B4 In Germany: Fun With Set-Up & Day One
From EAW Marketing Director Karen Anderson
The DJP facility in Cologne (shown at left), site of this stop of the B4 Roadshow, was a great old factory which used to make boilers for steam engines. And, although cool to look at… it also came with about 7 seconds of reverb at 125 hz. That was cause for incredulous gasps from the group gathered around Jamie’s Smaart rig. Bad for sound, but it sure makes a pretty Smaart screen. True to form, Jamie and the guys managed to make the best of the venue and get the rig sounding good. So what do a bunch of audio guys do when they have a giant old factory, some empty roadcases and time on their hands? Invent the sport of case-luging, of course! Jamie also tried a little case surfing. We were working hard… honest!
After set-up, it was off to the hotel where we all unloaded, cleaned up and got some dinner. Schnitzel, steaks and beer seemed fitting... And were delicious. The following morning kicked off Bootcamp and Tradeshow day, so 30 or so audio professionals had the opportunity to get up close and personal with the big rigs, the board, the new UX8800, and of course all the staff.
After the Tradeshow, we again tore down in record time and returned to the hotel.
Jamie and Steve Badham and I then got back on the tour bus to head into Cologne with our new pals Ferdinand Mulles, Wim Voortman, Michel Tenhage and Freek Fokker, who had traveled over from Holland to attend the Roadshow and Smaart School. (The whole gang is pictured here.)
Cologne is a really pretty city right on the Rhine river, and we went down to an area by the river, site of the famous Cologne Cathedral (shown at left). It's an amazing place that stayed standing during World War II, even though the entire area around it was bombed flat. We managed to find some Thai food and had a great meal.
Thanks for a really fun night fellas - next time we're in Holland, we’ll look you up! Tomorrow will feature a full day of Smaart School.
More views from day one in Cologne:
