By George Petersen
THIS WAS A TOUGH YEAR FOR MIDDLE TENNESSEE. And it was especially hard on Soundcheck, Nashville’s premiere live sound showcase for tour rehearsals, with off-the-road storage for instruments and backline for major tours, and on-site offices for leading companies such as Meyer Sound, Shure, Digital Console Rentals, Fender, Peavey, Tour Supply Inc., and others. And back in mid-May, when the once-in-a-century rains caused the Cumberland River to rise well over its flood stages, Soundcheck was at ground zero, and in a matter of hours was completely submerged. We had planned to host our sister publication’s annual Mix Nashville live sound and recording series just days later, and postponed the event until September 13 and 14, 2010.

Meanwhile in those months since the waters subsided, Soundcheck has been going nearly 24/7 to get back on line, pulling out drenched sheetrock, tearing out soaked carpeting, re-wiring and re-building, while rare guitars and amps went into a dry triage facility, where world-class restoration specialists went to work. Now, after this almost Herculean effort, Soundcheck is back.

It took a while to line up new dates for Mix Nashville that would work for sponsors, attendees and, most importantly, Nashville’s audio community. But we’re moving full-steam ahead with our favorite event of the year. Nashville is a recording town and there are plenty of programs catering to the studio crowd, but we’re also offering expanded programming, with two full days of presentations and panels focusing on live sound.

Hosted by Meyer Sound and Yamaha, Soundcheck’s Studio D will be the central point for all things Live, with three presentations each day from the sponsors, and I’ll be moderating two stellar industry panels featuring top-level industry pros offering advice and insights from their years of experience. The first, on Monday afternoon at 2:30pm, is “Sound System Meets Venue—Selecting The Right Playback Package,�? which given the selection of range of gear available today, will look into answering some tough questions about creating the right system for any installation. At 2:30pm on Tuesday, the topic will shift to “What’s Next? Technologies That Will Drive the Next Five Years in Sound Reinforcement.�? And with all that’s going on—from consoles to plug-ins to processors to snakes to system control to wireless—this should provide a fascinating glimpse into determining what’s around the corner and on the horizon.

Best of all, the event is FREE to all greater Nashville residents, and a mere $39 for earlybird registrants from outside Davidson County. Visit the Mix Nashville website today for all information and links to registration. Hope to see you there!
George Petersen is an independent journalist/author/producer. Visit him on Facebook or at www.audioinfosource.com.
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By George Petersen
STANDARDS COME AND GO, but when something comes along that’s picking up widespread support in the consumer, automotive and pro audio markets, and sponsored by well-known names such as Broadcom, Cisco, Harman, Intel, Samsung, Xilinx, Analog Devices, Applied Micro, Audinate, Avid, Barco, Biamp, Meyer, Shure, Sennheiser, and others, you gotta take notice.
Founded just a year ago—and celebrating its first birthday at InfoComm—the AVnu Alliance is dedicated to advancing pro-quality audio video by promoting IEEE 802.1 Audio/Video Bridging (AVB) standards over various networking link-layers. AVnu promotes the benefits of AVB technologies and will create compliance test procedures and processes that insure AVB interoperability of networked A/V devices, with the goal of better A/V experiences for end users. For anyone involved in the installation/manufacturing/sales/distribution/operation of A/V products—meaning everybody in our industry—AVnu is a good thing.
And learning more about AVB is a good thing. This month’s InfoComm show is the ideal opportunity for audio professionals to learn more about the practical benefits of the emerging AVB standards. To that end, the alliance will host a technology and product pavilion in the main hall at Booth C7934 on the show floor with various Alliance companies demonstrating their use of AVB. The Alliance members also invite all InfoComm attendees to their first-birthday celebration at the pavilion on Thursday, June 10 at 4:00 pm.
Keeping with education theme, “Designing The World’s First Ethernet AVB Systems with HiQnet System Architect�—a training session hosted by Harman—will focus on configuring an Ethernet AVB system in a house of worship system design. It happens Wednesday June 9 from 2:30 to 4:30 at Room N208.
Also not to be missed is a panel discussion on Friday, June 11 moderated by InfoComm’s Dan Goldstein, presenting a detailed explanation of AVB, the advantages of this open, non-proprietary technology and the importance of a compliance program in promoting the interoperability of AVB devices.
For more information about AVnu, AVB, and the AVnu Alliance—including detailed white papers on various aspects of the technology—visit www.AVnu.org. For more information about Infocomm, go to www.infocommshow.org.
When not working on Mix stuff, George Petersen records and performs with the SF Bay Area-based rock band ARIEL. Check ‘em out at www.jenpet.com.
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By George Petersen

MUSIKMESSE/PRO LIGHT+SOUND COMES TO FRANKFURT, Germany in a couple weeks (March 24 to 27, 2010) and it’s a monster event, with 15 exhibit halls of M.I., pro audio, DJ and lighting gear. It’s kind of like attending Winter NAMM, LDI, AES, DJ Expo, NSCA and more—all squeezed into four exhausting days. Newcomers attending Musikmesse/PL+S are often awestruck by the show’s size and scope, but with a few tips, it’s really quite manageable. Here’s some advice for anyone interested in the art of Musikmesse survival:
GETTING AROUND: You DO know your Musikmesse/PL+S badge is also a free pass for Frankfurt’s excellent public transit system, with U-Bahn/S-Bahn (subway), buses, streetcars…. Also, there’s a S-Bahn station inside Messe (in the Torhaus) that’s really convenient. Note: The transit system in Frankfurt works on the honor system; there’s a substantial fine if you can’t produce a ticket or pass, so keep your badge with you after hours as well.
GET IT IN WRITING: Thankfully, a good percentage of Germans speak English. However, just in case, whenever I travel to a foreign country I always keep a copy of the name, address and phone number of my hotel (from a business card or brochure) and keep it in my wallet. This way I can always show it to a taxi driver who has trouble understanding me, and it will get me back to where I need to go.
MORNING CAB TRICK: If you’re taking a cab into Messe in the morning and coming from the direction of city center or the train station, tell the cabbie to take you to the Marriott Hotel rather than Messe (just walk across the street and you’re there). This way, you save time and $$$, by not having to endure the extra 1/2-mile–and frequently backed up–Hamburger Alee (yeah, that’s really the name of the road!) next to Messe, where the cabs have to double back to make a legal U-Turn to get to the front of the Maritim Hotel next to the Halle 5.1 entrance.
SHUTTLECRAFT: Need to get from Hall 5 to Hall 9 in a hurry? Forget those people movers and escalators in the hallways! Walk downstairs, and go outside to the shuttle bus stops, where free shutttles come by every 2 minutes and stop at each hall. They run all day in a loop connecting all the halls. Also, many of the halls are stacked above one another, so your next appointment may just be an escalator ride away.
THE FIND-A-CAB TRICK: There’s a cab stand near Messe in front of the Maritim Hotel, but after 5:30 pm, all the cabs disappear and depending on the lines, the cab wait is sometimes up to 40 minutes (longer when it’s raining). Same problem at the Marriott Hotel across the street. But you’re not stuck: Just use that free transit pass and jump on any streetcar heading toward the Hauptbahnhof (train station) about 2-3 stops away. Get off there, and go to the train station where there are always dozens of cabs out front waiting for customers. Alternatively, you can also ride the subway (or walk) from Messe to the Hauptbahnhof and get a cab there.
GOOD EATS: Unlike most convention centers, Messe has tons of restaurants, some very good–steakhouse, sushi, etc. here’s the link… http://www.accentegastronomie.de/en/restaurants_bistros_shops/e6-1.htm I like the one called Rotisserie… it’s at the far end of hall 6.1 with its entrance squeezed next to the staircases, making it hard to find… Not a hot dog place! Has linen tablecloths, table service, lunches about $12-$15… It’s fairly quiet and a great place for business lunches.
AVOID SATURDAY: If you’re attending for business, try to get everything done before Saturday, when the show’s open to the general public. Not only will the joint be packed, but the key players in many companies duck out on the last day.
SOUVENIR SHOPPING: The Floh Markt (Flea Market) is 8am-2pm Saturday mornings along the bank of the Main river in the Sachsenhausen district (about a 10 minute cab ride from Messe). It’s FREE and an awesome place to pick up odd trinkets, and last-minute gifts for the kids or folks back home. I’ve been taking people there for years and they’re constantly amazed by the odd stuff we find, ranging from treasures to genuine Eurotrash. But whether you buy or not, the Floh Markt provides a highly entertaining excursion that you won’t soon forget. Just keep your wallet in your front pocket! Speaking of Sachsenhausen, it’s the restaurant district in Frankfurt, with hundreds of eateries within a 10 to 12 block area—a great reason to return some evening.
STAYING UPRIGHT: If you’ve never attended a European show, you should know that there’s a bar (and occasional complete lounge) built into nearly every booth. German beer is very good and Messe-style is a very civilized way of doing business. But as you wander from booth to booth, you might consider alternating soda, juice or water with those beers, so you’re still coherent by mid-afternoon! Anyway, travel safe and have a nice Musikmesse.
DO A FRIEND A FAVOR! Know someone attending Musikmesse? E-mail them the link to this blog. Thanks!
When not working on Mix stuff, George Petersen records and performs with the SF Bay Area-based rock band ARIEL. Check ‘em out at www.jenpet.com.
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By George Petersen
EVER WONDER IF SOMEONE’S PUTTING YOU ON? We always appreciate getting e-mails and comments about Mix and the industry in general, but every once in a while, we just gotta wonder whether someone’s putting us on. It’s the web equivalent of the phrase “O.K., Where’s the hidden camera?”—wondering whether Allen Funt is gonna come out from behind a curtain. And sometimes, maybe it’s simply a sad reflection on whoever actually sends these things.

One time, some guy inquired, asking for a recommendation about what kind of outboard mic preamp he should buy. Someone told him his tracks would sound much better if he bought a Neve preamp. I replied that to in order for us to maintain some kind of impartiality, we have a policy of not recommending any specific products unless it is part of a written article, review, etc. But out of curiosity, I asked him what kind of mics he had. He replied he had a couple of Shure SM57s.
Believe me, there are few mics more amazing than this must-have, time-tested classic, but at this point the “Candid Camera” alarm went off in my mind. However, diplomacy set in and I recommended he could probably get more quality for his money by first getting some better mics which later—once he’s ready to invest in a super-quality preamp—would really make sense. Problem is some schmoe, an “expert,” no doubt, gave some one-size-fits-all advice that really didn’t fit his particular situation.

Another time, some guy e-mailed after reading what we assumed was a thoroughly tongue-in-cheek article I wrote on the back page of our AES issue last year with a bunch of joke press releases called “Products You Won’t See at AES”. You can check it out here: CLICK HERE FOR ARTICLE.
Among other things—including gems such as “The Roach Coach Music Library,” a “Drunkulator” plug-in and a “Stoogelizer” outboard processor—the list described the “Virtual Sur-Reality” helmet, which would give users the visual impression they were mixing in Abbey Road studios or the Sydney Opera House rather than the cheesy studio or dumpy basement club they were in.

It was written in jest, yet some poor soul actually thought it was real (talk about sur-reality!) and wondered how he could contact the manufacturer. I’m sure it was quite a letdown for this person to hear the truth, but maybe there’s a lesson to be learned here that indicates there might be a market opportunity for someone to actually make such a product. Any takers? And hey, if it’s on the Internet, it’s gotta be real… doesn’t it?

George Petersen is an independent journalist/author/producer. Visit him on Facebook or at www.audioinfosource.com.

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By George Petersen
THIS HASN’T BEEN THE BEST WEEK. Jim Cowan, an old friend just passed away after a bout with cancer. Just 52 years young, he was a 20-year veteran of Neutrik USA (in fact, he was the company’s first employee), starting out as general manager and eventually becoming company president.
Jim was an amazing person who was loved by everyone in the audio industry and even though we lived on opposite coasts, seeing him at tradeshows was always a great experience. Even better was some years ago when we spent a week in Liechtenstein, checking out the sights, including visiting Neutrik’s plant and company HQ in this tiny European country of 62 square miles—barely larger than the 49-square mile footprint of the city of San Francisco. In those few days, I really got to know what an intelligent, creative and caring human being he was.
And anyone who ever met Jim would tell you he loved the pro audio industry. In a Mix interview, he talked about the satisfaction he felt from “meeting and having one-on-one conversations over the years with industry leaders and pioneers such as Hartley and Melia Peavey, Greg Mackie, Phil Hart, Charlie Wicks and Michael Laiacona—to name just a few. I have been fortunate to have met some of the most talented artists, engineers, installers and designers in the industry.” Jim also recalled that one of his most rewarding accomplishments was getting Neutrik’s Speakon connector accepted by manufacturers, users and installers. “It was a big challenge for Neutrik to create something totally new and to get the industry to like it, believe in it and support it,â€? he said. But Jim’s persistence and hard work paid off, with Speakon now accepted as a worldwide industry standard.
Jim was a devoted father to his sons, participating in their track and soccer programs and coaching youth basketball and Little League baseball teams. He enjoyed traveling, was a serious wine enthusiast and a proud member of the Red Sox Nation. Jim is survived by his wife Kate, sons Daniel and Gregory and his mother. As the disease that took him progressed, and he knew the end was near, he requested that friends who remembered him should donate to Ocean of Love, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping children with cancer and their families. It’s no less than I would expect from a man with so much love and who was loved by so many. Farewell, friend–you will be not be forgotten.

When not working on Mix stuff, George Petersen records and performs with the SF Bay Area-based rock band ARIEL. Click here www.jenpet.com/ariel.html and check ‘em out.
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By George Petersen
DURING MY 28-YEAR TENURE HERE AT MIX, I’ve done hundreds of interviews with people in all aspects of pro audio–engineers, producers, live sound mixers, artists, educators, studio owners, manufacturers, designers–you name it. But it isn’t very often that I’m the one being interviewed, although a couple of these instances occurred recently. One was by my old friend Alan Parsons, who was doing some kind of video documentary and talked to me about Mix magazine during the AES show. It’s too bad he didn’t interview me about the time we spent a week teaching audio seminars (and goofing off) in Argentina for some events sponsored by the wonderful Mercedes Onorato, but like the old saying goes, what happens in Buenos Aires STAYS in Buenos Aires. There are a lot of great stories about that trip, but maybe some other day…
My other interview was by the awesome, talented publicist Marsha Vdovin, who spoke to me a couple weeks ago about my work with the TECnology Hall of Fame, which I founded five years ago as a spinoff to the TEC Awards, to honor audio innovations and innovators from the relatively short (OK, 125-year) history of pro audio, going back to the early work of pioneers such as Edison and Berliner. Marsha’s project had to do with this year’s induction of Bill Putnam’s 1176 compressor—truly a classic in anyone’s book. In fact, I was equally honored to have Bill Putnam Jr. (of the reborn Universal Audio) be on hand to accept the award in the memory of his father.
The sad side of pro audio’s history is that it’s fleeting, very fragile and often poorly documented. Researching this stuff ain’t easy. Many manufacturers are long since out of business. At some companies, no one remains who has any knowledge of the original product—even a few years later. The history of pro audio—our very lineage—is woefully neglected and sources are scarce, if not impossible to find, so ANY effort to chronicle our past is a worthwhile effort. You can check out profiles and information about all of the TECnology Hall of Fame inductees to date by clicking on TECnology Hall of Fame, http://mixonline.com/TECnology-Hall-of-Fame/.
Anyway, after all these years, it was great to chat with Marsha about some of the background behind the event and recall a few highlights. But rather than spoiling all the fun, you can check it our yourself at the Heritage Section of Universal Audio’s website. These guys really understand the importance of history.
As a sidenote to this year’s TECnology Hall of Fame, one of this year’s other inductees was for the Kurzweil 250 keyboard, and although Ray Kurzweil wasn’t able to attend, we were pleased to have his daughter Amy accept the award on his behalf and keeping with the trend, Eric Blackmer, son of the legendary late David Blackmer, accepted the induction for his father’s classic dbx 160 compressor.

When not working on Mix stuff, George Petersen records and performs with the SF Bay Area-based rock band ARIEL. Click here www.jenpet.com/ariel.html and check ‘em out.
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By George Petersen
IT AIN’T EVERYDAY, BUT ONCE IN A WHILE I have the pleasure of talking to Fletcher, the founder/audio cult leader of Mercenary Audio, MercenaryAudio.com. And while we don’t always agree, I definitely respect this guy for his audio saavy–which is most impressive. He’s occasionally been the center of controversy, such as the time that the centerpiece of his AES booth was an Alesis ADAT and a Mackie 1604 mixer, held high for all to see–impaled on a huge metal spike. I think he referred to that as an art project, but later acquiesced to pressure from the AES to take it down as it offended certain showgoers.
Another time, some bozo was trying to sell replacement speaker cable kits with a pair of standard household AC plugs wired to 1/4-inch connectors. The idea was that if you needed a 100-foot speaker line for a live gig, you’d just attach these adapters to an orange AC extension cable and you’d be set. Well, set for electrocution–in case someone accidentally plugged one end into a 110-volt outlet while the other was in your amp/mixer etc. Great concept, perhaps, but a VERY BAD IDEA. Anyway, Fletcher offered his own protest by outlining a body silhouette (it might have been Eveanna Manley’s) on his booth floor in yellow tape, looking much like a crime scene right after CSI-AES arrives.

Anyway, we chatted for a while and somehow got on the subject of the weirdest calls we’d ever received. I recounted one I got from some guy who couldn’t find original Shure SM57 mics. He called a half dozen retailers, who only sold SM57-LC mics. What happened to the real thing–the classic that everyone uses on everything from snares to Fender Twins? I’m not sure if he was saddened or relieved when I simply told him that the “LC” designation simply meant “less cable,” meaning it didn’t come with a cord. The guy’s response was simply: “Oops. sorry…” [click].

Fletcher laughed, and then recounted a tale of some guy who called him a few years ago, looking for an original “blackfaced” ADAT. Given the Mercenary boy’s history with ADATs, he figured someone was putting him on, because even if someone did want an ADAT tape machine, they’d most certainly opt for one of the later versions with the improved electronics and transport. This guy went on to explain that he’d read about people printing rhythm tracks to tape as an effect, had tried it with an ADAT and really dug the way it “warmed” up the sound… This guy was certainly off his rocker, but had done the near-impossible, something that few have ever accomplished, leaving the quick witted–and highly opinionated–Fletcher himself speechless. The story is almost unbelieveable, yet Fletcher swears that it’s true. Ask him sometime.

When not working on MIX stuff, George Petersen records and performs with the SF Bay Area-based rock band ARIEL. Click here www.jenpet.com/ariel.html and check ‘em out.
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By George Petersen
IF YOU’VE NEVER BEEN TO A NAMM SHOW, you should know that it’s a scene like no other. I mean, it’s really a whipped frappe mixture of high-tech, low-tech, things that amaze, things that amuse, the expected and the un-expected. And LOTS of people, especially on Saturday (the weekend), when the floodgates open, the dam bursts and the joint is packed with ten times as many people as were there just the day before. Now this is a trade-only event–it’s not open to the public–but the weekend brings an unending throng of fans who sill stand in line for an hour or more to get a signed poster or 8×10 of their fave rock idols (yeah, it’s mostly rock stars) who make personal appearances at whatever booth they’re endorsing this week. It’s a celebrity fest, to be sure…
That morning I ran across a few old friends–Al Schmitt and Elliot Scheiner, and walked the show floor with them for a while. NAMM conversations always start with the classic opener “What have you seen that’s interesting?” and they had just arrived and I was bogged down in meetings up until then and hadn’t had a chance to REALLY do some digging on my “find the cool gear” treasure hunt. So we exchanged a few gems–mine was the very cool anodized aluminum, tube shaped case with threaded caps (it looks sort of like a MagLite flashlight) that will go with RODE’s new high-end shotgun mic. Sorry it’s not exactly a glitzy rock-star item, but it sure beats seeing your shotgun mic crushed, folded in half, or mired in gunk while on a location shoot.
But back to the story… What suddenly struck me was the fact that here I was walking around with two certified legends–real superstars in OUR industry, but these guys were completely invisible to the mobs of autograph seekers fighting over a scrawled publicity shot by some ephemeral rock star. The same reaction came later, while I spent some time talking with Chuck Ainlay. Here I am hanging with some of the great artists of our day, but not even a second look. Just another day at NAMM…
When not working on MIX stuff, George Petersen records and performs with the SF Bay Area-based rock band ARIEL. Click here www.jenpet.com/ariel.html and check ‘em out.
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By George Petersen
I FIRST GOT A REAL SWISS ARMY KNIFE back in the early ‘70s, when I spent a lot of time troubleshooting gear. I finally managed to destroy it (it essentially was worn out to the nubs) after it saved my butt about a thousand times, repairing hundreds of pieces of A/V gear, from simple P.A. rigs to elaborate 70mm projection systems with 6-channel Dolby playback. I even filed down the flat screwdriver that stuck out of the side of the knife body at a 90-degree angle so it would fit those reverse-threaded XLR set screws that holds the connector into place. That same attachment also made for a pretty formidable brass-knuckle effect, although that particular usage wasn’t mentioned in any of the official Victorinox literature.
Anyway, it’s too late for Christmas now, but I just heard about a slick new entry in the Swiss Army line—even cooler than the company’s Cyberknife of a couple years back, the one that even included mini Torx drivers for repairing PCs.
Although it’s a whopping $1,200 retail, Wenger Giant Swiss Army Knifeâ„¢ V1.0 #16999 certainly tops anyone’s gift list—or for those companies looking for the ultimate in tradeshow swag—this one’s the ticket. At an actual size of 8.75×3.25-inches (WxL); and weighing in at 2 pounds, 11 ounces, it’s a bit large for the average pocket. However you get a lot here…
It touts 85 implements with 110 functions in all including a 2.5″ 60% serrated locking blade; nail file, nail cleaner; corkscrew; adjustable pliers with wire crimper and cutter; removable screwdriver bit adapter; 2.5″ blade for official world scout knife; spring-loaded, locking needle-nose pliers with wire cutter; removable screwdriver bit holder; phillips head screwdriver bit 0; phillips head screwdriver bit 1; phillips head screwdriver bit 2; flat head screwdriver bit 0.5mm x 3.5mm; flat head screwdriver bit 0.6mm x 4.0mm; flat head screwdriver bit 1.0mm x 6.5mm; magnetized recessed bit holder; double-cut wood saw with ruler (inch & cm); bike chain rivet setter, removable 5mm allen wrench, screwdriver for slotted and philips head screws; removable tool for adjusting bike spokes, 10mm hexagonal key for nuts; removable 4mm curved allen wrench with philips head screwdriver; removable 10mm hexagonal key; patented locking philips head screwdriver; universal wrench; 2.4″ springless scissors with serrated, self-sharpening design; 1.65″ clip point utility blade; philips head screwdriver; 2.5″ clip point blade; golf club face cleaner; 2.4″ round tip blade; patented locking screwdriver, cap lifter, can opener; golf shoe spike wrench; golf divot repair tool; 4mm allen wrench; 2.5″ blade; fine metal file with precision screwdriver; double-cut wood saw; cupped cigar cutter with double-honed edges; 12/20-gauge choke tube tool; watch caseback opening tool; snap shackle; mineral crystal magnifier with precision screwdriver; compass, straight edge, ruler (in./cm); telescopic pointer; fish scaler, hook disgorger, line guide; shortix laboratory key; micro tool holder; micro tool adapter; micro scraper–straight; micro scraper–curved; laser pointer with 300 ft. range; metal saw, metal file; flashlight; micro tool holder; philips head screwdriver 1.5mm; screwdriver 1.2mm; screwdriver .8mm; fine fork for watch spring bars; reamer; pin punch 1.2mm; pin punch .8mm; round needle file; removable tool holder with expandable receptacle; removable tool holder; special self-centering screwdriver for gunsights; flat philips head screwdriver; chisel-point reamer; mineral crystal magnifier, fork for watch spring bars, small ruler; extension tool; spring-loaded, locking flat nose-nose pliers with wire cutter; removable screwdriver bit holder; phillips head screwdriver bit 0; phillips head screwdriver bit 1; phillips head screwdriver bit 2; flat head screwdriver bit 0.5mm x 3.5mm; flat head screwdriver bit 0.6mm x 4.0mm; flat head screwdriver bit 1.0mm x 6.5mm; magnetized recessed bit holder; tire tread gauge; fiber optic tool holder; can opener; patented locking screwdriver, cap lifter, wire stripper; reamer/awl; toothpick; tweezers; and of course, a key ring—you won’t lose your keys if this sucker is attached—guaranteed.
Of all these functions, my fave would have to be the “12/20-gauge choke tube tool� (some of use work some pretty tough gigs), but the “shortix laboratory key� sounds intriguing as well…
Wanna check it out? Just click here…

When not working on Mix stuff, George Petersen records and performs with the SF Bay Area-based rock band ARIEL. Click here www.jenpet.com and check ‘em out.
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