This May Be My Favorite Web Site Of All Time!

Posted on by Jeff Posted in Uncategorized — No Comments ↓

mike2 Have you heard about “Wolfgang’s Vault?”. I don’t recommend web sites too often, but this one is too good to not share.

When the late Bill Graham, famous concert promoter of the 1960’s and 1970’s died, his memorabilia collection was sold to Bill Sagan, a west coast entrepeneur. This was no scrapbook. Graham had amassed a collection large enough to fill 25 forty foot tractor trailers.

The collection included millions of photos, posters, t shirts, banners etc. from some of the most famous names in rock-Hendrix, Joplin, The Who, The Rolling Stones, etc. The list of names goes on for pages.

Sagan has a unique, and really great business plan, for selling this memorabilia. The items that Graham has collected are for sale at the web site, and Wolfgang’s Vault streams (for free) hundreds of live concerts from this era, including some fo the best known from theFillmore West. They claim to have over 7000 different concert performances and you can listen any time you want by simply registering at the site.

The folks who run Wolfgang’s Vault are involved in a lot of legal litigation regarding who really has the rights to these concerts, so this may not last. Check it out while you can!

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Permacel gaffers tape, Duracell Procell batteries, MagLite flashlights, Nashua duct tape, Bay State wire ties,Electratrac and Coast Wire extension cords, and lots of other great products for the concert production industry.

Gypsies, Tramps, Thieves, Cher & Me

Posted on by Jeff Posted in Pro lighting, Pro Sound, web development, wireless microphones — No Comments ↓

Years ago, I had a dream where I sneaked a wireless mic into a Cher arena show, used a scanner to locate one of her backup singers wireless mic frequencies and then accompanied her on a duet of “Gypsies, Tramps & Thieves“.  At the end of the song, she asked that I be picked up with a spotlight and then she blew me a kiss.

Every trade magazine I pick up these days has an article about yet another Ipad, smart phone  or tablet computer app that is designed to wirelessly interface with a piece of sound or lighting equipment so that it can operated through an internet interface.   These are exciting developments and certainly give production pros a great new set of tools for managing their shows.

The article I am expecting to see next month, or the month after, is about how some 20,000 seat arena concert or major corporate media event has been hijacked by someone who has been able to hack one of these sound, lighting or video controllers and bring the show to its knees.  It seems inevitable to me.

All sorts of recent revelations regarding how much energy black hat hackers apply to cracking financial networks and major e-commerce sites show us time and again how vulnerable these interconnected resources are.  If major credit card and online sales  web sites that spend millions on security can be hacked and taken over, even briefly, by outside parties, it seems highly likely that wireless internet-based show controllers, subject to little or no security, must be quite vulnerable.

No kisses are going to be blown when this prediction comes true!

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Permacel 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 lots of other useful production supplies.

Tagged with: ,

These Guys are “First” Among Our Favorite Customers

Posted on by Jeff Posted in Uncategorized — No Comments ↓

spokesguy We got a nice gaffers tape order this morning from the First robotics competition and we are excited about working with this customer.

The first several times we got online orders from “usfirst“, frankly we thought they were coming from a bank or other financial institution.  I’m glad I took the time to look a little closer.

First sponsors a national program for for middle and high school students who design and build robots  and then compete against other teams.

It turns out that they use gaffers tape to lay out the “arena” where the robots compete.  The lanes and end zones are marked with different colors of cloth tape.

You can see an example in this video.

First was founded in 1989 by Dean Kamen, a well known inventor and entrepreneur probably best known for inventing the Segway.

To date, First has awarded millions in scholarships.  This year they will work with over hundreds of thousands of  students making up thousands of teams.

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, OnStage Stand mic stands.  We are proud to be asupporter of our local schools here in Chatham County, NC.

Now That’s Some Cool Tape

Posted on by Jeff Posted in gym floor tape, Uncategorized, volleyball tape — No Comments ↓

mike2 After being in the tape business for twenty years, it’s not every day that learn something new. When a customer shares a new tip with us, I enjoy passing it along to you.

We’ve been working with the US Volleyball Assoc. over the last year to help develop some new floor marking products. Volleyball matches are often played on basketball gym floors and this means that a temporary playing court must be laid out over the existing basketball lines. Its a lot of work!

Gym floors require a tape that won’t damage the floor finish when its removed and we have been supplying Shurtape 724 to a number of college programs for their floor.

Laying out a playing surface on a synthetic floor requires a different product. Vinyl tape works better and this is where a really clever technique comes in.

Our friends at USA Volleyball put their vinyl tape in the refrigerator. They learned that when the tape is cold it doesn’t stretch, meaning that the lines are straighter and the tape is less likely to contract and pull up from the floor. It’s a great idea and it really works.

Need some tape to put temporary markings on the floor? Check in the refrigerator!

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 , Dance Floor Tape and “value added” customer service. Check withus for all your temporary floor marking needs.

RSS Feed

How Much Longer Will We Need This Analog Link?

Posted on by Jeff Posted in microphones & mic stands — No Comments ↓

mike2 When asked about the invention of the automobile, Henry Ford said “If I’d asked people what they wanted, they would have asked for a better horse.” Ford realized early on that a potential purchaser of his invention had no way to conceive of what an automobile was. They were thinking about how to make their current reality better.

Digital audio is quickly bringing live sound to the point where Ford stepped beyond his customer’s reality.

Up to now, the design theory behind bringing digital audio to live sound has been to make the sound person’s reality better. Give them more powerful tools while keeping them in charge of deciding how something should sound.

Now that digital mixing consoles have come way down in price and complication, they are being embraced at every level of the live sound industry. It’s common to see them in churches and schools. Digital microphones are next. When this new mic technology is embraced (sooner rather than later) by the live sound community, the digital signal chain will be almost complete.

I say almost, because there is one giant analog bump in what is otherwise soon to be a complete digital signal path. If you mix sound, that bump is YOU!

How far are we away from the digital live sound reality that doesn’t include the sound guy?

Here’s what I’m talking about.

Take the latest Dave Matthews Band album. It’s recorded digitally and everything on the album can be reproduced and analyzed in the digital domain. Stick with me here. I’m not talking about how a song is actually played, but rather the volume, tonal quality and relationship of all the sounds on the album to each other.

If the band wants to closely reproduce the sound of the record (the “mix” if you will) in a live performance, then why not have the person who used to mix the sound be replaced by a computer that knows what the song is supposed to sound like. Every instrument on stage will soon be introduced into the live sound system either by a digital direct box or a digital microphone. Instead of a human moving faders and twisting knobs, the computer doing the mix will maintain the tonal integrity, relative volumes and dozens of other parameters analyzed from the recorded sound. There will be no problem if the arrangement on stage changes from night to night, because the mixing computer doesn’t really care about how the song is played, only about how it sounds.

It wasn’t long ago that most of us believed that cost, reliability and user-complication would keep digital mixers from ever being accepted in the live sound world. We’re over that.

Look for this to happen with spoken word first.

A presenter will simply read a couple of sentences into a digital recorder that interfaces with a digital mixer. When the speaker steps up the podium, the sound system will already know what he or she is supposed to sound like. When this info is combined with the digital analysis of the output of the sound system (we’ve had this software in common use for years) then the true sound of the presenter’s voice can be delivered directly to every seat in the house.

Will the future of live digital sound need us at all? Let me know what you think.

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 “value added” customer service.

Don’t Like Going to the Dentist? Just Chew on Duct Tape!

Posted on by Jeff Posted in duct tape — No Comments ↓

battery bob An article in Science News reveals an amazing tape fact.  The simple act of unwinding a roll of tape generates X-Rays.  Not just a few random rays-enough to actually expose a piece of dental x-ray film!

Scientists at UCLA were able to build a simple tape unrolling machine that generated enough X-ray bursts to actually image one of the technicians’ finger bones on an dental photographic plate.

This phenomenon is not completely understood nor is apparent that there is any commercial application for such technology.  A charge is generated when the tape is peeled off the roll.  Sudden jerking of the tape seems to cause electrons in the tape to give off energy in the form of protons.  A slight glow is even generated.

Next time your flashlight batteries go dead, maybe you just need to unwind (really quickly) a roll of duct tape.

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Shurtape gaffers tape, Duracell Procell batteries, MagLite flashlights, Nashua duct tape, Bay State wire ties, Enterainment 1 extension cords , OnStage Stand mic stands and quality speaker cables. You can occasionally also count on us for some fairly useless, if interesting, information!

Blowin’ in the Wind

Posted on by Jeff Posted in tie-line — No Comments ↓

mike2 You’re setting up for an outdoor event and that means it’s all but guaranteed that 30 minutes before the event is over, but well after dark, the bottom will drop out of the sky, promising a load out in the rain and a truck full of wet gear.

While the standard hardware store blue tarp is the industry standard for quick cover ups in the rain, they can really cause you some problems when the rain is accompanied by a stiff breeze.

A simple modification in a cheap tarp can make it many times more useful when the raindrops start falling.

Turn the tarp into a plastic bag.

Just take your tarps, fold them in half, and stitch up the edges.  If you’re not handy with a sewing machine, gaffers tape or even a stapler will work almost as well.

Larger tarps can be turned into bags that will cover up your entire PA stacks, and you can make smaller bags for covering up things like monitors.

Since the tarps can be easily cut and normally do not unravel, you can take one large tarp and turn it into a lot of custom covers for things like your consoles and amp racks.  No hemming necessary.

Since the tarps have grommets, you will have some tie down points, but you probably won’t even need them.  Since wind can’t get inside the bag, the harder the wind blows, the firmer the bag stays in place.

Make sure you label each bag with a large label (try using a Sharpie marker directly on the bag) in letters large enough to be seen in the dark.

At the first mention of rough weather, place each bag close to the location where it will be needed and instruct stagehands or volunteers how they are used.

This might well be the best piece of sound equipment you ever buy.

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, OnStage Stand mic stands. Sometimes we have some interesting ideas about web development too!  Click here to sign up for our newsletter.  Lots more good ideas at our Twitter feed.

How Do You Get To Carnegie Hall? Join the Stagehands Union

Posted on by Jeff Posted in Other News — No Comments ↓

good-idea-jeff_small_bigger.jpg I spent a number of years working as a union stagehand, rising to the position of vice-president of my local and enjoying a steady income while seeing lots of great shows.  I gave this sort of work up several years ago, but an article in the New York Times is making me rethink my decision.

The times reports that the props manager at Carnegie Hall, earned $530004.00 in pay and benefits in a recent year.  That’s right.  Over a half million dollars income working as a stagehand.

These figures come from the Carnegie Hall’s recent tax return and it shows that  several other stagehands had compensation packages that exceeded $400,000.00.

The times went to some length to point out that stagehand pay many times far exceeded the amount earned by well known performers actually appearing on the stage.

The top executive at Carnegie Hall, actually defended the pay, saying that stagehands “have huge and varied jobs to carry out”.

Now, I’ve been to Carnegie Hall (my wife & son performed with The Duke Chapel Choir there) and I’ve seen these stagehands at work.  Moving risers, setting up the conductors podium and controlling the lighting may require some special abilities, but probably not on par with a skilled surgeon.  I’m not sure that they even require any specific education.

I remember in detail the “huge and varied jobs” I did as a stagehand-everything from unloading a truck to climbing a lighting truss-and how happy I was to earn $15.00 an hour.  I seemed like a fair wage at the time, and some of the work I did was so interesting that I probably would have done it for free.

Sure, there is some wear and tear on the body, but I’m guessing that the earnings of a Carnegie stagehand, including double and triple overtime, compensation for unsed vacation, and various union-mandated payouts, go a long way towards easing the pain.

The next time you pay $100 for a ticket and go to a concert, pay careful attention to the stagehands you see.  They may be the highest paid performers in the building.

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Shurtape 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.  Check back here often for my random observations about show business.

The Tower of Babel

Posted on by Jeff Posted in customer service — No Comments ↓

good-idea-jeff_small_biggerOne of my favorite Bible stories is The Tower of Babel, where God comes down to the people of Babylon who have built a great tower and causes them to no longer be able to understand what they are saying to each other because he is displeased with their disobedience.  It is a parable about why we have so many languages and how God punished the citizens of Babylon for trying to build a tower that would “reach up to heaven”.

I reference this story as an introduction to one of the most vexing, but easily solvable problems I face every day.  We make an effort to make sure customers and reach us on the phone, even though we are a web based business, and we usually prefer to conduct transactions online.  Still, we’ve had the same toll free phone number for 25 years and try to insure that it is answered by the third ring.

More and more, the caller on the other end of the line is a non-native English speaker and this usually means trouble.  We deal in some fairly technical issues (product specs, tracking info, etc.) and language barriers can be a real problem.  We’re a small business and, do date, no one in our shop is fluent in any other languages.  Sometimes the confusion is humorous, but usually it is just frustrating-on both ends of the line.

In just about every case the problem, or inquiry, could be much more easily resolved if the customer would go to the web rather than the phone.  In most cases, the answer to their question is readily available on one of our thousands of web pages.  If not, our email address and contact form are easy to find.

Best of all, new translation software from Google means that the inquiry doesn’t even need to be posted in English. An inquiry in Spanish about a “micrófono se encuentra” can quickly be translated to “microphone stand” and a term like UPS tracking numberbecomes “Número de rastreo de UPS” with a couple of key strokes.  It’s almost like having an international customer service department.

We’ll continue to prominently publish our toll free phone numbers and cheerfully answer the phone, but if you want the best customer service we can offer, then you’ll be happiest by sticking to the web.

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Permacel gaffers tape,Duracell Procell batteries,  Nashua duct tape, Bay State wire ties, Hosa and Entertainment One extension cords and OnStage Stand mic stands.  Tell us how you use online translation services.

So Much for the “Warm” Analog Sound

Posted on by Jeff Posted in mic cables — No Comments ↓

spokesguy USB microphones have begun to make inroads in semi-pro audio, primarily among podcasters, since it allows you to record directly to your computer without a mixer or preamp.  Sound quality is much better than the mic built into most computers.

Higher end pro audio users have been slow to adopt this technology because they don’t want to give up the familiarity they have with the sound quality of their favorite mics.

Blue Microphones has gone a long way towards bridging this gap with their  Icicle, a XLR/USB preamp/converter that will allow you to plug a regular dynamic or condenser mic directly into a USB port on your computer.  No other outboard gear is needed.

icicle

In addition to having standard female XLR3 and male USB connectors, the Icicle has a handy volume knob so you can control volume in the conventional way, not with an onscreen slider.  It can also provide 48v phantom power so it works with most condensers.

This is an “instant on” device (no drivers to install) and is designed for a fully balanced input.

Best of all, the Icicle logo glows blue when it is plugged in.

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.

Top