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Archive for the ‘Pro lighting’ Category

Great Documetaries At Your Fingertips

Friday, July 18th, 2008

I watch way too much video on the internet. Between catching up on The Daily Show reruns and watching my daughters short films on Facebook, it seems like I’ve got something streaming all the time.

A new site which hosts documentary films is making this web video addiction a lot more of a problem.

The site is SnagFilms.com, which hosts hundreds of documentaries and does it in a way that allows you to embed them in a blog, attach them to an email, or use them as content in your own web site. The site is free, and you are only shown a few very short advertisments during the film.

SnagFilms is free and you are only shown a few short ads during the screening of the film. You can even view it a full screen mode.

This is a great way for a documentary maker to get lots of exposure and even make a little money, since you can buy a DVD of the film right from the site.

I just finished watching a film about life in the New York City Fire Department called “Brotherhood”. Here’s a link:

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Shurtape gaffers tape, Duracell Procell batteries, MagLite flashlights, Nashua duct tape, Bay State wire ties, Electratrac and Coast Wire extension cords , OnStage Stand mic stands and quality speaker cables. Lots of supplies for film makers.

Posted in Other News, Pro Sound, Pro lighting, good business ideas | No Comments »

No Wonder The Soundman’s Asleep Under The Console!

Thursday, July 17th, 2008

I try to blog at least once a week about some new innovation or clever device in the pro sound industry. I spent 30 plus years as a “knob twister” and I try to keep up with new ideas.

Leave it to the British to bring us a decidely “low tech” solution to handling sound mixing for those interminable 8 hour corporate meetings or all night rehearsals.

Its the Canford Wine Rack, a 3 space rack mount module, designed to store up to four bottles of wine in an audio rack.

Apparently this is not a joke (even though I first came across it on “boingboing“). It appears that you can actually order it.

Obviously cooling might present a problem if you prefer a Chardonnay or Reisling, but we are going to get to work right away on a nitrogen chilling system.

Check back here for updates.

Posted in Other News, Pro Sound, Pro lighting, mic cables, microphones & mic stands | No Comments »

Livenation-Would Someone Check Their Pulse!

Tuesday, July 8th, 2008

Livenation, the king-of-entertainment wannabe, is setting the record for reinventing themselves.

This ill advised attempt at vertical integration in the concert and entertainment business is getting ready to fail yet again.

The idea of owning every component of an entertainment venture from the performer to the venue was a bad one from the start. Livenation continues to prove how bad an idea it was every single day.

Their stock (LVY) has lost 40% since the beginning of the year and is down a whopping 200% over the last 12 months. Their sale of controlling interest in many of the theatres they ruled to a British theatrical producer during the winter gave them a little breathing room, but their most recent spending spree on artists may be the final nail in their coffin.

It appears that the strategy of controlling venues and ticket distribution is now morphing into ownership of artists. They are paying ridiculous sums to concert performers in exchange for their future earnings in performance, recording and merchandising and the stock market continues to vote with investors’ dollars. The vote is a resounding “NO”.

Today’s announcement regards Nickelback, a band that’s been over for longer than they were popular. Livenation has made a deal for somewhere between $50 million and $70 million for these Canadian has beens, and the stock is now flirting wtih its 52 week low.

Add this deal to those for Madonna ($120 million), Jay-Z ($150 million), U2($120 million), and its obvious that Livenation won’t be alive much longer.

Even still relevant acts like U2 and Jay-Z (hasn’t he retired a couple of times already?) can’t possibly generate enough revenue to make these deals pay off.

Every move that Livenation has made into the entertainment business has been bad for the consumer and for local venues. We can only hope that their continued failures will lead us back to local control and booking of venues, fair pricing of tickets, and the chance for new entertainers to reach an audience.

Lets hope that this is the beginning of the end for this failed experiment.

Posted in Other News, Pro Sound, Pro lighting, good business ideas | No Comments »

Making The Case For An XLR Speaker Cable

Monday, July 7th, 2008

Many years ago when I worked in the Technical Services Dept. at Duke University, we embraced a speaker cable connector standard that seems to have fallen by the wayside. We used the standard XLR3 connector for speaker cables-the same connector that was used on microphone cables.

With my background in pro sound, I was familiar with both the quarter inch standard , and the Canon EP multipin standard. I had never seen the XLR used for speaker cables. I quickly became a convert. Here’s why.

Because speaker cables with XLR connectors have a male connector on one end and a female on the other, its easy to extend the length of a cable without an adapter. Not using an adapter means not losing an adapter. This is a really valuable feature when doing long outdoor speaker cable runs.

Each pin in an XLR3 connector is rated at 15 amps. That’s more than enough current carrying capacity for most practical amplifier outputs.

The flexible strain relief boot on an XLR connector is flexible enough to handle 2 conductor 14 gauge, or even 12 gauge cable.

Each pin makes independent contact with the mating connector, unlike a quarter inch connector where the tip must make contact with the sleeve before it mates with the tip.

Finally the solid, easy to use locking mechanism on the XLR3 means that no additional securing of a connection is necessary when cables are linked together.

A couple of amplifier manufacturers adopted this standard back in the 1980’s, but they let it fall by the wayside when the industry as a whole failed to sign up.

On more than one occasion, I must admit that I used a microphone cable as a temporary speaker cable when I ran out of speaker cables. Try that with a Speakon cable!

Posted in Pro Sound, Pro lighting, extension cords, good business ideas, mic cables, speaker cables | No Comments »

How Many Times Would I Have Liked To Have This?

Tuesday, July 1st, 2008

Neutrik, the maker of a broad line of audio connectors, has a great new product that every sound person ought to know about. Its a new style of XLR connector called the Convertcon.

How many times have you gotten to the end of a long XLR cable run, only to discover that you had the wrong gender connector in your hand? The Convertcon makes that a thing of the past.

By simply sliding the connector barrel forward or back, a male XLR3 connector can become a female XLR3, or vice versa. No more coiling and rerunning the cable or digging through your tool box for a turn around.

While the cost ($12.00 or more) keeps this connector from being practical to use on all mic cables, those special long run control cables or the ones you use to interface with someone else’s equipment are where this innovative connector shines.

The problem of running a long interface cable “blind” to a remote patch bay, an outboard production truck, or an unknown facility interface just got a whole lot easier.

Posted in Pro Sound, Pro lighting, good business ideas, mic cables, microphones & mic stands | No Comments »

Welcome To A New GoodBuyGuy-Speaker Cable Sam

Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008

Today we introduce the newest of our GoodBuyGuys.com website, BuySpeakerCable.com.

BuySpeakerCable.com is hosted by Speaker Cable Sam , the latest addition to the GoodBuyGuys family. Sam is ready to provide lots of valuable information about speaker cables, speaker cable connectors and the proper set up of sound system speakers. Sam draws on 30 years of work in the concert production industry to help you make decisions about purchasing and using the best speaker cables and accessories, no matter what your application.

Buyspeakercable.com features cables from Mitee Cable. Mitee cables use quality connectors and wire to insure that your speaker cables deliver all the sound possible from your amplifier to your speakers. They have tough rubber jackets and copper wire that is durable, easily coilable and ready to stand up to the tough use sound and audio visual pros subject their equipment to every day.

Of particular interest is the in depth information provided about Speakon connectors, the new standard for pro audio speaker cables. Mitee Cables feature Speakon connectors that are fully compatible with the Neutrik NL2 & NL4 series connector, available at a fraction of the Neutrik price. Here, you will find valuable guides about wiring and using Speakon connectors, along with adapters that make Speakon speaker cables compatible with other connector types.

With the addition of BuySpeakerCable.com, you can turn to GoodBuyGuys.com for all of your audio visual and sound system cable needs.

Tags: Pro Sound, speaker cable, speaker cables
Posted in Pro Sound, Pro lighting, extension cords, mic cables, speaker cables | No Comments »

When Is A Speakon Not A Speakon?

Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008

The addition of buyspeakercable.com to our family of goodbuyguys.com web sites has led to an interesting question regarding Speakon connectors. The Speakon, first introduced by Neutrik (a German company) has become the new standard for professional audio.

As with most popular products based on good design, lots of copies of the original Speakon have made their way into the marketplace. Neutrik has wisely decided to allow these “knock offs” to prolifierate, realizing that the more products on the market built to be compatible with their brand means the more connectors they will sell. This is how they have managed such total market penetration in an industry that always challenges change.

Our line of Speakon speaker cables is designed to mate effortlessly with Neutrik branded connectors and to perform comparably. Mitee Speakon cables use the same quality components as the Neutrik version and can be counted on to deliver the same reliability over a very long life.

Mitee Speakon speaker cables have locking tabs and are designed to latch securely to Neutrik panel mount connectors, whether mounted on a speaker cabinet or on an amplifier. A simple twist insures a solid connection. Strain relief is provided through a spring loaded “press to release” tab.

Just like the Neutrik version, Mitee Speakons are fully shielded so that there is no risk of ever touching an energized contact. All conductors are recessed and the connector body is heavy duty, non-conducting plastic.

Speakon connectors have a unique design that insure they are not switched with XLR, quarter inch, or any other low current audio cables. They are never used on microphones or signal processing equipment, only speaker cables.

Mitee Speakon speaker cables utilize the four pole connector, even though the cables are two conductor. The four pole standard has been adopted by amplifier manufacturers that equip their amps with Speakon connectors so that the amp can be switched internally between mono and biamped. This means that you can be sure that speaker cables from buyspeakercable.com will mate with all popular Speakon equipped amplifiers.

Now featuring speaker cables at BuySpeakerCable.com

Tags: Pro Sound, speaker cable, speaker cables, speakon connectors
Posted in Pro Sound, Pro lighting, mic cables, speaker cables | No Comments »

The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same

Thursday, May 22nd, 2008

I retired for active involvement in the sound business just at the time when digital mixers were being introduced into the sound reinforcement industry. Consequently, I have observed from the sidelines as this change in technology moved into the live sound world. Sometimes it is easier to be a backseat driver than it is to learn new production skills.

The biggest impediment to having rank and file sound people (not those on the bleeding edge) embrace this technology has been that there were too few knobs capable of doing too many things. Sound people with years of analog mixing experience couldn’t just step up to a new mixer and build a mix. Intuition as to which knob will give the desired result simply didn’t matter anymore.

Digico, long a leader in digital mixers, has introduced a new series of consoles, the SD7 that speak directly to this problem. Instead of embracing the line of thinking that computer processing power would allow the manufacturer to decrease the number of knobs on the mixer (now called “control surface” in digital-speak), Digico is turning this idea on its head.

Decreases in cost and size of computer processing allows the SD7 to have MORE knobs and sliders. The result is that this mixer looks almost like a conventional analog desk. This is the part of the digital puzzle that has been missing, and it is an idea that will lead a whole generation of “over 40 something” sound people to take the digital plunge.

Recognizing that having separate knobs for tone control (eq) and aux busses (monitors and effects) is of more value than making a mixer as small and multi-functional as possible is an idea that is long overdue.

The Digico SD7 is expensive and you shouldn’t expect to see them in churches and schools anytime soon (probably never!). What you will see is some of the more reasonably priced offerings from companies like Yamaha and Mackie following Digico’s lead and using additional processing power to make their lower priced digital mixers something that late adopters will actually recognize.

When that happens, I just might come out of retirement.

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Shurtape gaffers tape, Duracell Procell batteries, MagLite flashlights, Nashua duct tape, Bay State wire ties, Electratrac and Coast Wire extension cords , OnStage Stand mic stands . Now offering Mitee Speaker Cables at buySPEAKERCABLE.com.

Posted in Pro Sound, Pro lighting, good business ideas, mic cables, speaker cables | No Comments »

Are We Living In The Clouds?

Thursday, May 1st, 2008

I listen to a lot of tech-centric podcasts, and recently have been regularly hearing a computer phrase called “cloud computing“. It sounded interesting but I kept forgetting to find out what it was really all about.

Turns our we have been “in the cloud” for several years. In beginnig the training for a new employee, I realized that I was causing some confusion with my explanation that sometimes she would be accessing files on our own in house server, sometimes at Fedex.com, sometimes at Goodbuyguys.com, etc., etc. In reality, it didn’t make any difference in how she would do her job, but not understanding the difference between running local and online applications could be pretty confusing.

Apparently, cloud computing simply means that the applications you are using on your own computer or workstation reside not on your computer or network, but somewhere on the internet.

When someone enters an order in our office, the information is downloaded “from the cloud“. That is, the order was entered in an online shopping cart that we developed, but is hosted by our partner, Pair Networks. Once the order is entered, our employee goes to Authorizenet.com (back into the cloud) to get the credit card verification, then returns to our inhouse computer system to print out the order for our shipping department.

Once the order is ready to ship, its “back into the cloud” at Fedex.com so that a label can be printed and the package information uploaded to Fedex. They can begin to schedule their planes and trucks long before the packages are picked up at our loading dock.

Then it’s back “out of the cloud” to make sure that the customer’s payment is credited to their account. That information resides on a server in our own offices.

Finally, there is one more trip “into the cloud” in order to send a tracking number to our customer so that they can know that their order has shipped and when it will arrive.

It didn’t take us long to get over our initial fears of having so much data crucial to our operation residing on someone else’s computer. It is incredibly efficient and plays a large part in our growth.

Still, its a good idea to know where you’re really working!

Posted in Pro Sound, Pro lighting, good business ideas | No Comments »

I Guess We Just Thought We Were Through With EBAY!

Thursday, April 3rd, 2008

I wrote back in February regarding our unhappiness with EBAY and the decision to close our store, BuyMicStand. We sold a lot of stuff, but the fee structure was so complicated and weighted against the merchant, it was almost impossible to make any money. We waved goodbye to EBAY.

We might have been finished with them, but they aren’t finished with us. EBAY’s solution to the defection of merchants and the closing of stores is to simply keep charging our credit card even though the account is closed.

We went through a complicated and time consuming process of closing our account, which EBAY acknowledged, but we must now go through another complicated process with American Express in order to get our money back and (hopefully) prevent EBAY from charging us again.

We really have not missed the sales that we made through our EBAY store, and we look forward to not missing dealing with these unauthorized charges.