Doug Sax
Doug Sax has played an integral role in the Art of Mastering. Founding The Mastering Lab, the first independent mastering studio in 1967. Through the years Doug has worked with acclaimed artists such as Pink Floyd, The Who, James Taylor and many more. (more…)
I recently worked a Soul Survivor Momentum conference, as a volunteer. I thought it would just involve manning a microphone for seminars… button pressing work. Boring, but I really wanted to go the event and when you volunteer you get to go for free plus meals (win!). So I decided to do it.
It turned out I was wrong. This week long event turned out to be one of the best learning experiences of the summer. I was assigned to work in a venue called Cafe Uno. My responsibilities were manning the microphone for seminars (as I suspected) but then every evening I got to mix a great function band. The venue had two to three hundred people attending each evening, with capacity reaching 1,500 one evening. It turned into a one in – one out policy and at a Christian festival it is relatively unheard of.
Here are some of the things I came away with.
I came away with experience on how to effectively direct stage hands. This may sound strange, but I am so used to either doing it on my own or being the stagehand I did not know if I would be able to effectively direct them. The advice I can pass along to everyone going through this phase in their career (as we all hopefully will) Make sure you make a connection with your stage hand. Do not just start ordering them around. They are a people to and you were once in that position. Find out their skill set. What are they good at? What part of sound do they like doing? What do they want to learn? By finding out these things you will now understand how best to utilize them. This will help keep them passionate and excited throughout the week and what you can teach them throughout the week.
I also go to load an Artic Lorry, (for those residing in the United States articulated lorry- a truck consisting of a tractor and trailer together or a semi…) Everyone has to do it sometime. I don’t have any advice, I just thought it was pretty damn cool!
I had the same function band all week who also stayed on site and were easily accessible. I made a point of spending time and hanging out with them in the ‘teams lounge’. I found having a connection with the band outside of being their sound engineer allowed us to work together better in the evening. I found the difference between day one and day five were polar opposites. It definitely pays to hang with the band!
All in all I had a great time. I went on my own and left having made some great new friends, good contacts and a new appreciation for the guys I work with.
Here is a picture of the biggest evening. We had to bring in extra stewards to man the stage due to some crazy crowd surfing the previous evening. In addition, the venue layout had to be shifted around because the original purpose of the venue was a chilled cafe with a function band playing background music. As you can see it naturally became more like a gig/party vibe.
Thanks for reading.
Bonham’s Ludwig drum kit was miked up with one overhead, a mic on the kick drum, one for the toms and one for the hi-hat and snare.
Photos: Jorgen Angel/ Redferns
Many in the pro audio industry know Phil Dudderidge as the founder of sound desk-maker Soundcraft and current CEO of Focusrite. But he had, as they say in Hollywood, a back-story.
In 1970, Dudderidge was a 21-year-old roadie/sound mixer with three years experience lugging gear and managing microphones for bands like Fairport Convention, the Incredible String Band and Soft Machine. Given the rudimentary PA equipment most of the artists at the time had, Dudderidge says his primary qualification for the gigs was having a valid driver’s license and owning a van. “None of these bands had much in the way of PA systems,” he recalls, “Just something to amplify vocals, even in venues as large as the Albert Hall.”
Dudderidge met Peter Grant, Led Zeppelin’s manager at the time, through Charlie Watkins, owner of WEM, the leading UK PA provider in those days. He had barely heard of the band, but nonetheless volunteered to become their soundman. From March to May, 1970, Dudderidge was part of the tour that would come to set the standard for modern rock tour sound.
PM: When you joined the tour, already in progress, what was the PA system like?
PD: “When I arrived, mid-tour, at Montreaux to join the Led Zeppelin crew, I found a fairly standard rig for that level of band, similar to those owned by The Who and Pink Floyd, which I had seen at various gigs. The speakers were mostly 4 x 12-inch columns (10 per side), plus two stacks of two 2 x 15s with a small horn on top per side, all driven by 12 100W power amps. And just two WEM five-channel Audiomaster mixers [interesting history here: www.wemwatkins.co.uk/history.htm] providing 10 channels. I’d never had my hands on such a big rig! Mics were the usual assortment of Shure Unidynes and Unisphere’s, the forerunners of the SM57 and SM58.”
PM: How were the 10 channels allocated?
PD: “1. Robert Plant’s vocal. 2. Jimmy’s vocal (he rarely approached it, but it usefully covered his guitar stack; when he soloed, I could push the level up).
3. John Paul Jones’ vocal.
4. Leslie top.
5. Leslie bottom.
Channels 6 to 10 on the drums: bass drum, snare/hi-hat, top toms, floor toms and an overhead, as I recall. No DI or mics on the Acoustic bass amp speakers; there were two and bass got into everything anyway.”
PM: Where was the FOH position?
PD: “There was none! We had no snake, so I mixed from behind the stage-right PA stack and had to go into the audience to hear what it sounded like. Also, no stage monitors; I simply turned the inside 4 x 12 column on each side towards the stage.”
PM: On-the-job training?
PD: “I had constant instruction from Robert between songs: ‘More presence, more treble.’ There was no more to give; both were maxed on his channel. The Audiomaster offered three fixed bands of EQ and a rotary fader. Next to the jack inputs were trim controls. I used to have Robert’s fader at max and would ride the trim because his mic level distorted the input stage of the mixer. The band were so loud on stage. Jimmy used two 100W Marshall stacks with Hiwatt heads. John Paul had his two Acoustic 361 bass amps and two big Leslies for the Hammond. And John Bonham was the loudest drummer to ever live!”
PM: When LZ came to the States for the first time, did the WEM PA come too?
PD: “Coming to America for the first time was an eye-opener. Peter Grant had asked me whether the WEM system would be big enough for US venues and I replied that I had no idea. Thankfully, at the first venue, the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, I arrived to find a huge rig supplied by Kelly Deyong Sound System, a local company. This was based on the Altec ‘Voice of the Theatre’ bass bins with compression driver horns, something I had never seen. Modern touring systems had yet to be invented. Back then, tour sound was regional rather than national, so we used vastly different systems from one night to the next. The three of us crew members would drive from city to city in a rental truck carrying the amps, guitars, drums, Hammond and Leslie, and the WEM PA, which was used for stage monitors.”
PM: Aside from the technical aspects, what else do you remember about that US tour?
PD: “To sense the vibe watch Almost Famous, a movie that really captured the sense of touring the States in the early ’70s. Consider that we stayed in Holiday Inns — except in LA, where we stayed at the Chateau Marmont when we played the Forum and the Continental Hyatt House (the Riot House) — and other motels and average hotels, but only when we had time. Usually, we had to set off after the show for the next city. Anything up to 600 miles. Anything further and we would fly by scheduled service, sending all the gear ‘excess baggage’. Picture backing the Hertz truck up to the plane and tagging every piece as it was loaded!
It typically took three separate flights to get all the gear there. I recall the trip from Memphis to Phoenix. I took the first flight, and picked up the rental truck and the first batch of gear. One of the other guys came with the second batch. The last few items (including the Audiomasters) came unaccompanied. I had to return to the airport to pick this up as show time approached. Having set everything else up with my colleagues Sandy and Henry, I had to get these last items. On the way back from the airport to the venue, the Veterans Memorial Coliseum, I hit a huge traffic jam — the audience trying to get to the venue. My only recourse was to drive the wrong way down the streets into the venue, headlights and hazards blazing, for maybe a mile. Thankfully, nobody challenged me. And those days we had no laminates or other ID — just my UK driver’s license.
We had a couple of incidents on the road that were life threatening: crossing the Rockies from Portland to Denver in a blizzard on a two-lane highway, and spinning the truck 360 degrees and continuing without stopping. We so nearly went over the edge…
The final show was scheduled to be Las Vegas, the International Hotel (now the Convention Center Hilton). We drove all night from Phoenix after the show, taking the shortest route (highway). After trying to break the engine’s speed governor by down-shifting at full speed, downhill, Sandy found he had destroyed the brakes and the steering had almost no movement. The engine had been lifted off its mountings and moved back in the engine bay — unbelievable, but true. We were speeding down this mountain pass, past a weigh station and finally coming to rest by friction with the roadside before the downhill continued. This at about 6.00am.
Having noticed a fleet of U-Haul trucks at a gas station some miles earlier, we were able to summon a replacement truck, roundly blaming U-Haul and Ford for the incident (‘brake failure’). Finally arriving at Las Vegas, we were told that the gig had been cancelled due to ill health (John Bonham was in bad shape in Phoenix, having to be supported on his drum stool by Sandy for much of the gig). So, a big anticlimax for us, but we were at least able to go to bed for two days and nights!
I volunteered to drive the truck back to LA, where we spent a couple of days before flying home. This was the first time I had been on my own time for a month and it was liberating. The desert road (Route 15) gave me time to take stock. I was so exhausted by the experience, I made it known that I would not carry on with the band. I had completed the tour, which had become a challenge against physical and mental exhaustion, and that was enough. Although at the time it just seemed like very hard work, with hindsight, working with Led Zeppelin was a huge privilege.”
Published in PM June 2008
Recently, I was on a crew of three working a small event at a community college. As the audio engineer on the call, one of my tasks was to set up a small lobby PA before the event and take it down once the theatre portion was underway (the first half an hour or so was one person talking into a wireless mic, so I had ample time to go out and retrieve the PA). The rig consisted of one rolling rack of gear and a large Mackie-powered speaker on a stand. Cake, right? (more…)
Jackie Green is Vice President of R&D/Engineering at Audio Technica. She’s been involved in the development of several of ATs innovative products and technologies. Jackie also holds patents on key digital and wireless work.
I understand that you played a whole variety of instruments as a child and you also had a love for science. Your interest in electronics and science started at a young age. They don’t teach much about electronics in elementary or high school, so how did you go about learning about circuits and figuring out how to fix equipment?
“I was always building things, even as a young child. We lived in the country and I didn’t have other kids to play with. I spent my time building dams in the creek and boats to try and float and sail without tipping. My father noticed I liked building things and when I was in the 2nd grade, he gave me a small crystal radio kit to build. I was fascinated by how something so simple could make music! That simple project made me curious, so I began to take apart other electronic devices in our home. I discovered that everything was made of the same simple parts. Of course, often upon disassembling things, I broke them. So necessity dictated that I learn how to fix things too. Later on, I built an electric bass and played it through my parent’s stereo. Obviously, that was always breaking – so I then really needed to learn about speakers, vibration, power levels, distortion, as well as circuits. I didn’t actually realize what I was learning about at the time – just that there were various complex interactions that either allowed me to play my bass or didn’t. “
What pushed you to get into product research and development rather than something like performing, recording engineering, or mixing?
“I didn’t ever intend to stop performing music, but I recognized that it would not be a great source of income or stability. So, my plans turned to other careers with a plan of finding an orchestra to play in once I “retired” from real work. I did initially think I’d go into recording or mixing (well, after I decided not to go to vet school – which was my first career choice). I loved finding creative ways to capture the sound I was hearing. I also loved it when all my tracks blended together and then popped into that special place where I know it “feels” just right. But, in the studio, the equipment was always breaking. My lifelong experience led me to dive in and put things right. Many times when I was fixing or re-arranging something I would think that there really was a better way to design it. It wasn’t long until I took up more physics, electronics and digital classes in order to find ways to make things better. And now, here I am 30 years later and I’m still doing that!”
You stared at AT in computer programming, how did you make the transition to R & D, and what spurred you to move to the field?
“When I started at AT, they were a consumer company that mainly distributed phonograph cartridges. They also had some consumer loudspeakers and headphones products. I was attracted by the music reproduction technology and needed a job while I was getting my masters in management. The job they had available was writing programs to analyze market research data, so that’s what I did. Once my masters were finished, I began to work here full time. That’s when we started to develop the pro audio side of the products. R&D was a natural fit because we were starting from ground zero on the professional side of things. I was inspired by the opportunity to research and create solutions on a clean canvas with no preconceived barriers.”
What was the first product you worked on at AT?
“It’s hard to remember what really came first. I worked on consumer loudspeakers and headphones, but on the pro side, I think the first would have been the AT4049, AT4051, AT4053 modular transformerless condenser microphones.”
When you are developing a product, is there a moment when you know you’ve nailed it or do you just get to a point where you’ve decided it’s finished? In other words how do you know when to say when?
“I’ve failed if I haven’t gotten to the “nailed it” stage. Of course, there have been times in my career when for whatever reasons we’ve just had to move on, but gosh that’s hard. I do what I do in order to create a product that when I use it gives me a certain “feeling” that is hard to describe. It’s kind of a synergistic harmony when you know that everything is working together and no part of the sound or function is working against another part. It’s hard to describe – but when you know it’s right, you know you’ve nailed it and it’s done. I find that working past that stage, or second guessing yourself will usually result in a lesser product.”
What was one of the most interesting or exciting projects you’ve worked on, and do you have a favorite?
“One of the most interesting was developing a time-domain measurement that allowed us to look at how a microphone keeps responding after the initial transient. The activity that happens over time is essential to the actual sound quality of the microphone, and creating something that lets me see this was awesome! As for “favorite” – it really tends to be whatever I’m working on at the moment because it’s the process and discovery that are the most fun as opposed to the specific product.”
Do you find that most products come from a desire to improve an existing product or out of a need for something completely different?
Jackie and AT President Phil Cajka accepting the TEC Award
“Most of my ideas or goals for a product come from a desire to create something new and better as a tool for the acquisition or playback of great sound, so there is always a “need.” Whether I need to improve something existing or create something new depends on the problem that I’m trying to solve. I do have one weakness, though. If someone says “that can’t be done,” then I am strongly inclined to try and do it.”
What is the best part of your job and what is the most difficult?
“The best part is the ability to pursue my creative curiosity. The most difficult is convincing others to follow when I want to do something that no one else has done before.”
There are so few women in professional audio, I can only imagine there are even fewer who do what you do. Have you met with many obstacles or much sexism? If so, how have you handled it?
“Of course I have met with obstacles and sexism, but I generally don’t even realize it until afterward. I was raised to not accept any excuse or obstacle because of who I am or where I came from. That is so ingrained, I can’t even imagine accepting a limit or filter. I must credit my family for this. On top of that internal compass, I’m an engineer. I like to make decisions based upon good and complete data. When others judge me without good and complete data (such as based only upon gender) I find it more frustrating to be dismissed because they are using bad data than because they are being discriminatory. I can’t change who I am or who others are – but I can try to influence them to use good/complete data.“
What advice do you have for young women and girls who are interested in science but intimidated by it?
“If you are interested in science, then ask yourself why you are interested. Ask yourself if there is anything that would be really fun to try or know more about. Then ask yourself – so why wouldn’t I want to try it? The “why nots” will tell you what you need to do to stop feeling intimidated – or even embarrassed – to have this interest. Since girls are actually very creative and intuitive, science is a fantastic field for them. I don’t think the intimidation comes from the actual area of science, it comes from concern about how they will fit in. Luckily today, there are lots of clubs, social networks, and activities for girls and young women to experience connections with others who also feel this curiosity. Stand up for yourself and get involved. Find a teacher or a woman professional and talk to them about what you can do. I’m pretty sure you’ll find a world of support once you look!”
What are the most useful skills for someone interested in this career?
“Creativity, knowledge of acoustics and physics, and very importantly, a solid adherence to the scientific method. You can really fool yourself and go down the wrong path if you are not careful about the process. This is one of the biggest mistakes I see engineers making (both male and female). Make a plan, identify your controls, make only one change at a time, check your work many times and carefully record and consider all your results before jumping to conclusions. Stay your course. Also, in this field knowledge of, or love of music also helps.”
Can you tell us about a current project you are working on?
“Currently I’m very busy working on alternate transmission and reception methods for wireless microphones. There are some very difficult challenges that exist with today’s very hostile and shrinking RF spectrum. I’m looking for ways to provide the same high-quality professional audio sound and reliability that exists when using a wired microphone in a wireless device. We are truly finding ways to do “more with less” – and I refuse to sacrifice the sound to do it.”
Is there anything else you would like to add?
“Let’s talk about math. I think math scares off many potentially great engineers (both genders). I personally don’t feel we are teaching math correctly in school these days. There is too much focus on “finding the right answers over and over” and not enough focus on the real reasons why we use math. Don’t give up on engineering if you aren’t doing well in math in school. We have computers to do those calculations. You need to know what is possible to do, and you need to know what type of math “tool” is available to help you get to your goal, and that’s it. Maybe this will be the one thing you have to get extra help with during school – but please don’t let this stop you. Einstein was terrible at math, right? Or was he just having trouble with how math was done in school? If you are an “engineer” you will find a way to get around this obstacle.”
*Microphone images courtesy of Audio Technica
Woodstock is the iconic music festival that continues to influence the music industry today. Woodstock brought over 350,000 rock n roll fans to a six-acre farm in Bethel, New York to celebrate three days of peace and music. Woodstock inspired countless attendees to pursue careers in the music industry, one of them was a young woman by the name of Karen Kane. Woodstock would inspire and put her on a journey that would start by learning to play music and wind up forty years later as a well-respected audio engineer with countless awards to her name, owning a professional studio, and teaching the next generation of audio engineers.
One of Karen’s earliest jobs was managing 6 West Recording, a New York jingle house. Even though she was working in a studio, Karen says she still did not think about a career as an engineer. Karen explains “When I worked at 6 West Recording, there was an unspoken rule that women did not touch the equipment”. Thankfully, there were a few engineers that took Karen under their wings and trained her, and most importantly taught her that she could be a recording engineer regardless of her gender.
Karen would move to Boston and enroll in Berklee College of Music, where she studied guitar and bass performance. She then landed a job at Intermedia Sound in Boston, starting as an assistant studio manager but soon after starting work there; she received two diplomas from the Recording Institute of America. (The first audio classes in the U.S. were held at Intermedia). She learned the basics of audio, as it applied to analog recording in a studio environment While there, Karen would pull all-nighters with one of the engineers, learning everything she could, including how to ride a motorcycle. Eventually, Karen would become one of the studio’s engineers.
Once in a blue moon is a woman does work in our favor, although I admit very rarely. For Karen it was beneficial as she explains “I hooked up with a community of musicians who were “folky/leftists” and when they wanted to record their songs, they wanted to use a woman because it was a male-dominated occupation and they wanted to make a statement by using a woman engineer. So even though I was a beginner and not very good yet, I got the job because I WAS a woman. I ended up making albums with them for the next 12 years and got better and better”. Karen learned everything hands-on, after graduating from RIA. Karen credits Barry Ober, R. Berred Ouellette, and Bob Stoughton as being her early mentors at Intermedia.
Intermedia 1977
Through the years Karen spent in Boston she continued to work as an independent recording engineer, music producer, and live sound engineer. You can check out all her recording and live sound credits on her website mixmama.com.
One of Karen’s favorite live gigs was the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival, where she was the live sound engineer for the acoustic stage for 19 years (she retired in 2010). The Michigan Womyn’s Festival often called the Womyn’s Woodstock was an international feminist music festival. It started in 1976 and was put on every year (until 2015) in August with attendance ranging from 3,000 to 10,000.
The event is unique in that women built all of the stages, ran the lighting and sound systems, provided electricians, security, and medical services. They facilitated workshops covering various topics of interest to the attendees. Hundreds of women spent upwards of a month out on the land building the festival from the ground up because every year the festival was torn down, leaving the land as close to how it was found as possible. You can read more about this unique festival here Michigan Womyn’s Festival
Love brought Karen to Toronto where she continued to work as an independent engineer/ producer. During her time in Toronto, she developed courses in Audio Engineering for the Learning Annex and Centennial College. She also was hired to teach at Toronto’s Harris Institute for the Arts which Karen says “was a big highlight in my life, getting to teach at such a great school.” “I learned how to be a teacher at Harris. I realized I was good at it and the students really liked me. I spent four years teaching there”.
The desire for a warmer climate would bring Karen to Wilmington, North Carolina, where she is now based. In Wilmington, she owns her own professional home recording/mixing studio. She also runs her own audio courses, which take place in the Fall, Winter, and Spring. There are five courses offered, including, Intro to Audio Engineering, Learning Pro Tools, and the “hands-on” only Advanced Course. You can check out her courses here mixmama.com.
In addition to her independent recording work and audio courses, she joined the faculty at the University of North Carolina Wilmington as the instructor for the Recording Technology program there. Karen says the University job is “one of the best things to EVER happen to me.”) Getting to teach Audio Engineering and Pro Tools in a University setting is my dream part-time job! I plan on it being my retirement job!” The 2nd “best” thing to ever happen to her is WINNING the “Producer of the Year 2013” Award last summer at the Carolina Music Awards in Raleigh, NC. AND, she just found out that she is nominated again for Producer of the Year at the Carolina Music Awards for 2014.
I never had any trouble with how I was perceived as a woman in a live sound position. I THINK mostly because I was not doing big shows with mainstream artists. At the time in Boston, there were not a lot of engineers studio, or live. Because of that, I was able to hook up with a few rock bands and started doing local/regional gigs with them. Later, I went on several U.S. tours (on a converted school bus) with a political folk band named Bright Morning Star. That started in 1980, and I did gigs with them for several years. I also did a lot of local acoustic shows with other singer/songwriters.
The studio gear today blows my mind compared to the studio gear in the ’70s and ’80s. There are things I can do today that I NEVER DREAMED possible. I do miss, some things about analog recording (especially the smell of 2″ tape) and the simplicity of it all compared with today’s gear. I cannot speak to live sound, but I can say that as I am learning how to use live digital boards, I love some of the features like calling up monitor mixes and FOH mixes (as many times I do both).
Learn to play a musical instrument…for fun or seriously. It helps with audio engineering in many ways.
Go to a good audio school. Research them and find out all you can about the teachers! That is what makes an audio school GREAT, the teachers! The best audio schools have teachers that are ACTIVE professionals in the music industry.
If you are interested in studio work, TRY to get an internship at a local studio.
If you are interested in live sound, go to as many live shows as you can…stand by the soundboard and watch and listen to what the engineer is doing. This will start to train your ears. And by the way; ANYONE can learn to use equipment, what separates the good from the great are your EARS!
You can also begin training your ears by analyzing recordings…. on a good pair of speakers, describe the tone of each instrument, describe what you hear more in the left speaker or in the right speaker, describe the overall balance of the instruments, and then the instruments with the vocals. It’s a good way to get you to listen more intensely.
I mentioned to Karrie that I was having a hard time coming up with a topic for this month’s blog, a bit of writer’s block due in part to the mental and physical exhaustion of being in the final stretch of a long tour while simultaneously trying to get my head into all of the prep work for my next tour. She said, “why don’t you write about the grind?” Perfect! (more…)
SG Member Sarah Black
Sarah Black has been working in live sound since 2006, and is one of the seven women on the sound crew at the iconic Sydney Opera House. Sarah shares her experiences working Vivid Live with SoundGirls.Org. (more…)
By: Karrie Keyes
Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera house is an iconic performing arts center in Sydney, Australia. It was designed by Danish architect Jorn Utzon and opened in October 1973. The first performance was the Australian Opera’s production of War and Peace. The Syndey Opera House cost over one million Australian dollars to build. The Sydney Opera House hosts over 3000 events each year with over two million people attending, and provides guided tours to over 200,000. It is 185 meters long and 120 meters wide, has 2194 pre-cast concrete sections in the roof, with sections weighing up to 15 tons. There roof is held together with 350 km of tensioned steel cable and has over one million tiles. There are 6225 square meters of glass and 645 kilometers of electric cable. The Sydney Opera House has 1000 rooms. (more…)