Who are we…

[[XAP]BobParticipant]

It strikes me that there is a wide range of experience and technical proficiency on these boards. Probably more on the QU range than elsewhere, just due to the price point.

I’m relatively new to the QU series (handful of gigs/events under my belt) and only have a QU16. I’m heavily reliant on the QuPad app most of the time…
This has replaced my Berry DDX3216, and associated gibbons (including multicore).

I am also one of the decision making techies at my church, where we run a Roland M300…

I’ve also run the sound team at a local theatre, with an analog A&H 32 channel GL series (GL3300 iirc), although children mean I can’t commit time in large enough chunks any more 🙁

Additionally various analogue desks stretching back 23 years (some rack mounted pots only, some so large I could barely reach both ends – although I was still growing ;). I actively dislike Yamaha desks because they have an ON button, rather than a MUTE button, yet still colour it orange (as opposed to the ‘correct’ green.

However, I am well aware that there exists a wide gulf in terms of skill between the best amateur and virtually any professional – just based on time and experience. I also remember that whilst professionals built the Titanic, an amateur built the ark.

[Anonymous]

who are we? That’s the question I have been asking myself lately!
Time is just so valuable.
The QU series was and still is on an exponential growth curve.
You are fortunate to have children, I don’t.
What are you asking for Bob?.
Simplified questions?
Splitting forum between the QU best amateur and Noah?
No offense intended.

I read most posts and learn everyday new little quirks to apply.
and if anyone asked me any questions on here on here or PM I would reply sincerely without any demoralizing.

Maybe I need to join a house of worship?
No I just wouldn’t have that time to give.

dave NZ

[[XAP]BobParticipant]

I suppose i’m wondering how wide the spread is, reading people talking about mixing for some the musical greats, yet also quite a few HOW volunteers.

[Anonymous]

I’m a newbie by comparison to the iLive guys who have been doing the digital desks for 10 years now.
Although I have spent 15 years with analog desks digital adats etc..

There is going to be lots of older guys switching to digital over this year.
The tips and tricks (thoughts & ideas) I pick up from yourself and people like Dick, Blackghost and others is invaluable.

[Anonymous]

I forgot to mention Andreas with his mathmatical calculations [i love those calculations!] and many others ….
Sometimes its that tiny wee spark that prompts a thought of how to do something a different way.

anyhow
Who are we?
Where are we?

I’m a long way from where you guys are!
On a map you can barely see NZ

over and out :+}

[AndreasModerator]

Ok, after outed as a techie, I’m free enough to admit I’m not in it for the money but for about three decades now, though. Supporting some smaller bands as “their” FOH man and recording engineer in the past, and nowadays more focusing on (smaller) video and audio productions and supporting our local musical school. Living is still coming from music, but building some synths and developing chips and solutions for that industry.
Last year time had come to switch my equipment from analog (24ch GS3V, pimped with signal leds and parallel monitoring mix) to the Qu32 along with digital multicore, so I’m totally new…
If I ever make it to NZ, be assured I’ll come over to positively shake hands, just because you’re the only person I “know” from there, dhak… 😉

[mervakaParticipant]

I just do local shows and festivals with a select few promoters, although not so frequently anymore.. Currently on Qu of course. Experience with various analogue and iLive.

[GCumbeeParticipant]

Well about 40+yrs in the business in one way or another. From being a young musician to later being in a group with major record deal. No success. Got out got into technical side based on what I studied in college. Radio/TV. Got into recording which I had done in the band days. Then into TV as a producer/director. Still doing audio as a hobby. Then built a pro studio in late 70’s. Ran it and did free lance national touring. Major concerts, TV show audio. Did sound for Popes to Presidents and about everything you can imagine. Moved studio operations to Nashville in late 90’s. Bought an existing well known studio. Have recorded and mixed 1000’s of songs for artists all over world. Recorded everything from vocal/guitar to large orchestras and choirs. I still own it but leased to Dolly Parton band leader and producer. Dolly has done 3 albums there in last 3 years. Sang on one of my Neumanns. Back at my home in KY doing system integration work. Dealer for many A/V products including A&H. Do all kinds of installations. Mainly churches. Doing sound, TV systems, lighting and acoustics. In my later years still eat, breathe and sleep the business. Still love it.
I do find a little time to fly my airplanes. I have 2. That is my escape when I need it. Just go out buzzing around or a short trip for breakfast.
Been married to same woman for almost 45yrs. 2 daughters and 2 adorable grandchildren. I feel very blessed especially to work at something that is a passion.

[robbocurryParticipant]

Cut my teeth on a Studiomaster 16.4.2 about 30 years ago as a 17 year old and been involved either playing or mixing ever since.
Have my own AV company and do a lot of video production work too.
Have done some installs over the years but live sound has always been my preference.
I live about 5 miles from the largest pro audio outlet in Northern Ireland so that’s usually bad for my bank balance but good for my curiosity!
I have a brilliantly talented and beautiful wife and a beautiful daughter, a cat and a dog;)
Can fly a plane and helicopter, models unfortunately! George, you’re living the dream!!
Have a brother in NZ so might get to see you in action some time dhak;)

Always found the people on this forum to be helpful and this has been a useful resource to me.
Glad to be here!

[MarkPAmanParticipant]

Been “doing” sound for over 30 years now. Always had at least one live music project going on, and for over half that time, it’s been my main source of income. I’ve been house engineer, touring as system engineer, touring band’s engineer, as well as working for an install company. These days, I work in a support role in a college, and run a small PA of my own for all sorts of local events.

In the last 6 years I’ve owned a Mix Wiz (nice), and Soundcraft EPM (useful for very small stuff & I’ve still got it), then a Roland M380 – nice desk, but was quickly outdated when the M300 came out & multitrack recording was going to cost £1000s extra to add so I got.., Personus StudioLive – I was wrong to think motorised faders were not needed so then I got rid of those two and was a very early adopter of the Qu-16.
I think I will replace the EMP with a Ui as soon as they’re available.

[av8en1Participant]

So far it sounds like I’m the new kid on the block. I started my sound reinforcement business a couple of years ago, after working part time for a couple of the local providers for a year. This following a 36 year career in aircraft maintenance and avionics. I still fly my trike, but the regulation and liability in aviation is very cumbersome.

The QU16 is my first digital mixer, following a MixWiz. I’m in pursuit of a DAW that will run ProTools 11 without locking up 😉 Thank you too all of you who routinely share your hard earned knowledge on this forum.

john

[dpdanParticipant]

It has been fun reading about you guys and how much we have in common. Lot’s of talent here!

I just turned 59 last Wednesday, holy crap! In 1971, I started recording my high school band, orchestra and choir concerts with a TEAC mixer, a reel-to reel tape recorder and AKG microphones. When everyone else was buying drugs and mag wheels, I was buying microphones, speakers and amplifiers,,, no drugs for me. I absolutley love “LIVE” sound. Like others here have mentioned, I have recorded and provided sound for some big names, and little ones too, as well as some that have gone to Hollywood USA and have made it into the really bigtime. I won’t name drop.

I don’t have a huge sound system like 40 line array cabinets and twenty subs per side, I don’t have a need for any of that. I do have 20,000 watts of new QSC PLD4.5 power amps, and my speakers are mostly all home-made by me in my basement. I use JBL components for subs and lows, and old Altec Lansing 288 drivers/horns for mid/highs. My system can very adequately provide full range stereo sound for outdoor concerts with up to around 5,000 people. For wedding receptions and smaller jobs, I use QSC K12 and K10 speakers for monitors, and either double 18″ subs or singles depending on the venue and band.

In the past years I have owned Yamaha, Soundcraft and Allen & Heath sound consoles, OK, I always called them a mixer. The brits refer to them as a desk. My first Allen & Heath product was a MixWizard that has been incredibly reliable, I just donated it to a mission in the city for a sound system I installed for them. I have installed more sound systems in churches and trained more sound people than I can remember. That perhaps is my most fun,…. when I am explaining and demonstrating something, and I can see that they actually “get it”.

Like many of you, I recently sold my racks of processing and snakes in trade for a digital mixer, well, two actually, I also own a Mackie DL32R, and I love that thing. It is so great for wedding receptions where I don’t want or need a “FOH” and a snake, even if it is just an ethernet cable on a reel. I did about forty wedding receptions last year with a Mackie DL1608, and then this past November I replaced it with Mackie’s new DL32R, and it too has been rock solid.

I am so glad I can provide mixing and multi-track recording, but no longer have to lug around 32 splitters in a rack, with multi-pin connectors to the mixer, desk, console. Then of course there is the 200 foot long 40 channel snake with splitter cable and multi=pin connectors, and Alesis HD24 machines synced with nine pin sync cables. It’s all gone!!!!!
Gee it was not that long ago I was Sooooooo glad to get rid of analoge recording and go with ADATs, then hard drive ADATs were the bomb, now all I need is a USB cable and a laptop… how times change.

Back in 2004, I decided to teach myself how to use midi in Digital Performer, but because I have no formal musical training except three months of piano lessons at age seven, I do everything “by ear”, picking out the notes of each instrument in the recording, then playing the notes on a midi keyboard where the midi data from the keyboard is recorded into Digital Performer. I made quite a few recordings using sampled sounds from the Mac Pro computer using Garritan Personal Orchestra samples. Some of the music I made with Garritan sounds can be heard on my website on the MIDI PAGE. I think perhaps the one thing I am most proud of, is when the director of the 20th Century Fox Ochestra in Hollywood contacted me via email. He asked for permission to use my arrangement of The Theme from “On Golden Pond” by Dave Grusin, for a recording that he was doing to honor the film career of Dabney Coleman. OK, so that was a name drop, sorry 😉

About five years ago I decided to do video too, and that has been really fun, and another way to make a buck/Euro.

I will stop because I could go on forever about how fun this stuff is. It is how I make a living and I am blessed to do something that I love.

Always remember we can call ourselves professionals as long as we are paid.
Professional … not meaning great, just paid. (profession, to be paid)

More fun stuff can be seen and heard by visiting my “cheezy” website.
https://www.dankury.com

sorry that was soooo long 🙂

[eotsskleetParticipant]

Awesome to read about you guys! I’m ptobably one of the youngest here! Just turned 28 a couple of days ago and I’m from Switzerland! Started to tweak the sound of my own band at the rehearsal and on stage, after failing to be a good musician I decided to stay at the FoH, that was now 5years ago! After some Behringer products my first real Mixer was a GL2400-32 with a big outboard rack. Loved the Quality of A&H and after a shootout against Soundcraft Si Performer 2 and Yamaha LS9, I decided for a GLD-80 and don’t regret it at all! It’s such an amazing desk! I sold now my GL2400 and bought me as well a Qu-16 for small events. Founded 1year ago my own rental company and doing mostly live-sound for bands!
I’m really A&H addicted, checking out this forum nearly every day and I want to figure out all the possibilities of these Mixers! I think there is more than you will find in the manual 🙂

Actually I’m on a Worldtravel and looking forward to meet a lot of other people using A&H desks! I mainly checking out a lot of music festivals! In a couple of days I will be in Australia and join the Soundwavefestival where I will see Of Mice and Men with the GLD-80 at FoH! (Excited!)
Maybe I visit dhak in NZ as well for shaking hand!? 😉

[tylermartin86Participant]

Sorry to ruin your joy eotsskleet, but I am probably the youngest at age 20. I started sound and lights as a freshman in high school. Since then, I have jumped on any chance to do any sort of sound or lighting. I started recorded high school bands on a cheap Behringer. After high school, I started working at a local sound company. I now continue working there doing sound and lights along with doing sound at a high school. The first Allen and Heath I saw was the GL 3300 at that high school. It’s still rock solid. I then returned to the high school that I graduated from and found that they upgraded the old Behringer to an iLive. Thats when I started focusing on Allen and Heath. Ive mixed on Soundcraft Si series, Yamaha LS9, M7, CL5, a Midas Pro 2, an Avid Venue SC48, Behringer x32, other random analog boards, and of course the Qu, GLD and iLive. So far, I absolutely love the Allen and Heath mixers. They are probably my favorite boards that I have used due to their simplicity and features. That is why I chose the GLD for the church I am currently doing sound for. I have recommended Allen and Heath mixers to churches and schools because they are excellent “beginner” digital boards that have so much power behind them. They can easily be taught to the students or some volunteers at schools or churches.

I’m really glad that Bob started this thread. It is really awesome to “meet” a lot of the people on these forums.

[mamericaParticipant]

I designed my first mixer over forty years ago when I was nineteen. It wasn’t much, basic volume, treble, bass and mid controls based on the TI8081 op amp. I’ve worked mainly as a live sound monitor engineer for the past thirty years or so. My main gig is as a software engineer in a completely unrelated field. I do both on a part-time basis now days. I have both Qu and StudioLive mixers but my current interest is AVB and Dante.

[Author]

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