Indio, CA, April 12, 2013 – Influential sound reinforcement company Rat Sound deployed the new Anya  ™ system from Eastern Acoustic Works® (EAW®) at the Coachella Festival’s Gobi tent. The system employed seven Anya modules per side with a single out fill module flanking a main column of six. This was the first use of the new Anya system for a public event, and the Coachella Festival is one of the largest and best known in the world.

Rat Sound principals Dave Rat and Jon Monson, who worked with EAW to develop the MicroWedge™ line of stage monitors, contributed throughout the research and development process for Anya. According to EAW President Jeff Rocha, the decision to deploy the initial pilot build for the high-profile event came relatively late in the planning cycle.

“When Dave and Jon came to the factory to work with the final engineering prototypes, they asked if they could use the first 16-module build live at Coachella,” Rocha said. “Naturally, we were thrilled to showcase our new product at one of our industry’s most important and demanding events.”

The Coachella Festival,…

 On Day Two, we brought in our Avalon by EAW system for DJs and EDM performers, comprising a pair of SUB.two’s and a pair of CLUB.three’s in Polar white and Machine grey. We also spent some more time tuning the main KF740 PA. That night we enjoyed some great sets by Tall, Tall Trees and Kishi Bashi. (Photo at left shows Kishibashi with Tall Tall Trees (at right).)

But this still wasn’t South by Southwest.

South by… For Real

The real SXSW events started on Day Three with a massive party thrown by local arts and entertainment website Do512. Four bands, mostly new folk acts, played the main stage with DJ Kidslyce covering the changeovers.

The photo at left can’t express the degree to which everybody everywhere was having a wild-good time. The line stretched around the block for hours and still had 20 people at midnight. And when those Avalon subs got to thumpin’…well, you know what can happen.

Day Four Preview

Tonight’s party, thrown by interactive marketers MRY, features only two DJs on the main stage, so we brought the…

Load-in, Part 1

Even though the first part of South by Southwest – the Interactive Conference – doesn’t start until Friday, the first wave of EAW staff and our associated partners are already onsite at The Belmont. The first order of business is to strike the existing PA so we can fly the temporary KF740 rig supplied by our long-standing partner Gemini Light, Sound & Video from Dallas. (Photo at left: Gemini’s Chad Cain cables the stage right array.)

Our regional factory representative firm Aldridge Marketing pitched in with some NTS250 powered subwoofer systems they had in their inventory as well as a wicked cool matrix to help us manage signal flow amongst the three separate PAs we’ll have set up.

Local riggers Shur-Rig have supplied new, safety-rated rigging points to set the main arrays as far to the corners of the stage as possible, opening up sightlines for the large numbers of video cameras that will record and potentially televise some of these events.

Austin-based Big House Sound, who installed the existing PA and have worked with the venue for years…

Yesterday, we posted to Facebook about a story we saw announcing that DJ Magazine has moved their Winter Music Conference pool parties to the Delano Hotel. Again for 2013, EAW will supply the Delano with a world-class Avalon by EAW™ sound system. (Photo: Benny Benassi at WMC 2012)

Unlike last year, we will have four SUB.two hybrid subwoofer systems to power the dance floor. And, unlike last year, the Delano will run programming for the entire WMC event. Keep any eye on DJ Magazine for more info on their events.

South by Southwest

Before we can get to the Delano, however, we will spend the better part of two weeks in Austin, TX, where we’ll bring a KF740 systems and a separate Avalon by EAW system to The Belmont for their South by Southwest events.

The Belmont is a “buy-out” venue, meaning that client organizations book the venue for one or more days to produce their concerts. One client that has already announced their line up is The Warner Sound. They will be showcasing acts…

February 15th from 2pm – 5pm

Event Cost: FREE

EAW Marketing Director John Speck will lead a workshop session in which participants load in a band, bring signal to the mixing console, run sound check, set monitors levels and mix a brief set. Introductory material – PhDs not required.

Registration for this event by clicking this link: Sign Up.

For more information or if you have any questions, please email booking@as220.org

The patch sheet for The Barr Brothers starts off like many with a 6-channel drum mic requirement. But then, well, this:

7 – Drum amp (SM57)
8 – Bike wheel (DI passive)

The Barr Brothers also include a concert harp that is mic’d acoustically, carried via transducer direct to an XLR cable and amplified separately. Yes, that harp amp also needs a Sennheiser 421.

So three channels of harp. And a bicycle wheel.

Such are the requirements for one of seven acts scheduled for Revival!, a reopening celebration at the historic Columbus Theatre in Providence, RI. (Photo above courtesy of Frank Grace.) Just as the technical requirements above defy convention, so does this one-of-a-kind event spearheaded by internationally-renowned artists The Low Anthem.

The Low Anthem and the Power of Place

The Low Anthem, an indie folk rock act from Providence, seem obsessed with place, especially their hometown. They recorded their most recent album Smart Flesh in an abandoned pasta sauce factory in nearby Central Falls, RI and held the record release event there, as well.

As a 20-year resident of Providence, I can attest to…

ASG presents a new video to bring you up to speed about:

Symmetry of Sources and Spaced Low Frequency Sources

Jerrold Stevens, Director of Support and Education, released a new video of the Core Technologies video series, Symmetry of Sources and Spaced Low Frequency Sources. This is the second in a series of videos explaining EAW’s core technologies. Stevens says, “The goal is that these videos educate reps, distributors and users giving them a better understanding of the technology that’s built into their EAW products.” Stevens will produce more of these for publication in the near future. Look out for the next video of the Core Technologies series. Check out the video and learn more about Symmetry of Sources and Spaced Low Frequency Sources by clicking below:

ASG presents a new video to bring you up to speed about:

Beamwidth Matched Crossovers

Jerrold Stevens, Director of Support and Education, released a new video today on the subject Beamwidth Matched Crossovers. This is the first in a series of videos explaining EAW’s core technologies. Stevens says, “The goal is that these videos educate reps, distributors and users giving them a better understanding of the technology that’s built into their EAW products.” Stevens will produce many more of these for publication in the near future. Check out the video and learn more about Beamwidth Matched Crossovers by clicking below:

We’re going to Seattle for the Decibel Festival! EAW has agreed to provide two very different PAs for two very different venues at this week-long electronic music conflagration held each year on the last week in September in our other hometown, Seattle, WA, USA.

Last week in September…right, that’s this week! We better pack.

We’ve talked amongst ourselves about working with dB for a couple of years, and this year we found a way to make it work. We’re totally geeked!

Here’s the basics. For headliner Orbital (Thu.) and The Cannabinoids featuring Erykah Badu (Fri.) at the Paramount Theater, we’re partnering with HAS Productions – the first Red Certified™ KF740 provider – to deliver an innovative solution to this notoriously difficult movie palace converted into concert venue.

And in Neumos, typically a rock club, we’re bringing our own Avalon by EAW™ system for the whole shebang –five showcase performances, Wednesday through Sunday. Each showcase features a different style of music, so we’ll get a wide range of opinions on how the system performs.

Dealing with a Movie Palace

Many…

This past week, I had the great fortune to attend the very first of EAW’s new KF740 Red Certification training program at the H.A.S. Productions shop in Las Vegas NV.

Presented by EAW’s veteran audio instructor Bernie Broderick, this 2-day instructional program included everything from basic audio physics, hands-on rigging and assembly of the KF740 line array to an in-depth study and hands-on training with both of EAW’s revolutionary software systems: Resolution™ and Pilot™.

The class provided me with a hard-copy manual covering the entire content of the training course, which included some very cool real-world, value-added audio tips as well.

I found the Red Certification training manual to be both extremely well written and easy to understand and follow. Lot’s of helpful illustrations too!

The class included a complete step-by-step PowerPoint presentation, whereby questions from attendees were strongly encouraged at all times. Yes, we had plenty of questions!

I was most impressed by how easy both the Resolution and Pilot…