Informational Blog about Sound, Staging and Lighting

Got an annoying buzzing sound in your sound system? Remember to always bring along those little gray A.C. ground lift adapters on events, to help "kill the buzz" from ground loops, or have an EBTECH Hum Eliminator on hand, which is supposed to be able to kill hum without defeating safety. However, in all cases, these techniques and devices should only be used if you run out of time. For example, at the event we just did last night in the CSUF Pavillion room, we had everything running off a 200-amp service using our own CAMLOCK distribution, EXCEPT the six self-powered Mackie SRM450s out in the audience area. As soon as the speakers were plugged into our console's AUX output, the buzz started. We eliminated the ground at each speaker, but could have also used an EBTECH at the AUX input. Best solution is to run power from our power distribution to the remote speakers. If you run out of time, you can EQ most of the noise out, but then you lose quality of sound.

We setup a live sound system for the "Born Free Motorcycle Club", for their 5,000-person event June 24th, 2011 at the Oak Canyon Ranch in Silverado Canyon. we quickly figured out that remote speakers were going to be necessary to get the Emcee's announcements heard all over the grounds, and behind the main stage. When running remote speakers, it is important to realize that because analog signals travel slow down copper wiring, there will be a time delay. These delays are corrected by using a speaker preprocessor that allows an engineer to configure the distance from each speaker to the listening position. The mathematical delay calculations are then performed by preprocessor.

When your fog machines begin sputtering and the output is just not as strong as it used to be, it may need its plumbing flushed out. You can do this yourself, by using the following instructions:

Do this by removing the fog fluid reservoir from the machine, and emptying it out. You can save the fluid if it isn't dirty. Mix a solution of white vinegar and distilled water, with a ratio of 1 part vinegar to 8 parts water, which would be approximately 2 tablespoons of vinegar in 1 cup of distilled water. This should be enough cleaner for 1 fog machine.

Why distilled water? Distilled water has its minerals removed. Minerals are bad for fog machines as they tend to coat the inside of the tube, reducing it's diameter and therefore reducing the fog machine's output.

Rinse the fog fluid reservoir out with distilled water. Pour the cleaning solution into the fluid tank. Take the fogger outside. When the fogger is ready, run it (long bursts, but not continuously) until...

If you setup a sound system, then need some REMOTE speakers setup further out into the audience (so you don't need your mains turned up extremely loud), it's best to run them cabled, but you can run them WIRELESS using a nifty device made by Teach Logic (http://www.teachlogic.com/products/AirLinkWirelessSystem). It's a transmitter/receiver hardware combination. They have a model which includes the necessary DELAY for remotes which are more than 50-feet out. Call one of their dealers as listed on their website, for more details.