Published Press Ref: Philadelphia Sound Productions, Inc.

Read the story WOODSTOCK 99 Rome, NY

PEAVEY- March 7, 1998 - Peavey's Page Matrix - Atlantic City Convention Center

Spirit - May 98 - Spirit by Soundcraft - David Bowie

Pro Sound News - September 1997 - Mann Music Center for the Performing Arts

What's new with JBL Professional HLA

Philadelphia Sound & The Philadelphia Folk Festival

Soundcraft in Atlantic City

Twilo System

Victoria Inn - Sound & Video Contractor - May 20, 1995

Junior Vasquez -Profile - EQ Magazine 1994 Issue no. 2

Pro Sound News - Various Show Listings

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Pro Sound News September 1997 PHILADELPHIA,PA - The recent refitting of the sound system at Philadelphia's venerable Mann Music Center for the Performing Arts is a case in point as to how judicious technical choices can not only improve the sound of a venue but also increase its earning power, as well.

The Mann Center is a semi-enclosed amphitheater that is equipped with a covered stage, 4,700 seats undercover seats, plus an additional 9500 open-air seats and lawn spots. The venue is the summer home of the Philadelphia Orchestra's PNC Bank Summer Concert Series as well as a range of other types of applications, from national touring band performances to college graduation ceremonies. It's regarded as a flexible venue, but its aging multi-box sound system had not kept pace with the changes in the industry that it serves. There were a lot of dead spots in the covered area of the venue because it was a system that was using a lot of small, under-powered cabinets. Vintage early 1980’s. The old system did not interface and or complement well with outside touring road system.

"They were older boxes and had been there for years," notes Walter Mosetter, owner of Philadelphia Sound Productions, a well-regarded regional Sound Reinforcement production company that Mosetter started based on a small core of DJ clients 20 years ago. Philadelphia Sound is a typical full service sound company with strong interest in live sound, sales, installations and design. The company has grown into one of Philadelphia's leading sound reinforcement companies, and has sold and installed many fixed installations like "The New Atlantic City Convention Center", and several large nigh clubs world wide..

House sound engineer Dave Conner, a veteran of the Westbury Music Fair and Valley Forge Music Fair venues, contacted Philadelphia Sound Productions to discuss the situation and they quickly agreed an upgrade was in order. However, the venue's management had to approve. Any upgrade had to comply with the established requirements of The Philadelphia Orchestra and other symphonic performers yet powerful enough to accommodate various national touring acts.

Mosetter, and Conner flew a demonstration rig consisting of three HLA 4895 full-range cabinets and a pair of HLA 4897 double-18-inch-speaker subwoofers in a small but highly effective array above center stage, used a BSS Omnidrive system controller as the crossover and a BSS Varicurve programmable equalizer. The venue's 24-channel Soundcraft 800B FOH console remained in place and the system was powered with Crown amplifiers under IQ control . Using a variety of CD recordings and several open-mic tests, the venues management and other involved parties were impressed, as was George Blood, the audio engineer for the Orchestra who had also been invited to participate that day. "The JBL system sounded amazing and you could hear a huge difference right from the start," he said.

Once the go-ahead was given to install the new system on a long-term rental from Philadelphia Sound Productions, Mosetter and Conner installed the HLA system placing the 4897 bass bins and a pair of Architectural Series AS 3218 cabinets into existing proscenium portals beside the stage. The HLA 4895s remained in the flown cluster with a two-box array of JBL Array Series 4892 cabinets tilted down to provide full coverage for the audience seats closest to the stage.

The original system configuration was tuned by Sam Berkow, a consultant to JBL and the co-developer with the company of the SMAART acoustical analysis program, a laptop-usable software system which takes venue analysis extremely simple yet accurate. Berkow's analysis helped determine the precise delay times for the cabinets, and the result, said Conner, filled the room perfectly."

"This is a very streamlined approach we are taking here," explained Conner. "Basically what we are doing is replacing as many as nine small boxes -- which had caused a lot of reflection problems in the room all along -- with the more efficient, more powerful HLA system that gives us much better sound dispersion and incredible intelligibility. And this was with virtually no equalization. The JBL components sound excellent. Just what we were expecting."

Conner said that the Orchestra, which had historically used minimal micing when performing at the Mann Center -- generally only for soloists -- and only used the outdoor sound system, relying purely on room acoustics inside the facility. "It's a compliment to the quality of the components that the Philadelphia Orchestra or a quality sound engineer like George Blood will now consider using the new system for audio reinforcement inside the shell.

Mr. Blood said, " For the Philadelphia Orchestra we generally applying mild sound reinforcement (rather than full fledged PA) . Not only do we get all the advantages of using fewer boxes with all the necessary coverage, but The JBL HLA ‘s sound the same at all levels. We did not feel the need for different Eq’s at different dynamic levels or for different instruments."

All members of MCPA’s stage crew are impressed with the new cluster design. The lighting engineer was especially please with the new system. "The compact design allows more flexibility when lighting the stage since there is less clutter hanging."

The Business of Sound

But the most intriguing aspect of the upgraded sound system is its implications for the Mann Music Center's economic fortunes. Said Jerry Grabey, General Manager of the Mann, "What this does is enable us to broaden our spectrum of orchestral presentation without the need of further SR augmentation. Additionally it makes the venue very attractive for traveling shows that might otherwise not have considered the venue at all. The new installation increases scheduling flexibility by reducing time constraints , thus broadening the capability of the hall and allowing it to handle a wider range of major performers and bands. Having the HLA center cluster makes it easier since traveling shows won't have to fly their own clusters, and it interfaces easily with any additional SR equipment they bring in with them." At a time when venues have to be as competitive as any other aspect of the entertainment industry, he added, "The new JBL system helps give this place and edge that it didn't have before."

The Mann Center installation is the first fixed installation of the new JBL HLA System on the East Coast.

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VICTORIA INN - Sound & Video Contractor - May 20, 1995

"One Button" Operation -- No Longer A Future Vision

Several popular movies of the 1960's featured futuristic integrated systems that allowed someone in a room to activate a sound system, adjust the lighting, close the drapes, and even rotate a wall to reveal a hidden bar all with the push of a couple of buttons on a wall panel.

The subsequent 30 years has seen substantial progress made toward systems that really do provide this type of capability, and in a cost effective and reliable manner. A good example is a new audio system recently installed at the Victoria Inn, a large-scale hotel and meeting/banquet facility located at the edge of the Pocono Mountains in Pittston Township, Pennsylvania.

Philadelphia Sound Productions, based in Philadelphia, provided the innovative design and installation based around Crown amplifiers and IQ System computer control hardware and software. Philadelphia Sound was essentially able to devise "one button" operation of all sound systems serving the facility's extensive meeting rooms as well as its four-star restaurant.

Simple Operation

Steve Dash of Sound Factory, New York City initiated work with the Victoria Inn, identifying their needs and relaying them to Philadelphia Sound Owner Walter Mosetter and his technical team. After extensive meetings with key hotel staff, including owner Victoria Popple, Mosetter and his team defined a flexible, easy-to-operate system design for the two small and four large meeting/banquet rooms. The small and large rooms are separated by a hallway.

"The hotel wanted a simple system -- one button to do it all -- but often these types of systems are too complicated to execute and don't work reliably," Mosetter explains. "However, the various products in the Crown IQ System line allowed us to pursue the project, from both capability and cost effectiveness standpoints."

Each room can run independently or can be combined -- up to 10 different configurations are allowed. The system is tied into the restaurant (upper and lower levels), adjacent atrium dining area, and lounge sound systems, with all control originating in the DJ booth in the lounge. All source devices are located at the booth, with system control/routing devices and power amplifiers in a secured room, mounted in Middle Atlantic racks.

Prior to this project, Mosetter attended one of Crown's four-day IQ University sessions for intensive training and information regarding the entire IQ System line. He notes that this background proved helpful as he and his team set about making their design a reality.

The sound team did substantial preparation before actual installation, which had to be executed at night to avoid disturbing restaurant patrons. Philadelphia Sound's Dave Connor did a good portion of the preparation work, pre-assembling and pre-wiring the racks and gear at the shop before it was transported to the hotel.

Charlie Smith handled most of the "nuts and bolts" aspects of the installation, with Mosetter and Armad Pascetta handling trouble-shooting and custom circuitry design.

Restaurant & Lounge

The restaurant and lounge background music systems, as well as a front entrance and hall paging system, were installed first. The restaurant and lounge systems are very straightforward, with a total of 28 Sound Advance Systems (SAS) CT73dt two-way ceiling loudspeakers on 70-volt lines from Crown Com-Tech CT-400 amplifiers.

Program source devices, including a Denon DN720r cassette deck and Carver SD/a-370 10-disk CD player, are located in the DJ booth in the lounge. Signal is routed through a Rane MP-24 mixer, with equalization provided by a Rane GE14 2/3-octave EQ. A Rane SM26 audio DA splits a feed to a small paging system in the kitchen office.

The SM26 audio DA also splits signal to a Rane AD22 stereo digital delay, which feeds program to the atrium dining area, which has four JBL Control 1 Plus loudspeakers on mounting brackets. A microphone linked to a Com-Tech CT-200 amplifier outfitted with a P.I.P.-PA module allows paging via SAS CT73dt loudspeakers in the entrance and halls. Mosetter notes that plans call for a high-level dance system to be installed in the lounge at a later date.

Things Get Interesting

A custom panel in the DJ booth provides system operation. It includes engraved etchings of the 10 different configurations, each with a single button beneath. To activate a configuration, the operator needs only to turn on the panel with a key switch and then press the desired button, with activation confirmed by a corresponding LED. All key system components have been preset to automatically perform optimally within each configuration.

On the other end, each of the six meeting/banquet rooms (which can be divided via folding doors) includes two microphone jacks and one line-level jack. Each room also has six Sound Advance Systems (SAS) CT73dt ceiling loudspeakers (on 70-volt lines) that are painted and textured to match the ceiling. Each room also includes a panel offering volume control and another control designated for future use.

In between the panel and the loudspeakers is where things get interesting. Every two rooms is assigned a Crown SMX-6 multiplexer along with a single White 4700 IQ-compatible 1/3-octave programmable equalizer and a Crown Com-Tech CT-400 amplifier providing convenient 70-volt operation.

The SMX-6 multiplexer is similar to a 6 x 2 stereo mixer but providing substantially more capability. In addition to computer controlled input switching and routing, it also offers features like auto leveling, convenient room combining and priority gating, as well as priority ducking that, while not utilized yet in this project, could be useful in future system upgrades.

The six inputs provided on each of the three SMX-6's are split between two rooms (three and three), with the two outputs also split, one per room. Before feeding the loudspeakers, however, the outputs are routed through a custom resistor buss designed by Philadelphia Sound that eliminates any possibility of feedback.

External Interface

An IQ Drone, reading the desired system configuration provided by the custom panel, is next in the chain. The Drone is specially designed to allow interface of external devices, like switches and pots, within the IQ network. Besides interfacing with the external devices, it also streamlines the communication path by keep these devices off the buss.

The Drone then feeds signal through an IQ MRX-24 matrixer and MRX-24 slave, which act as an electronic patch panel. Each card provides matrix switching for groups of up to 1 x 24. Both the Drone and MRX-24 matrixes are on cards that simply plug into an IQ Card Cage.

From the MRX-24 matrixes, signal is then appropriately routed to the proper CT-400 amplifiers, equipped with IQ-P.I.P. modules, as well as the appropriate White equalizers, and then on to the loudspeakers.

The Drone is also tied into the Crown RPA-RMT volume control panel in each room, selected both for their functionality and aesthetics. These control panels are interfaced by a special circuit designed by Philadelphia Sound's Pascetta. This circuit provides two wire control with a medium impedance for good RFI immunity, and provides a voltage swing up to 0 - +10 volts.

"We wanted to avoid sending more than a full +10 volts down the line to the individual room control panel pots," Pascetta explains. "If one line were to short, then all of the pots would be disabled and the Drone possibly might suffer damage."

A Crown MPX-6 matrixer, also on the buss, provides up to six more inputs.

This matrixer receives program source input from the three sources in the DJ booth -- the Carver CD player, Denon cassette deck and a Rane mixer. It feeds this program material through the group of SMX-6 matrixes, which route the signal appropriately as directed by the master control panel and Drone.

The system operates without a host computer -- all parameters were programmed in ahead of time. Any changes in parameters are handled via a 2400 baud modem linked to the Drone, with Mosetter able to utilize a 486 PC in his office, loaded with IQ Turbo v1.4 software, to handle monitoring and provide any parameter adjustments.

Operation and setting/adjustment of system parameters by "modem only" presents a number of advantages. Not having to add a dedicated personal computer for system operation saves cost, and access to the system by unauthorized users is prevented. In addition, the contractor can ensure optimum system operation at all times -- even when not on-site.

The Future Is Now

While there really is no need for anyone at the hotel to adjust the system, Mosetter notes that it is simple enough in operation for a novice to be "coached" over the telephone to make adjustments.

"Right after the system went in, we needed to adjust the gating on the amplifiers," he said. "We were able to relay instructions over the phone to an administrative person who was able to do what was needed." Devices like the IQ Drone also make it possible to achieve expanded control via the network. While the audio system at Victoria Inn offers "one button" operation, it is conceivable and quite possible that a host of other functions can soon be controlled in systems similar to this exceptional effort by Philadelphia Sound. another control designated for future use.

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FACTORY WORKER - Junior Vasquez - EQ Magazine (issue #2 1994) ---

Sound Factory might have one of the best sound systems going, but all of it's custom-made equipment and painstaking attention to audio design wouldn't be worth a lick if it weren’t for the mixing talents of the club's colorful in-house jock, Junior Vasquez. Pumping fierce underground house, Vasquez doesn’t just let a song play, instead he works his equipment to put a spell on his faithful crowd.

Influenced by legendary jocks such as Shep Pettibone and the Paradise Garage's Larry Levan, Vasquez never plans his sets and constantly tears through tracks to keep the mix interesting.

Soundwise, his main concern is to avoid overdriving the system to the point where distort and hurt the dancers' ears. In addition to his seamless mixes, part of Vasquez's brilliance lies in his working the factory's custom crossovers, and it's three and five way EQs. "It's like second nature to me at this point because all records aren't mastered the same," says Vasquez, who's also an accomplished re-mixer/producer having worked with Prince, Madonna, Cindy Lauper, and others. " I have to constantly EQ and make minor adjustments after I mix a record."

Other weapons in his arsenal include utilizing pans and obtaining delay effects with tape decks. And if the joint is really on fire, look out for his ear shattering siren or a bizarre sound effect, which might go off while he's playing one of the test tracks recorded at his home studio.

While other jocks of equal stature are constantly flying abroad to do guest spots, Vasquez sees no need to hit the road. "I get enough right here on Saturdays," he says bluntly. "Unlike other DJ's, I have a great home to play in every week. I don't like to travel, and I don't like caring records around. The whole environment here is perfect for me-all of my records are at hand and I'm not creatively restricted. It's a great situation.

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Cream #4

WDR Article

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SOUNDCRAFT CONSOLES LIGHT UP ATLANTIC CITY'S
NEW YEAR'S EVE PERFORMANCES

Major shows at Merv Griffin's Resorts International and
The Showboat Hotel & Casino featured performances by major artists
and sound through the industry's leading live sound consoles.

ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, May 12, 1996 --- Last December's New Year's Eve was graced by two major shows at two of Atlantic City's leading venues. First, at Merv Griffin's Resorts International a live network-and-cable television broadcast featured Merv himself hosting Tony Bennett, Trisha Yearwood and Harry Belafonte. Then, at The Showboat Hotel & Casino, the featured performer was Helen Reddy backed by The Quails. Besides a wealth of onstage talent, though, what tied the two shows together was that both of them featured the extensive use of Soundcraft consoles for all of the performances.

The Merv Griffin's Resorts International show was a live broadcast feed to the CBS network and to cable, seen in approximately 80 markets live and then tape delayed to another 150-plus markets. The Bennett, Yearwood and Belafonte performances were captured and routed through a Soundcraft Vienna II console, with a Soundcraft Delta SR secondary console and a Soundcraft Venue 32 for monitor mixes. Also on hand was a Soundcraft SM-12 backup console for sub mixing duties. Engineers for the show were Resorts International Chief Mixer Don Wyatt, Clem Scharff, Ed Hannan, Tim Lewis and Clint Please.

At The Showboat Hotel & Casinos, a Soundcraft Vienna II board handled the main stage, with an SM-12 for monitors. Also working that night was a sound system made up of JBL Array Series components for mains and monitors, and a BSS Audio OMNIDRIVE� system for speaker control. The evening's engineers included Jim Hannan, Bill Perkins and Taylor Hightower. The consoles in both locations were supplied by Philadelphia Sound Productions.

"I've loved working with Soundcraft consoles ever since I was working with Grover Washington back in the mid-70s," says Resorts International Chief Mixer Don Wyatt. "Back then it was the Soundcraft Series II consoles, and we liked them so much we bought one for Grover's sound company. And the Soundcraft sound has maintained so much consistency over the years that I haven't stopped using them. I particularly like the smooth, very musical EQs. on Soundcraft consoles. There's a very special sound to them that seems to really give each performance a little something extra."

Added J. Walter Mosetter, President of Philadelphia Sound Productions, "The Soundcraft consoles are especially cost-effective for sound reinforcement work. And that's on top of being as clean-sounding as they are. Soundcraft went a long way towards making last New Year's Eve something extra special."

Soundcraft is exhibiting a complete line of consoles at the 1996 NSCA Show at Booth #1411 in the convention center. Soundcraft consoles are manufactured in the UK by Soundcraft Electronics. Harman Pro North America markets the full line of Soundcraft audio mixing consoles for recording, concert, sound reinforcement, commercial sound and broadcast applications.

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spirit

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