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 A new, extensive series of instructional videos has just launched here at EAW.com, detailing the EAW NTL720 small self-powered line array with Gunness Focusing. The series of 16 videos is hosted by EAW engineers and product specialists, covering virtually anything a user might want or need to know about the NTL720, as well as getting the absolute most out of it.
Topics covered in the series include every aspect of the line array modules (amplifier, acoustic package, Wizard array software), rigging (flying, groundstacking, modeling), and service (amp, driver and module removal). The videos, developed and produced by EAW in-house staff, are available in Flash format.
Click here to go directly to the NTL720 instructional videos page.
It was a full and very active two days last week (April 8-9) for the more than 20 attendees of the most recent Smaart School at the Holiday Inn Northshore in Skokie, Illinois, just north of Chicago. (The class and instructors are pictured above during a break.)
The educational sessions were led by Doug Fowler and Harry Brill, Jr., working with Audioseminars.com. Both of these veteran audio professionals are Smaart experts lauded for their teaching abilities. More Smaart School sessions are scheduled soon - click here to find out more. And thanks to Harry for the photo!
 Bormann Marketing, EAW's fine sales rep firm serving several Midwestern states, is once again holding its "Bormannia" Really Big Show, coming up May 5 - 8. Contractors, pro and MI dealers and consulting firms are invited to see, hear, and touch all of the latest gear from the manufacturers represented by Bormann, including new developments from EAW.
In addition, EAW Application Support Group Team Members Joe Fustolo and Adam Howarth (both pictured below) will be on hand to answer questions and talk about products/systems throughout each day of the show. This year marks the 10th annual Bormannia show, which last year drew more than 300 attendees.
 The event kicks off Monday, May 5 at Bormann's offices in Hopkins, MN, outside of Minneapolis, then moves on to Country Inn/Suites in Brookfield, WI, outside of Milwaukee (May 7), and concludes at the Irish American Heritage Center in Chicago (May 8). Hours each day are
9 am - 4 pm, and lunch will be served.
 But wait... there's more! Smaart School sessions are also being held during the Minneapolis and Chicago dates as well. Advanced two-day Smaart classes will be conducted May 5-6 at the Bormann offices and May 8-9 at the Irish American Heritage Center. (Cost to attend the Smaart School sessions is $300.)
To register for Bormannia and Smaart School, print out the appropriate form below, fill it out, and fax it to Glenn at Bormann at 952-835-9268. Or, e-mail Glenn at glenn@bormann.com.
Click here for Minneapolis form (pdf)
Click here for Milwaukee/Chicago form (pdf)
 Free passes are available for the upcoming (June 18-20) Infocomm '08 Exhibition at the Las Vegas Convention Center. EAW will be exhibiting at Infocomm, which this year for the first time also incorporates the NSCA Expo under the same roof.
The passes also allow admission to several free Infocomm events, including the Opening Reception and NSCA ExpoJam. Click here to view the pdf form providing more information and free pass registration instruction.
You’re invited to participate in upcoming EAW Smaart School sessions in Minneapolis and Chicago this coming May!
Hosted by EAW rep firm Bormann Marketing, the two-day Smaart School sessions will present advanced, hands-on, in-depth training with EAW Smaart, as well as overall insight into system optimization, measurement and analysis.
Details:
May 5 - May 6, 2008
(Monday & Tuesday)
Bormann Marketing
1212 5th St. S
Hopkins, MN 55343
May 8 - May 9, 2008
(Thursday & Friday)
Irish American Heritage Center
4626 N. Knox Ave
Chicago, IL 60630
It is strongly preferable that participants bring a laptop computer to the course with Smaart already installed. Also verify that the laptop has a stereo line-level input either built in or via an external audio interface device with Windows wave audio drivers. We will provide the measurement signals for participants' computers via a stereo signal distribution system.
Cost to attend either two-day session is $300. Space is limited, and sign up is first come-first serve. To register, contact Glenn Manske at Bormann Marketing - (952) 835-9161 or glenn@bormann.com.
 Adam Howarth is the most recent addition to the Application Support Group (ASG), our multifaceted team offering a wide range of specialized technical services to EAW customers worldwide. The appointment was announced by Joe Fustolo, manager of ASG.
As an Application Support Specialist based at our Whitinsville, MA facilities, Howarth provides in-depth support for all EAW professional audio products, including the Smaart tuning and analysis platform. He joins the ASG team with a background in live event system design and engineering, and has served as a live and recording engineer, an audio instructor, and as a design consultant for theaters, production companies, and educational institutions.
Continue reading "Adam Howarth Joins EAW As ASG Support Specialist" »
You’re invited to participate in upcoming EAW Smaart School sessions in Montreal, March 5-7, 2008.
The intensive three-day training package will be presented at EAW Canadian market distributor SF Marketing’s Dorval, Quebec facilities as well as at Salle Claude-Champagne (l’Université de Montréal). (SF Marketing is the organizer of this educational event.)
Smaart Fundamentals and Applications will be covered the first two days, with the third day devoted to an Advanced User Seminar. Click here to find out more and to get cost/registration details.
Continue reading "Smaart School Slated For March 5-7 In Montreal" »
You’re invited to participate in upcoming EAW Smaart School sessions in Vancouver, February 6-8, 2008.
The intensive three-day training package, presented by veteran Smaart School instructor Arthur Skudra, will be conducted at the beautiful Chan Centre for the Performing Arts (CCPA), located at the University of British-Columbia (UBC).
Smaart Fundamentals and Applications will be covered the first two days, with the third day devoted to an Advanced User Seminar. Click here to find out more and to get cost/registration details.
Continue reading "Smaart School: February 6-8 At Chan Centre, Vancouver" »
 The online version of Harry Brill Jr's excellent article regarding tips and tricks for EAW Smaart v.6, written exclusively for Mix magazine, has now been posted in the publication's online edition.
In the article, Harry (shown at right handling Smaart duties at the recent ET Live) shares valuable information gained from his experiences with Smaart, including use of certain features that might not be readily apparent to some users. It's a must-read for anyone seeking to get the most from Smaart v.6. Click here to go directly to the article.
 At ET Live, held in conjunction with LDI 2007 in Orlando next month (November), EAW will be unveiling a wide range of exciting new and pending product developments – all working together as a full-scale live concert reinforcement system!
The fun starts with the newest loudspeaker design from EAW (more about this soon), which will be joined by flown KF730 Series line arrays as well as prototypes of another new loudspeaker, with Gunness Focusing and all other DSP courtesy of UX8800 dual-mode digital processors.
 Low-end will be provided with new, soon-to-be-released EAW SB Series subwoofers. Filling out the loudspeaker complement will be KF650z sidefills and SM12 stage monitoring. The entire system will be driven by Lab.gruppen amplification and tuned with new Smaart v.6; in fact, Smaart has been designated as the official measurement system for the entire event. (The scene at ET Live in Las Vegas last year is shown in the photo at left.)
Continue reading "Dynamic New EAW Developments At Upcoming ET Live!" »
 The following instructional article was graciously provided by Jeff Lange, who heads up Sonic Art LLC, based in Oshkosh, WI, a firm specializing in the development of audio, video and lighting systems for houses of worship. Our thanks to Jeff (pictured at left) for the article and photos.
The design of a new sound system for the sanctuary of The Pentecostals of the Fox Cities in Menasha, WI, was particularly challenging. This 500-seat auditorium has a 12-foot ceiling, dictating loudspeakers that are very compact in order to not detract from the room’s aesthetics.
To meet this requirement, we chose EAW MK8100 Series loudspeakers, with six of these cabinets flown in their horizontal cabinet position (with horns rotated), carefully placed in a distributed, decentralized arrangement. (Shown in the photo at right.)
 Largely due to compact design of these loudspeakers, frequency response doesn't extend much below 90 Hz. Therefore, we also needed subwoofers to reinforce frequencies beneath the 90 Hz point to meet a stated design goal of providing a system offering true full-range capabilities.
Continue reading "Inside Scoop: Subwoofer Isolation For Church Project" »
 We're very pleased to welcome Andy Jordan as the newest member of the EAW Application Support Group (ASG) team, headed by ASG Manager Joe Fustolo.
Andy brings 10-plus years of working with EAW Engineering in hands-on loudspeaker design to his new role with ASG. Specifically, he flourished as the Technical Services Coordinator, responsible for leading a group of technicians in carrying out a variety of tasks in building and facilitating the overall documentation and testing of BTO and standard EAW products.
"We're confident that Andy's vast working knowledge of the engineering process and the internal workings of virtually all EAW loudspeakers is going to make him a highly valuable asset of ASG, allowing us to take another important step in further being able to assist and troubleshoot customer issues with even greater accuracy and efficiency," Joe explains.
The addition of Andy now means the ASG team includes four sound system designers, three phone technical support specialists, and a special projects coordinator.
 Jeffrey Cox, Vice President of the EAW Brand Group, is the subject of an exclusive interview in the current issue of Production Partner, the noted German professional audio publication. (Jeffrey is shown at left with Jürgen Bachthaler, who heads up EAW's offices in Germany.)
The discussion covers a wide range of topics, and is also tied into the recent EAW B4 Roadshow and educational training sessions that appeared across Europe.
Our thanks to Peter Brüning for arranging and coordinating this interview, conducted by Detlef Hoepfner.
There's only one catch - readers fluent in the German language will really enjoy the interview, while those of us who are not must be content with the nice photos. Click on the pdf links below to access the full interview.
Jeffrey Cox-Production Partner Interview, Page 1
Jeffery Cox-Production Partner Interview, Page 2
Jeffrey Cox-Production Partner Interview, Page 3
 Joe Fustolo, Manager of the EAW Application Support Group, notes that Michael Perry (left) and Justin Walker have joined the ASG team as Application Support Specialists, a move that further enhances the pro audio industry's top customer technical support effort.
Michael comes to us from LOUD Technologies technical support and service, and based in Woodinville, he adds additional hours to our U.S. support basis. Also an active musician and sound system operator, he brings a great deal of relevant real-world experience to the table, not to mention also being very fluent in Spanish. Michael's primary focus is providing full technical support for all EAW Commercial products, in addition to assisting with the entire EAW line.
Justin, a previous employee with the EAW Service Department (not to mention an active musician), offers a good deal of experience and enthusiasm in pro audio customer support. He is based in Whitinsville, handling the bulk of service requests and product RMA's as well as providing basic technical support for all EAW loudspeakers.
Welcome aboard, Michael and Justin!
 We just received the following note from FOH Engineer Don Dodge, who's been utilizing the EAW UMX.96 digital console on its maiden touring voyage with Foreigner this summer. Don and Ferrit are pictured at left.
"The console is working out like a dream - I’m totally loving it! We’re blowing everyone’s mind with this board. It just sings. So many people coming up after shows to tell me how good it sounded.
"Ferrit has been incredible - what a fantastic guy. It’s really easy to learn from him, and he’s so smart it blows your mind. He’s been such a great help.
"Thanks very much to EAW and Jeffrey for trusting in me enough to run with your new 'baby'."
- Don Dodge
 A new UX8800 and EAWPilot user forum has just launched on the forums section of EAW.com. The new forum, moderated by Joe Fustolo and Dave Gunness, was created because both UX and Pilot are evolving and maturing at a rapid rate, making it vital that users be well informed, and as completely and quickly as possible. Click here to go to the EAW forums.
 A completely reorganized Downloads section has just launched on EAW.com. Not only does the new section consolidate all EAW software, documents and other files for download to one location, but it also provides a very clear, easy-to-read navigation structure so you can access exactly what you're looking for - fast.
Click here to check it out or access it via the "Downloads" tab in the main site navigation.
 Attention audio professionals in Australia! (And anyone else who wants to travel in the quest of test and measurement enlightenment...) Production Audio Services will be hosting the first in a series of Smaart School sessions, starting in Melbourne next month (July '07).
Specifically, the two-day Smaart School session will be held July 10-11 at the Production Audio Services facility, 4-621 Whitehorse Road, Mitcham, VIC. Cost is $275 (including GST), and participants are required to have Smaart v.6 installed on their Mac or PC, and to bring along their own measurement kits.
For more information, talk to Tim, Graeme or Ben at Production Audio Services: (03) 92648000. (For more contact info, click here.) By the way, further announcements will be coming soon regarding more Australia Smaart School dates. Learn more here about Smaart School.
 New Coverage Calculator (“CoverageCalc”) software configures EAW Commercial loudspeakers in a distributed layout using SPL (sound pressure level) mapping as the primary criteria.
CoverageCalc is a Windows-based program that uses standard Windows operational conventions, and not only does it provide SPL map of listening area with adjustable resolution and frequency, it also offers user-adjustable layout density, rectangular or hexagonal layout patterns, and much more.
Click here to access the download of this program.
 Joe Fustolo is definitely someone at EAW you should know. This professional audio industry veteran was recently tapped to head up the EAW Application Support Group (ASG), our multifaceted team offering a wide range of specialized technical services to the EAW customer base.
What does your work with EAW entail?
Joe: As the manager of ASG, I handle loudspeaker designs for a lot of medium- and large-scale venues, worldwide. I also aid in teaching of our customers about how to best utilize our products to suit their needs. Another important part of the job is insuring that ASG maintains its very high standards in working with our clients to provide the best technical support in the industry.
What's your favorite aspect of working with EAW?
Joe: The people of EAW, and the best engineering team in professional audio, bar none.
Tell us about your previous audio-related experiences.
Joe: Well, let's see. Here's the list: recording engineer, monitor and FOH engineer, stage hand, technical director for the Lowell Auditorium in Lowell, MA, rigger, theatrical rigging installer, sound system sales/designer/installer...
What's your favorite thing to do outside of work?
Joe: Spend time with my family and kids.
Any hobbies?
Joe: Archery, hunting, target shooting, riding my motorcycle.
Best rock n' roll band ever?
Joe: Hmm.... that's a tough one, there are so many to choose from. How about this, or this, or this? Uh... just kidding! But "The Hoff" is something else, no? Just exactly what that something is, we can't be sure...
What's the best live show you've heard/seen, and why?
Joe: The most recent was Iron Maiden. It was truly amazing to see what the KF760/761 Series can do for a show of that nature.
What's your favorite EAW product?
Joe: The MQH1344e, due its sonic clarity, horsepower, and low-frequency pattern control. Truly one of the best loudspeakers ever, ahead of its time.
What's the most common audio/system question asked of you?
Joe: How does it sound? How can I make it sound better?
What's the most overlooked yet beneficial aspect of EAW?
Joe: We have the widest range of application specific loudspeakers in the industry, and the capabilities of designing any loudspeaker to fit any need required.
Last question. Why did the audio engineer cross the road?
Joe: Because the lighting guys wanted him to count to 3...
 EAW products and systems are utilized in thousands of demanding professional applications around the world, equally adept at exceeding expectations in both live and installed realms.
Now, the new EAW Application Reference Lists provide you with the opportunity to check out the venues and sound companies that utilize EAW products and systems. Not only are these lists updated and fresh and new, but they’re also available in handy printable pdf format by simply clicking a link at the top of each page. Click here to access the lists.
 From EAW Europe Sales Manager Sean Martin
The B4 Roadshow tour bus pulled up in the outskirts of Paris at the premises of Axente, France, close to Orly airport. The weather was cool and windy, which did not bode well for the next day's Bootcamp and Tradeshow.
Paris was the only destination on the tour that gave us the opportunity to actually hold the roadshow at the distributor's premises. In this case the Bootcamp was held in the massive car park of Axente and parent company Impact Evenement.
 This gave us for the first time, the opportunity of setting up the systems the day before we opened to the public, although the speed with which the scaffold towers went up did make us think that spare day could easily get
used up!
Continue reading "B4 In Paris: Concluding On A (Very!) High Note" »
 Leading up to the B4 Roadshow stop in Barcelona, we'd been hearing that attendance would be especially strong. But we were totally blown away with just how many audio professionals came - and stayed - for both full days.
System Bootcamp and Tradeshow was held in a venue plenty big to accommodate everyone and then some. The site, Velòdrom D'Horta, a bicycle racetrack built for the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games, was ideal to provide full-fledged demos of KF760 Series line arrays, the new SB1002 flying subwoofers, the coming-soon UMX.96 live digital mixing console and more. (The rig and venue are shown above.)
 And in what must be at least close to a record, Smaart School attracted more than 60 attendees! With so many audio professionals wishing to learn about recently released Smaart v.6 as well as solid test and measurement principles, we definitely could accommodate the crowd. A bit of reconfiguring, some great work by EAW distributor Pro 3 & Co., and everything worked out just fine.
A lot of people, a lot of learning, and even more fun. Now it's on to Paris for the final stop of the European leg of B4! (Click on the link below for more images from Barcelona.)
Continue reading "B4 In Barcelona: Great Facilities, Huge Attendance" »
 Day Two of the B4 Roadshow stop in Milan featured well-attended System Bootcamp and Tradeshow sessions. The range of current and coming-soon EAW products drew crowds, and in particular, the UMX.96 live digital mixing console. (Moray is shown at left providing a console demo.)
Exhibo, S.P.A., the EAW distributor for Italy, did a fantastic job in handling the numerous (numerous!) details it takes to pull off a successful B4 presentation. Our sincerest thanks to them for their hard work. The B4 site - Alcatraz Music Island - is a noted live music venue in downtown Milan, and it worked out great. As expected, the acoustics were conducive to effective audio presentations. Now, on to Barcelona! (Click on the link below for more Milan images.)
Continue reading "B4 In Milan: A Busy Day Of Bootcamp & Tradeshow" »
 The B4 Roadshow team arrived in Milan, Italy around
1 pm, and upon figuring out that our hotel was near the famous Monza Motor Raceway, we set out on what we thought would be a quick stroll over to see it.
I should mention here that Bernie is a huge racing fan (shown here with Ferrit at a statue at the track), so for him this was more like a pilgrimage. After about and hour and a half of walking, it started to feel like Gilligan's Island to the rest of us: "A three-hour tour, a three-hour tour..."
 Actually, we ended up walking though the Monza city park and it was absolutely gorgeous. We saw the Royal Palace at Monza, built by the Hapsburgs in 1777, and then, the location where the last king of Italy, Umberto I, was assasinated in 1900. We also saw some interesting art in the park that the boys promptly named "The Wicker Bundt Cake." (Pretty accurate description, according to the photo at left.)
Continue reading "B4 In Milan: Setting Up, Smaart School & Racing Fun" »
 The ongoing B4 Roadshow, currently appearing at several locations across Europe before moving on to North America, has drawn the attention of the Live Audio Board (LAB) community on ProSoundWeb.
Click here to check out the LAB discussion, including comments from attendees.
 Professional audio industry veteran Joe Fustolo has been named Manager of the EAW Application Support Group (ASG), the multifaceted team offering a wide range of specialized technical services to the EAW customer base. The appointment was announced by Jeffrey Cox, Vice President of the EAW Brand Group.
Fustolo brings more 15 years of hands-on pro audio experience in leading the ASG team, which serves to provide in-depth technical and system information, including product and application guidance, loudspeaker system design and review, as well as hands-on training and educational tools such as white papers and CD-ROMs. ASG also provides answers and input via EAW’s popular on-line technical forum.
Continue reading "Joe Fustolo Named To Lead EAW ASG Team" »
From EAW Marketing Director Karen Anderson
The B4 Roadshow team set off from Wolfach in the morning and drove south through the Black Forest and into the Swiss Alps. Absolutely gorgeous.
We didn't have an actual destination or any hotel reservations, but thanks to Bluetooth technology,we were able to hook into the Internet from the bus. Wiith Moray translating into Italian, we were able to find a hotel with six rooms available at the last minute. (May 1 is a national holiday in Italy so most everything was booked.)
The hotel is in a little town called Ispra, on Lake Maggiore in the Lombardy region of Italy. It took about eight hours to get there, as well as some expert driving from Werner as he navigated our 48-foot tour bus through mountain passes and narrow Italian hillside streets.
Continue reading "B4 In Europe: Through The Alps And On To Italy" »
 April 29, 07
On the bus
One of those memorable moments: 12:45 pm and everyone is upstairs in the rear lounge watching the Bourne Identity. Moray is sleeping in his bunk. I came down to watch the drive for a bit, and as I came down the stairs I could hear a bit of whistling coming from the forward cabin. It’s a bright balmy, lovely afternoon and we’ve just passed immigrations into Switzerland. We’re motoring down the Bahn, passing through the entrance into the Alps. It’s gorgeous, a storybook day.
I sat down in the forward/lower lounge and could hear Werner, our intrepid and wonderful driver (every bit Austrian) whistling along with something. Delightful, delicate, precise, joyful whistling. Not like passive, mumbling, meandering whistling, but flutelike, percussive, trilling Alpine whistling.
Suddenly he turns up his stereo in the driver’s compartment and I realize he’s whistling along with a classical concert on the stereo. Not just some soft, sweet, beautiful concert piece, but one of those Austrian masterpieces, loaded with flourish, undoubtedly written on just such a spring afternoon, where the sun bathes the countryside in clear light and the new leaves on the trees radiate a green that we only get to see in April in the mountains. The panorama is actually postcard.
So I sit quietly, slide down in a lounge recliner and watch with wonderment as the Swiss countryside glides by in a rolling slideshow of hills and church spires, cows and fences, chalets and Swiss flags, yellow mustard fields erupting in full voice, punctuating the rise and fall of Werner’s whistling concerto. He’s hitting every note. He knows this piece. As the concert rises to crescendo, Werner pushes his participation, steadfastly remaining part of the orchestra. Big Finish! Wow!! That was cool…
People can be so happy, so positive.
Life is good. Really good.
From EAW Marketing Director Karen Anderson
On our way via the tour bus to Milan for the next stop of the B4 Roadshow, we stopped for the evening in Wolfach, Germany. All I can say is WOW - this place unbelievably gorgeous! It's a 1,000-year-old walled city on the Kinsig river. I can't really describe how lovely it is, so check out the pictures.
Besides that, it's Jurgen's hometown, and he and his wife Christiane hosted us for a great day of sightseeing and dinner.
Continue reading "B4 In Europe: The Journey To Milan" »
From EAW Marketing Director Karen Anderson
Day two of the B4 Roadshow stop in Cologne was Smaart School day, and Jamie and Ferrit had a full class of 17 people at the Gahrens and Batterman training academy.
A huge thanks to G&B for letting us use their facility! (It's pictured below.)
 While Jamie and Ferrit busily made the world a little "Smaarter" (sorry!), Bernie and Moray headed over to the Cologne Arena to visit Marcus from Gahrens and Batterman as they loaded in a huge corporate event for DHL, utilizing a KF730-based system.
Continue reading "B4 In Germany: Smaart School & Wireless Cafe Search!" »
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!
Continue reading "B4 In Germany: Fun With Set-Up & Day One" »
 From EAW Marketing Director Karen Anderson
After a much needed change of clothes and some well-earned beers, the B4 Roadshow crew hopped on our tour bus, and with our trusty driver Werner at the wheel, took off for Cologne, Germany. Much merriment was had that first night on the bus… Most of which I can’t post on the web.
But suffice to say it included Moray, Ferrit and Steve practicing their moose mating calls (see picture above) learned the night before from a pair of comely, and drunk, Swedish gals.
 We crossed from Dover to Calais on the ferry sometime around midnight, and after a meal of ship-food and a really bad nap on hard plastic ferry chairs, we landed on the continent about 2 AM. At left we see Ferrit passing his new remote controlled Dalek to Bernie. (Doctor Who fans know what we're talking about.)
Then everyone hit their bunks, and tried to learn how to sleep on a moving, swaying bus. Someone’s Blackberry alarm went off around 6:30 AM and beeped incessantly for the next 90 minutes. Thus instigating the “cell phones off in the bunk area” rule.
 We pulled into the DJP facility in Cologne at about 9:00 in the morning, and met Jurgen, our German Sales Manager. The venue was a great old factory, which used to make the boilers for steam engines. More about this venue in my next post...
As we were all a little sleepy and bus-ruffled, Jurgen met us there with a car full of coffee and Marcus, Uli who helped us load in. Big thanks guys! (Jurgen's "coffee car" is shown below.)
The EAW team had a great time this week presenting the first B4 Roadshow at Bray Studios outside of London. After a full day of Smaart School followed by another full day of System Bootcamp and the EAW Tradeshow, it was time to go. In road-dog fashion, the team broke it all down, loaded it all on the truck, and then boarded the bus to move along to the next B4 Roadshow stop: Cologne, Germany.
Some final notes on the England stop from Karen Anderson: Bray Studios is a great film studio out in the English countryside near Windsor Castle. The facilities were wonderful and the staff could not have been nicer. Big thanks to Nathan Hendricks and everyone at Bray. Highly recommended for anyone looking to do a large format demo in England.
Load-in was relatively painless with the help of four of our pals from Concert Sound, and big high fives to them for all of their help.. not only during load in, but on the Roadshow in general. Couldn’t have done it without them!
With the help of more fine folks from Peak Sound and Concert Sound, who stuck around after the Tradeshow to help us load out, we were torn down and had the truck loaded in less than two hours! Everyone pitched in…. as evidenced by the pictures of Jeffrey and Sean (Martin) humping crates up into the truck. Who says execs don’t get their hands dirty?
 Day two of the B4 Roadshow in England featured System Bootcamp, led by EAW Technical Training Manager Bernie Broderick, as well as the EAW Tradeshow, where everyone got a look at current and coming-soon products and technologies. The Bray Studios facility (shown here) proved exceptional for hosting both of these facets.
 Interesting notes from EAW Marketing Director Karen Anderson: "Andrew Rowan owns SurgeSound, the EAW distributor for South Africa, and he came all the way up from there for the event. And Terje Engedahl is from Lyd-Systemer, our distributor for Norway. He brought two of his customers all the way from Norway (his customers are Eivind Boganes and Oyvind Aasen).
 Attendees also had plenty of opportunities to network and get the most up-close looks at all products, including SB Series subwoofers and KF Series line arrays shown here.
Next Up:
Cologne, April 26-27
Full schedule
 OK, we admit it: this post is largely an excuse to post the crazy photo of Ferrit (below).
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 After an intense full day of Smaart School, and with System Bootcamp and the EAW Tradeshow all set for tomorrow at Bray Studios, there proved to be a bit of time for the gang to visit a local establishment and blow off some steam. Well, that is, after Bernie got done spooling his cables.
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 Just one question: Does Ferrit's expression have anything to do with the empty glass in front of him? (Actually, thanks to him for being such a good sport.)
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Below is Jamie Anderson with EAW's Moray McMillin and Steve Badham.
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 April 23, 07
London
1:30pm
Peas and Chips! From mighty ‘ol England!!
First day of B4 European Roadshow and it’s actually working out beautifully. Wow!!
We all made it in on time, luggage arrived, hotel is “reasonable”, had a pint, Fish and Chips, drove on the wrong side of the road, got into the wrong side of the car, sitting by The River Thames, all the stations of the cross…
Today is the Smaart v.6 class, with Jamie Anderson conducting. Well attended and we’re at Bray Film Studios, out near Windsor Castle (Mum’s not in, the flags not waving). This studio is where a bunch of 50’s and 60’s British horror movies were filmed, including Dracula with Christopher Lee. Perfect location to assemble the tour and conduct the first presentations. This is where a lot of tours do pre-production rehearsals. Clapton usually sets up here.
8:00pm: Completed the set up, tested, checked and done for the night. Really good day. This is a wonderful bunch of people to work with.
G’night!!
-Jeffrey
 The Europe leg of the B4 Roadshow has begun! Jamie Anderson and Martyn "Ferrit" Rowe led a very well-attended full day of Smaart School at Bray Studios, outside of London.
The focus, of course, is new EAW Smaart v.6, as well as loads of useful tips and techniques for large-scale system alignment and response optimization.
 At right, we see the group in "classroom" mode, and below, a class photo. In the back row, left to right: George Breacker, John Kingham, Lionel Miller, Andrew Rowan, Tom Williams, Jamie Anderson, Simon Ryder, Patrick Hocken, Sam Brandon, Steve Paefrement, Eivind Boganes. And in the front row: Terje Engedahl and Oyvind Aasen.
Coming up tonight: A bit of fun
Tomorrow: System Bootcamp & Tradeshow
A new Smaart Forum has launched at the EAW.com Forums section, and in fact, it's already logged 200-plus posts from the Smaart community!
The new Smaart Forum replaces the previous online effort that served very well but had become outdated. Particularly with the recent launch of new EAW Smaart v.6, the new forum is proving invaluable as an efficient way to get questions answered as well as for the sharing of information among the user base.
The forum is expertly moderated by EAW's Calvert Dayton, Martin "Ferrit" Rowe, Joe Fustolo and Scott Jordan. In addition, great input is also provided by Smaart and test/measurement/analysis veterans. Click here to check it out.
 Bormann Marketing, a sales representative firm for EAW, will be hosting Smaart School training sessions later this month (April '07) in the Minneapolis area (Bloomington, MN) as well as in Chicago, both in conjuction with its 2007 "Bormannia" Roadshows.
Specifically, noted sound designer and veteran Smaart instructor Arthur Skudra (pictured below) of Sightsound Consulting will be presenting the Smaart School sessions, which will focus on the fundamentals of EAW Smaart and the new Smaart v.6 measurement and analysis software. Tips and techniques for large-scale system alignment and response optimization will also be presented.
 The Minneapolis area roadshow and Smaart School session will be held on Monday, April 23, at the Holiday Inn Select Airport in Bloomington, just south of Minneapolis International Airport. Both will run from 9 am to 4 pm. Cost to attend this Smaart School session is $200; the roadshow is free.
The Chicago roadshow will be held Thursday, April 26 and Friday, April 27, at the Irish American Heritage Center. Roadshow hours are 10 am to 4 pm. NOTE: the Smaart School session will be held BOTH days from 8 am to 4 pm. Cost to attend this two-day Smaart School session is $300; the roadshow is free.
Bormann Marketing will also be hosting a roadshow - without Smaart School session - in Milwaukee on Wednesday, April 25 at the Radisson Hotel Milwaukee Airport. Hours are 10 am to 4 pm. Cost is free.
Smaart School attendees are asked to bring their laptop computers and stereo I/O to get full, hands-on benefit of instruction.
For the ninth consecutive year, the Bormannia Roadshows will provide a great opportunity to check out all of the product lines handled by Bormann Marketing, including EAW. To register for Smaart School, contact Marcy of Bormann Marketing via e-mail at marcy@bormann.com or by calling 952-835-9161. Payment can be made with check or credit card.
For more information as well as to also register via e-mail, click here.
 At the upcoming PALME Middle East Exhibition in Dubai, Josh Evans of PMK International Consultants will be presenting "Smaart v.6 Overview: Additions and benefits of Smaart v.6 over SmaartLive 5." The class will be presented on Sunday, May 20, from 2 pm - 4 pm, in the Sharjah A room of the Dubai International Exhibition Centre.
The discussion will focus on:
- Fundamentals and benefits of dual-channel FFT measurements
- Differences between using a Real Time Analyzer (RTA), and a dual FFT complex magnitude response for the optimization of sound systems
- Determination of loudspeaker polarity
- Optimization of subwoofers using a complex measurement
- Interfacing measurement tools with mixing consoles
- Useful measurements for a live sound engineer
To register, go to the PALME website at http://www.palmeonline.com, click on the "Middle East" option, and then click on "Seminar Info" in the left column of the home page.
Kicking off EAW’s 2007 education initiative, the B4 Roadshow will be making its way through Europe starting April 23. This is an excellent opportunity to immerse yourself in two full days of EAW product training, demonstrations, education and more! Each two-day B4 event will consist of a Smaart School, “System Bootcamp” and mini-tradeshow.
Smaart School:
The specially designed Smaart School is focusing on the fundamentals of Smaart and the new Smaart v.6, as well as tips and techniques for large-scale system alignment and response optimization. Taught by Smaart gurus Jamie Anderson and Martyn Rowe, cost for the Smaart School course is $300 (USD) and includes breakfast, lunch and all course-related materials.
Pre-registration is required - click here to register for the class of your choice. Online pre-payment via credit card is accepted, as is payment on-site at the time of the class (check or cash only). Attendees are responsible for their own travel and accommodation expenses.
Continue reading "B4 Roadshow, Smaart School Coming To Europe!" »
At NSCA Expo '07 in Orlando this week, EAW is unveiling the latest phase of its education initiative: B4 - "BEYOND Brains, Boxes & Beyond".
Based upon the highly successful B3 education sessions presented to hundreds of audio professionals in 2006, the B4 Roadshow indeed goes well beyond that landmark effort. EAW’s renowned training and educational staff – offering decades of collective real-world pro audio experience – is traveling the world in 2007, conducting more than 20 in-depth (and hands-on) training sessions.
 Throughout NSCA Expo, the education team will be in the EAW demo room providing a preview of what will be offered at every B4 stop. Note that these presentations will be done on the "even" hours - 10 am, noon, 2 pm and
4 pm.
Each actual two- and three-day B4 event will feature a full day of Smaart training followed by “System Bootcamp” where attendees are to be provided with diverse live and installed audio coursework as well as a step-by-step overview of configuring, rigging, powering, processing and tuning a full-scale EAW sound reinforcement system.
 And, where applicable, training is also being provided on exciting new EAW products such as the UX8800 digital processor providing Gunness Focusing for an ever-growing list of current EAW loudspeakers. Attendees are introduced to other new EAW developments including the UMX.96 digital live console, SB1002 flyable subwoofers, EAW Commercial CAM Series mixer-amplifiers and CXA Series power amplifiers, and more. It’s all topped off with a demonstration of EAW’s latest technologies and products in action, including a “traveling tradeshow” of the latest EAW and EAW Commercial installation products.
More information, including a schedule of B4 Roadshow events, will be posted here and on EAW.com soon.
Veteran concert sound professional Martyn “Ferrit” Rowe has joined EAW as Product Specialist, where he will apply more than 25 years of professional audio experience to EAW’s rapidly expanding training and educational initiatives.
 Ferrit’s first focus will be providing hands-on training for operation of the new EAW UMX.96 large-format digital mixing console. He will also play a key role in developing r
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