual, microphones & mic stands, speaker cables | No Comments »