Co-hosts Andy and Sean celebrate their first anniversary together on the podcast in Episode 268 with a look back on highlights from the past nearly 50 episodes as well as look forward to what the next year of the podcast has in store. They also discuss a momentous week in live sound news — the discontinuation of the ubiquitous Yamaha CL and QL console families and the reveal of Sennheiser’s exciting new Spectera wireless WMAS system. Episode Links: Sennheiser Unveils Spectera Wideband Bi-directi...
Sep 20, 2024•54 min
Frank Padikkala of Audinate joins the show in Episode 267 and talks with Sean and Andy to talk about all things Dante. Frank is a senior technical sales engineer for Audinate, and brings his years of experience in IT/cybersecurity as well as AV integrations together to help clear up a bunch of common misunderstandings about Dante and AV networking in general. From IP addresses to managed versus unmanaged switches to VLANs and more, get ready to peel back the layers and learn how to make your aud...
Sep 12, 2024•1 hr 9 min
Picking up where they left off in Episode 265 , Sean and Andy continue their conversation with Phil Graham and Merlijn van Veen about all things subwoofer, including whether or not to haystack, ways to deal with power alleys (and whether or not it’s worth the cost), and more. Phil Graham started building hi-fi loudspeakers with his grandfather as a teenager in the 1990s and joined the B&C Group five years ago. Today, he’s the chief operating officer (COO) of Eminence Speaker, acquired by B&a...
Sep 05, 2024•1 hr 2 min
There are a lot of myths and misunderstandings when it comes to subwoofers and sub arrays, but the reality is that there’s no reason to be afraid of them. In Episode 265, Sean and Andy huddle up with two very smart folks when it comes to low end — Phil Graham and Merlijn van Veen — to bust subwoofer myths and help us all understand them better for our next gig. Phil Graham started building hi-fi loudspeakers with his grandfather as a teenager in the 1990s and joined the B&C Group five years ...
Aug 29, 2024•1 hr 9 min
In Episode 264, Sean and Andy talk with two members of the production team for the Broadway musical How to Dance in Ohio , sound designer Connor Wang and Liz Weber, who was a member of the Access Team for the show and also works as a sound engineer. The musical is based on the Peabody Award-winning documentary about the challenges and triumphs of a group of autistic young adults working toward their first spring formal dance, notably starring actual autistic actors as the characters. Connor and ...
Aug 22, 2024•1 hr 13 min
Veteran audio professional Mike Dias picks up where he left off with last week (in Episode 262 ), digging into the other side of his career in the worlds of in-ear monitors and microphones. He spends time addressing and demystifying some myths about IEM technology, discusses why we each tend to favor a brand and/or types of IEMs that we do, and digs into changes with the Earthworks mic lineup over last few years. This episode is sponsored by Allen & Heath and RCF . When Mike isn’t selling mi...
Aug 15, 2024•51 min
Veteran audio professional Mike Dias returns in Episode 262 to convince us that networking needn’t be a four-letter word! Whether you’re a sound company owner, a freelance engineer, or full-time staff, networking is an important non-audio tool in the toolbox. This episode is sponsored by Allen & Heath and RCF . When Mike isn’t selling microphones (as a management coach and consultant for Earthworks) and serving as the executive director of the In-Ear Monitor International Trade Organization,...
Aug 08, 2024•1 hr 5 min
It’s been a year of huge growth and focus shifts for Evan Turunen and Turunen Audio Visual — first featured in Episode 221 — so Andy and Sean wanted to check back in with Evan and see how things have changed and what he’s learned since he last visited. This episode is sponsored by Allen & Heath and RCF . Topics discussed include making a similar major inventory pivot similar to the one Sean recently did for his company ( Audio Engineers Northwest ), moving the company into a proper warehouse...
Aug 01, 2024•52 min
For the first time in 10 months of podcasting, Sean and Andy were together in the same place, so how better to celebrate than with a livestream? They talk about meeting up for a music festival Sean’s company ( Audio Engineers Northwest ) provided a PA and support for, in addition to presenting a demo of the TT+ GTX 12 line array (courtesy of show sponsor RCF). This episode is sponsored by Allen & Heath and RCF . They also discuss how accommodating an artist’s needs for the second day of the ...
Jul 26, 2024•55 min
Summer concert and event season is in full swing, and Sean’s company (Audio Engineers Northwest) has been running full steam with some exciting gigs the last couple weeks. Two of his regular freelancers, Kyle Shaw and Matt Ratza, join the show this week to talk about what it took the last couple weeks to pull off a huge open air concert on a dockside barge with audience both landside and on boats, and then flip the same PA over in 24 hours to cover a 50,000-attendance Fourth of July fireworks sh...
Jul 11, 2024•1 hr 7 min
Over the Fourth of July holiday, Andy teamed up with some Signal to Noise guest host alumni, as Kate Foretek pulled up the co-host chair once more to hang with previous guest host, theatrical sound designer and live foley artist ien DeNio. The jam-packed episodes includes tales of travel hijinks, pounding beers as part of a puppet show sound design and much more. This episode is sponsored by Allen & Heath and RCF . ien DeNio is a New York City-based trans non-binary sound designer who sought...
Jul 08, 2024•1 hr 11 min
This week, the hosts get nerdy with Chris Tsanjoures, one of the Rational Acoustics folks behind the Smaart measurement platform, a veteran podcast guest and an avid enthusiast of squiggly lines and measurement geekery. He answers all of Sean and Andy’s questions about Rational’s new Smaart Data Modeler in addition to addressing some of their other Smaart-related questions. This episode is sponsored by Allen & Heath and RCF . Smaart Data Modeler is a new DSP modeling software tool designed t...
Jun 27, 2024•50 min
Fresh off mixing the Broadway musical The Outsiders to a Tony Award win for Best Sound Design of a Musical for sound designer Cody Spencer, Broadway sound engineer and regular SoundGirls contributor Heather Augustine sits down with Andy and Sean to chat about her long touring career (including Billy Elliot, Phantom of the Opera, Les Misérables, Miss Saigon, and Mean Girls ), her transition from touring to subbing on Broadway shows such Funny Girl, SIX, and A Beautiful Noise to mixing her first f...
Jun 21, 2024•58 min
In Episode 255, Andy is joined by DC-area based sound engineer Joe “Chef” McGrath, fresh off working together on a now rare “industrial musical” in NY this week. They start off talking about Joe’s extensive work as the mixer for the Ultimate Rap League, and why the mic of choice for them for rap battles might be the brand you’d expect, but almost certainly isn’t the model you’d guess! This episode is sponsored by Allen & Heath and RCF . From there, they discuss different aspects of freelance...
Jun 14, 2024•1 hr 11 min
It’s time for an end-of-spring check-in, as Andy and Sean sit down at the microphones in Episode 254 to catch up on everything they’ve been up to the last month. Sean talks about his trip to Texas to help with a loudspeaker demo for RCF and gives Andy and the listeners a follow-up on his adventures in freewire DSP from a couple episodes ago. Meanwhile, Andy shares some stories and thoughts from a busy month of out-of-town jobs, including a massive multi-city corporate event, a major show mishap ...
Jun 06, 2024•55 min
Veteran front of house engineer Paul Bevan joins the show in Episode 253 and discusses his eclectic career that includes mixing a wide range of gigs, from regal (Boston Pops Fourth of July) to raucous (Mott the Hoople), and just about everything in between. This episode is sponsored by Allen & Heath and RCF . While his music mixing resume is extensive — including The Spin Doctors, Hall & Oates, The Chieftains, and more — and his corporate and broadcast resumes are equally vast, Paul is p...
May 23, 2024•1 hr 9 min
In Episode 252, the hosts are joined by Elliot Carroll, director of audio services for Show Imaging, who talks about the business side of audio — deciding what gear to buy (or, more importantly, not buy), when to say yes or no to a proposed project, training staff, keeping staff happy and healthy on job sites, and much more. Elliot’s spent the past 20 years specializing primarily in corporate audio, with stops along the way doing festivals in below freezing weather in Denver, and even running aw...
May 16, 2024•1 hr 32 min
In Episode 251, Tony-award sound designer Jessica Paz joins the show and talks about all things Broadway and touring sound design, including how to make a theatre sound like a stadium or an intimate office as well as the trials and tribulations of doing live theatre outdoors at New York’s iconic Delacorte Theatre for Shakespeare in the Park, and more. This episode is sponsored by Allen & Heath and RCF . Jessica’s the first, and to date only, non-male Tony-winning sound designer. She’s collab...
May 09, 2024•1 hr 13 min
In Episode 250, Sean and Andy take it back to the early days of grunge when they talk to Craig Montgomery, the front of house engineer for Nirvana. He details mixing and managing small tours and festivals in a van with Kurt, Dave, and Krist from 1989 to 1993 as well as going on to tour manage for Hole, and mix and tour manage other well-known artists including TAD, Mudhoney, Weezer, and The Presidents of the United States. This episode is sponsored by Allen & Heath and RCF . After getting of...
May 03, 2024•1 hr 2 min
In Episode 249, Sean and Andy gather around the microphones with Sam Kusnetz, education and training manager for Figure 53’s QLab and founder of Team Sound, maker of MIDI hardware and testers specifically designed for live audio playback users. Sam talks about growing up and falling into theatre in New York, working on smaller tours and regional theatres across the country, and then eventually settling into a dual role as a NY-based associate sound designer and, for the last decade and change, a...
Apr 25, 2024•1 hr 25 min
In Episode 248, the hosts visit with front of house engineer Burton Ishmael, who is currently mixing Madonna’s global Celebration tour, and learn about how the artist sought him out after hearing him mix Post Malone, the latest in a list of A-List hip-hop and R&B acts on his resume that also includes Lil Baby, Nas, Big Sean, Miguel, and H.E.R., and others. This episode is sponsored by Allen & Heath and RCF . They also talk about what it takes to make a concert spanning a 40-year career s...
Apr 18, 2024•54 min
In Episode 247, the co-hosts catch up after Sean returns from his first vacation since starting his company. Sean fills Andy in on turning a trip to visit the RCF factory into a vacation for his entire family. He gives a recap of his awesome time visiting the factory and seeing how the loudspeakers he’s bought for his company are made and tested, plus an obligatory stop for fantastic Neapolitan pizza and other Italy must-sees. The discussion turns to acknowledging how important time off is, and ...
Apr 11, 2024•49 min
In Episode 246, Sean, Andy and guest co-host Kate Foretek talk with financial advisor Bailie Slevin to get the lowdown on making your money work for you as a freelancer to plan for both the future you expect, and the one you don’t! This episode is sponsored by Allen & Heath and RCF . A combination of finance ninja and theatre nerd, Bailie is a business management and financial consultant focused specifically on working with creatives of all types. With 10 years of experience as a financial a...
Mar 27, 2024•1 hr 10 min
Kenny Barnwell joins Andy in Episode 245 to discuss how to nurture and maintain healthy relationships while working away from home. His advice — which even those who don’t tour will find valuable — touches on communication strategies, mutual support and accountability, self-awareness and boundaries, and how to include your family in your life and your work when working away from home. This episode is sponsored by Allen & Heath and RCF . Subjects they touch on include managing work schedules,...
Mar 21, 2024•1 hr 17 min
Picking up where they left off in last time ( here ), in Episode 244 Sean and Andy continue their roundtable on corporate event audio with Aram Piligian, Brian Maddox, and Michael Curtis. Previously, they looked at the input side of corporate audio, and this time, focus shifts to the outputs — how to balance the needs of the live sound in the room with both recordings and live streams as well as how to minimize the sound of the room in a stream and why that may or may not be desirable. They also...
Mar 13, 2024•1 hr 5 min
Many of us spend tons of time talking about things like crafting the perfect kick drum or guitar or lead vocal, but in Episode 243, we focus the podcast on another important but less recognized set of “money” inputs — corporate event vocals. In part one of a two-part deep dive into mixing corporate events, Andy and Sean bring together a collection of top A1s in the business — Aram Piligian, Brian Maddox, and Michael Curtis — to talk about all things input chain. They discuss types of lavalier mi...
Mar 07, 2024•1 hr 1 min
In Episode 242, Andy and guest host Aram Piligian talk with Mark Russie, who retired from a long career as a Las Vegas-based A1 and A2 to start a small business manufacturing the Lav Magnet and Beltpack Bar, tools he originally invented to make his own life on corporate events easier. Mark shares the story of how, after multiple manufacturers told him his product wouldn’t be feasible, he set up a shop in his garage and learned to do it himself, as well as highlights of his career that inspired t...
Feb 28, 2024•1 hr 4 min
In a “shocking” Episode 241, Sean and Andy talk with Richard Cadena, author of the book “Electricity for the Entertainment Electrician & Technician” as well as serving as a freelance lighting designer, lighting consultant, and trainer. He’s worked on concert tours, television, and theatre, and has designed dozens of lighting systems for permanent installations. Richard is also the technical editor for PLASA Media and a columnist for Lighting & Sound America, Lighting & Sound Internat...
Feb 21, 2024•1 hr 24 min
Chicago-based front of house engineer and tour manager Dave Unger joins the show in Episode 240 and talks about his career mixing high-energy world music artists that include Femi Kuti and the Positive Force, Bombino, Sierra Leone Refugee Allstars, and many others at some of the highest profile venues and festivals in the world such as Coachella, the New Orleans and Montreal Jazz Festivals, Philharmonie de Paris, Bonnaroo, the Hollywood Bowl, the 9:30 Club, The Apollo, Austin City Limits, and mo...
Feb 14, 2024•1 hr 6 min
In Episode 239, the hosts are joined by Marc Alan, front of house engineer for legendary artist Jose Feliciano as well as the production manager and FOH at the Wall Street Theater in Norwalk, CT and the marketing director of Factory Underground Studio. He goes deep on what it’s like working with an artist like Jose at this point of his incredibly long career, and he also talks about how to establish an optimum relationship between house engineer and guests who come in with bands — an especially ...
Feb 07, 2024•1 hr 10 min
