John Curl's Blowtorch preamplifier part III

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#30,963
Richard, I think that you misunderstand my original situation. This was working with Noel when he ran Symmetry, and not Monster. I hired lawyers, and had lawyer friends as well who helped me. Still, Noel pushed the 'envelope' with me back in the late 70's and early 80's.
 
#30,964
billshurv said:
I would doubt the magic works in another church unless US churches are all exactly the same size, shape and consruction. If they are then you should be offering 'church pack 1' for a bargain price as you know the setup with a suitable EULA that the recipient needs to sign.



The knowledge bit is of course why you charge $150/hr when you grace their presence on site 🙂
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The magic works in most cases. That is why it is magic! Most folks know about frequency response equalization.

Simple questions for the classical music folks;

Does the difference between a violin and a viola stay the same if you are ten feet from the instruments vs 100 feet?

Does the audience breathing noise level change during a pianissimo?

Does the location/position of the conductor change the balance of the orchestra?

All issues involving magical adjustments!
 
#30,966
simon7000 said:
Simple questions for the classical music folks;
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Simple answer: keep sound reinforcement well away from classical music. The magic is in the way the space breathes and interacts with the music, the musicians and the audience. Trying to homogenise it with electronics is only going to ruin the magic.


And yes, I try to avoid venues that do have sound reinforcement for acoustic music.


Edit: Wigmore Hall my kind of venue. On their website it says
Wigmore Hall’s natural acoustic is unsuitable for electronic amplification of a live performance; however, we would encourage the use of a PA system for spoken word.
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#30,967
billshurv said:
Simple answer: keep sound reinforcement well away from classical music. The magic is in the way the space breathes and interacts with the music, the musicians and the audience. Trying to homogenise it with electronics is only going to ruin the magic.
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That's why they spend a lot of money on acoustic panels for such venue.

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#30,973
billshurv said:
Simple answer: keep sound reinforcement well away from classical music. The magic is in the way the space breathes and interacts with the music, the musicians and the audience. Trying to homogenise it with electronics is only going to ruin the magic.


And yes, I try to avoid venues that do have sound reinforcement for acoustic music.


Edit: Wigmore Hall my kind of venue. On their website it says
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Those issues have nothing to do with sound systems in classic music venues. They have to do with acoustics, perception and behavior.

Knowing what is happening also applies to sound reinforcement systems. Public address systems are a different animal!

One of my specialties is doing voice lift systems for slightly larger than intimate spaces. Oft times folks are unaware of the sound system. Not good for business as folks assume there is no sound system or it is not working, but they can hear just fine due to the performer or acoustics!
 
#30,975
The venue I used to be associated with, Wildwood Park for the Performing Arts, in Little Rock, was built in the early 1990's with no sound system at all. Seats about 600 IIRC in very spacious seats, thrust stage, no proscenium, no fly loft. Big room, built for opera, good intimacy, but big acoustically.


So, for almost every show, I would have to extemporize something for announcements, etc. I got tired of it and ran a snake from the orchestra pit to a spot in the house where I wasn't very visible, but loudspeakers still had to sit on stage. A couple years ago finally got the chance to fly three Klipsch LaScalas (donated much earlier by Paul himself) above downstage / orchestra pit. Not needed for opera, but it's mixed-use now. Sadly, no more operas.


All good fortune,
Chris
 
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#30,978
Very large (by home standards) rooms don't have the same reverberance issues as smaller (home sized) rooms. Performance spaces are dominated by the need of performers to hear themselves, damping is often dominated by the meat in the seats, etc. The classical ideal is to have direct sound with about 25 mS space before the room's (hopefully dense) reverberant contribution.


IOW, reflecting panels around the band are intended to help them hear themselves, and are not for the audience, other than the quality of the performance. Which, after all, is what matters most.


All good fortune,
Chris
 
#30,980
Evenharmonics said:
The vault ceiling and the concave of "cupola" in that hall are the opposite of acoustic panels I linked. I would say the reverb is very strong in that hall. There are music made for such condition but the ones that are not, would sound bad in there.
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You would hate snape maltings then. Yes intimate performance spaces are good for certain sorts of classical music which happens to be a lot the music I like to go out and enjoy. The decay of voices in a cathederal is a joy to me.



I'm possibly not in the middle of the bell curve though.
 
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