Channel 3 used an original bayonet style bulb… it needed to be changed to match the other LED lit VU meters 
Category Archives: Tricks
19.22″ EXACTLY….
Dave Adams did my a solid today. I needed some support cut to exactly 1.6 *12 plus 0.02 worth of “wiggle room” spaced over 12 modules. He has the tools and knows them too well! Thanks again Dave! 
SOUND GUY XMAS! The family delivers sound guy gifts!!
I’m so lucky to have such thoughtful family.
I know how difficult it is to shop for us sound guys.
I hope the ideas I’ve been sharing have been of inspiration to eager shoppers.
I thought I would share some of the ideas my family and friends came up with that I missed and appreciate as professional tools and inspiration to learn from!
Super bright LED flashlight. This one is very small, takes 4 AAA batteries and I bet will last a very long time!
Gear tie Flexible ties. I’ve never seen these! This things are very soft and wont scratch anything.
http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=67776&cat=1,43326,59481
Maped pencils. These are awesome because they are orange and they are triangular. Very nice to work with!
Ike Zimble of Zimble Audio hooked me up over the holidays with a product he really enjoys.
Rawn America’s Tefrawn, I’m very excited to try it out! Truly a Sound Guy Gift!!
I’m very protective of my hearing (and the family knows this).
I’m going on a trip this week and there will be swimming in the ocean. Aqua Ears!
Make it stick – the science of successful Learning, a very very good read. I got 1/2 way through and gave it to a teacher that needed it more than I did.
Flex X-RAP Finger protection. I’ve never seen anything like this stuff. If you’re making a bunch of cables and want to move faster this is the ticket! http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=64762&cat=1,42207,64762
A KAZOO!!!! Because I’m easily entertained.
Happy holidays to everyone! You’re all an inspiration to me and mine! Keep the feedback coming!
Sound guy xmas Idea – CN37 Light guided Connector Assembly
Got a Call from Christopher today. “I do a lot of EDACs” I said. He said “what you really want is the CB37 Light Director Board“
And he was right.
Visualization of what’s on your hard drive
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I was introduced to “Disk Inventory X” that displays a visual representation of what’s on your hard drives. Within minutes I identified HUGE files that were plugging up my laptop. The worst culprit is parallels… but I already knew that virus was huge!
By selecting a file, you can reveal it in the finder and see what it’s really doing!
I would recommend checking it out, just for fun!
McDSP ultimate Compressor and Eq
Today I had the good fortune of meeting with Derek Heimlich of McDSP. Derek introduced me to a solution to a grief I’ve always had with software plugins. After his introduction and chat about this product, I blurted out that “Software has sucked, until now”
McDSP has released the 3060 Ultimate Compressor and 6020 Ultimate Equalizer bundles.
Until now no software allowed users to switch the character of an equalizer and compressor without loosing their settings. Modeled after some of the industries most revered equipment, McDSP comes through with another must have studio essential tool. This functionality gives you a true A/B between different compressors and equalizers. A unique experience. “I know what I want to achieve when I compress and eq, all I ever want to do is change the character”. As far as I know this is the only piece of software that keeps the EQ and compression setting between plugins. A+ work in my opinion.
I would suggest you give them a shot today for your next project. McDSP offers a free demo that is a worthwhile experience and great investment, check it out.
Dinner Box – M461
Herman Miller Chair repair
My Old Herman Miller wheels were really ruining my floor. This is something you don’t really think about until it’s too late…
I ordered hardwood floor safe wheels for my chair. I really recommend them for any surface… the soft rubber really keeps your floor looking new.
While I had the chair upside down I thought I’d share a mod I do to them. If you’ve spent a lot of time in these chairs you’ll know the KLANG the legs make… to keep that klang down to a minimum I Supper 77 in some scrap acoustic foam to the legs.
Transistor Man
a whole semester summed up in one drawing
From the Art of Electronics second edition – Paul Horowitz and winfield Hill
Time to clean your office chair
I moved my chair into the sunlight for the first time in…
Sure enough it needed a cleaning. The casters were beyond cleaning, so new ones with Rubber wheels (for the hardwood) have been ordered.
This chair kicks serious ass!
RLC calculator for components in series
I’ve been calculating a lot of components in series lately for an ECR255 class. I’ve also had to graph them on impedance diagrams and a power triangle.
In an effort to better understand the math I made a calculator for myself. Here is it for you to use and enjoy. If you see any problems please let me know. It was designed in excel 2011 for mac… there WILL be compatibility issues and I hope they’re minor.
How it works:
You can fill int the info you have in the orange boxes. Once the boxes are filled in the calculator should fill in the rest.
If you need to modify anything else, it’s all dependant on the orange boxes. I suggest a goal seek by modifying and orange cell.
Sin and Cos
Jeff Wolpert dolling out the wisdom
Jeff and Sydney did some fantastic work while I was at Revolution Recording. They’ve setup a killer room downtown and have Wizard Services to offer. Here is a great lesson from a very learned man.
RUPERT NEVE!!!!
you know… I love this man and am forever in his debt. He’s made laboratory grade audio equipment available to music / broadcast industry for many years and his standards and interests have grown since his beginning. Truly a childlike interest in pushing the boundaries of the craft he practices. He applies raw physics to sound and you should watch this as a whole to appreciate the brilliance of his passion and dedication.
I’m glad someone as enthusiastic as Hutch Hutchison is at his side absorbing it all. (though he left RND)
Long live limitless analog technology!
Long live the passionate, curious and boundary pushing!
Long live Rupert Neve
Sound guy xmas idea #28 – contact cleaner
Crunch time! only days left to buy your sound guy a gift! I like MG super contact cleaner with Poly Phenol Ether… it’s awesome. And when you have MG chemicals, cut two holes at the top to the cap to keep the straw around!
20060723 – HVR ceiling fixture
In 2006 we (Myself and Andrew Waters) built a ceiling diffuser for the studio. I’ve been doing some data backups and thought I’d share some pictures and info on the build. The whole thing was made out of 2 X 4s and 3/4″ MDF. I had a carpenter friend cut all the pieces
This was the proposed layout. Using a “herringbone diffuser” design, a frame would hang from the ceiling with some turnbuckles. Continue reading
Sound guy xmas idea #18 – TOUGH GAFF tape dispenser
Either tape inner diameters are shrinking or my hands are getting fatter… Could have put one of these to good use this weekend
http://www.sourceshop.com/product.asp?pid=568
Engraving curved text – Old School
Trying out the circular Copy Dial. We needed a way to index the positions so 360/40 is 9 degrees. 
Sound guy xmas idea #10 – Dan Dugan E-1A
The DD E-1A is the ultimate tool in not caring. It does all the mixing for you and truthfully can do a better job than most seasoned mixers. It’s fast… I mean SUPER fast and accurate. There is a certain Dugan sound and it’s catching on. Automatic mixing/ducking/ muting etc is becoming the norm in Television, churches, public forums, boardrooms etc etc I’ve actually seen “Dan Dugan” receive mixing credits on a tv show. This tool is not going away and the idea is catching on through VST and DSP processing.
I think they’re about $3400 – but think about how much money you’ll save paying attention.
http://www.dandugan.com/Assets/brochures/Model%20E-1A%20Brochure.pdf
Spiromill – Engraving with a spirograph
I have a project coming up where I needed a special face plate. I came up with the idea of engraving with a spirograph, so I ordered one on eBay and it showed up today! 
The setup was a little roughed in
But the results will be spectacular
