What to look for when hiring a Design/Build AV Integrator Every commercial AV System project comes with risk. As consultants, we recognize there may be significant unfamiliarity, and even considerable anxiety when it comes to selecting and hiring an AV contractor, or systems integrator as they are often described today. When private money is in play, it’s a common temptation to skip the professional consultants and choose to work directly with a design/build integrator. But, buyer beware: not all systems integrators are created equally. Paraphrasing what many have said, "I was put in charge of finding an AV contractor and I have little or no idea how to pick one, or what to look for. I'm just hoping that whoever we select… they know what they’re doing, and they won't rip us off." Sound familiar? If so, the following will provide in depth guidelines on how integrator’s can and should manage and minimize the main, definable risk factors. These risks are often not recognized, understood or openly discussed before signing a contract. They should be. Even if you plan to hire a professional AV or acoustical consultant, and send your project out for bids, many of the concepts outlined below hold true. Why? Because accepting the low-bid price is rarely the best plan. Again, why? Because even though they may “qualify” on paper, those firms that have the lowest overhead, (read least invested in providing a full spectrum of quality people, products and services) will almost always come in with the lowest bid. We believe AV integration project risk can be distilled into these three main categories: Technical, Non-technical, and Intangible. Click Here for the Full Story. #SoundContractors #AVContractors #AVIntegrators #AVIntegration #RiskManagement #DesignBuild

This morning I sat in church listening to a wonderful 150-voice choir, an 8-person front-line vocal team, a 40 piece orchestra, and a tight rhythm section that included a grand piano, B3, electric and acoustic guitars, electric bass, and a full acoustic drum kit. Because there are so many acoustic instruments and voices being miked, the drums are in a fully-enclosed plexi booth. The sanctuary stage is not an ideal acoustic environment for all this sound in close proximity, but it’s workable for most arrangements. However… today, for some reason, the FOH engineer was running the overhead drum mics way too hot in the mix. What a waste of amazing talent. So, what’s my problem? The problem was the constant drone of metallic hash noise coming from the ride, splash and crash cymbals. Why are you (you know who you are) miking and routing those cymbals to the main mix buss? Well maybe the Death Metal guys can get away with this, but for everyone else, please continue to read on. Click here to see the rest of the story. #Cymbals #BadSound #Audio #HowtoMixSound

Shadow Mountain Church Delivers Their Large Choir Remotely – In Real Time! In over forty years as an audio professional, I’ve never seen anything quite like the sea change in technical creativity and resourcefulness that’s emerged from the social distancing measures imposed on most of us in early 2020. This story chronicles one such leap made while many businesses, schools, and houses of worship have been closed or seriously hampered by the inability to assemble. Fortunately, some churches can offer live streaming of their worship services. Shadow Mountain Community Church (SMCC) in El Cajon, CA is a good example. SMCC easily classifies as a mega church, with an average weekly attendance of roughly 7,500. Most weeks, they offer a blended worship experience that includes a 120 voice choir, a 30 piece orchestra, an 8-man rhythm section, and 6-8 front line singers. See Photo 1. For SMCC, the challenge became how to retain and present as much of their regular worship experience as possible, while complying with the necessary social distancing guidelines? Click the link below to download the full story.