Feelings were running high around the table. Present were some important voices representing contrasting – and sometimes diametrically opposing – views on education in pro audio. What it was, who needed it, where they should get it, what it should cost.

That was in the early 1990s and I’m not convinced we’ve made progress on answering any of those questions.

‘Big Bucks’ BurnettThere’s a man in Dallas who reckons that a collection of records isn’t complete without eight-track cartridge releases to sit alongside vinyl, cassette, CD, DVD, concert programmes and other music memorabilia. In fact, he’s setting up a museum specifically to celebrate the eight-track format…

And he makes a very a valid point – it’s not the best recordings that get the collectors excited, it’s the rare releases...

KraftwerkSome say a wedding isn’t a wedding without a fight. In some communities, it’s the highlight of the day.

I’ve never actually seen a wedding brawl myself, but I had a ringside seat at a wedding reception that saw music producers and musicians quietly alligning themselves against the ‘non musicians’ present. The tension stayed beneath the surface but it was tangible.

Jeff BeckLondon, Paris, New York, Munich; everyone listen to the same pop music.

I remember a television interview with Jeff Beck from a few years ago, when he described a generation of rock guitarists who were ‘trying to play the same guitar solo’. That’s one of the problems that comes with heroes – but heroes set benchmarks and inspire achievement. In contrast, Simon Cowell’s X Factor ‘talent show’ places musical ambition low on its agenda...

GuerillaI absolutely love radio. The Buggles’ wry dismissal aside, radio was never going to be a casualty of the home video recording ‘star’ of the late 1970s.

We could talk about how highstreet video rental subsequently seemed poised to bring down the curtain on cinema. Or how drum machines rattled the death knell of drummers. Or any colour you like being ‘the new black’. But let’s stay tuned to the radio…

Tape reelBehind very tightly-closed doors – ones that can only be described as ‘belonging to a major London recording studio’ to allay any suggestion of endorsement – Chris Estes set up his hybrid analogue/digital recording system for its first demonstration in the UK earlier this week. Part of a demonstration tour of Europe, Estes describes the Clasp system as an exercise in ‘manipulating time and space’.

YinYangI well remember the early days of digital mixing consoles – it’s hard now to appreciate the technical ambition that lay behind their development or the hostility they frequently encountered.

Or the guts shown by their early adopters. I was thrilled by the prospect of a ‘new’ audio technology and the taunt of the possibilities it was beginning to promise, but I was horrified by the resistance those early desks met.

Taiko DrummersI’ve been in demand, I’ve had my disciples – I’ve even been prayed to. I’ve accepted surrender and certainly done some some soul searching while alone in the bathroom. I am the engineroom of every classic rock band and the underlying performance requirement of every reggae gig and nightclub sound system...

Yes people, I am the beat, and it’s all about me.

Record CollectionI got a text message from the Cropredy Festival in the UK: ‘Any searching questions 4 rick wakeman?’

‘What became of the Birotron,’ I replied.

‘Is that serious?’

‘Yep, a keyboard he was developing with dave biro’

And with that, my brother was off to talk to ‘keyboard wizard’ Rick Wakeman.

A while later I got this: ’14 left. He has not got 1. Would love 1. 10 thou dollars plus 4 non-working model’

With the recent arrest of an Italian man for firing a rifle into the air and then ramming a public bar with his car, and the earlier arrest of a man for the fatal shooting of a 14-year-old boy in Durban, you can’t deny that the sound of vuvuzela trumpets – wherever they are played – has had an impact beyond that of celebrating football in South Africa (including broadcast complications). It's been dubbed 'vuvuzela rage' by some of the popular press.

vuvuzela

Having moved its mixing console production operation from it home in Regensdorf, Switzerland, to its expanding headquarters in the UK, Soundcraft Studer could have taken the opportunity to unencumber itself of a large amount of old equipment, pictures and archives. Thankfully, it has not…

Corridor of power

  

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Fast-and-Wide.com An independent news site and blog for professional audio and related businesses, Fast-and-Wide.com provides a platform for discussion and information exchange in one of the world's fastest-moving technology-based industries.
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