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LIVE SOUND FOR JAZZ (and other acoustic music) aka: IT’S NOT ROCK’N ROLL

Presented by:

Rick Chinn
Consultant, and Vice-Chair, AES-Pacific NW section

Date: Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Time: 7:00 PM
Location:
National Public Radio Headquarters
635 Massachusetts Ave NW
Washington, DC (not far from the DC convention center)

Jazz and other acoustical musical forms often eschew sound reinforcement for a variety of reasons — examples: It doesn't sound natural; It didn't need microphones 200 years ago, is now any different? Bad experience(s); etc. These reasons are valid, but more often than not they are trumped by necessity, such as large venues, unorthodox combinations of instruments, etc. Failed attempts and bad experiences are often the result of trying to apply a rockand- roll mentality to the situation. Stage monitors are another part of the mix, and like salt, too much ruins the stew. Unreasonably loud stage monitors make the FOH mixer's job impossible, and can make the overall volume too loud for the audience. Unfortunately the photographic concept of depth-of-field doesn't work in live sound. While large-scale sound reinforcement did spring directly from the loins of rock-androll, acoustical music requires a completely different mindset. One thing for sure: It's definitely not rock-and-roll.

Who is Rick Chinn:
Rick Chinn is a consultant in audio systems design and troubleshooting, sound design, live sound mixing, recording, technical writing, and web design. He began his career during the British invasion of the 1960’s, mixing bands, building gear, and studying electronics. Interrupted by the draft in 1967, he picked up in 1971, spending the next several years on the road and in studios as a sound mixer and maintenance engineer. During 1975-97, he worked for companies including Tapco, Fluke, Microsoft, AudioControl Industrial, Symetrix, and Mackie Designs in roles ranging among circuit design, technical writing, and sales/marketing weasel. Chinn has written for various industry magazines, plus authored user and service manuals for professional audio products.
He holds a General Radiotelephone license, an amateur radio license, and has been granted US patent #5113447 (“Method and System for Optimizing Audio Imaging in an Automotive Listening Environment”; Brian J. Hatley and Richard A. Chinn; 1992; www.google.com/patents/about?id=bcweAAAAEBAJ&dq=richard+a. +chinn).

Chinn’s web site: www.UNeedA-Audio.com.

AES – Pacific Northwest section website: www.AES.org/sections/pnw.

Limited parking is available in NPR’s garage. To take advantage of this, please RSVP to DC_Section @ AES.org