Handy Tools

As a theatre technician, there are some tools that I carry around my waist most of the time. Pictured above is my standard rig. I used to have a bum bag with me all the time, but since a couple of years ago, I've favoured using a military type utility belt. This type of belt allows me to configure my kit to suit different situations and jobs. For example, in the picture above, I've got a Domke pouch attached to the belt in the picture above. That's my flying and rigging kit inside. Sometimes, it can be a RJ Espion DMX512 tester or a Leica DistoLite laser meter. It really depends on what I'm doing. The other great thing about using a utility belt such as this is the ability to put it on and remove it quickly and because it's not part of your pants, it doesn't cause your pants to fall down!

There are two tools that I find indispensable in the technical industry. It's my utility tool and my flashlight. I will always have these two items on me all the time during work and I strongly encourage everyone in this industry to get both of these items.

I started with the Leatherman MiniTool, Super Tool, PST, Wave and Charge XTi. There are many other brands out there - Gerber, Victorinox, Buck, etc. The thing that I really like about the latest Leatherman tools are their positive grip. There's no play at all when you're using the pliers. I currrently carry a Wave and Charge XTi. Features that are used most often are the pliers, scissors, mini and Phillips head screwdrivers.

With flashlights, I started with the Mini Maglite in 1990. I currently carry a Pelican M6 LED as my main light and a Streamlight TwinTask 1L as a backup. In this industry, you're usually working either in the dark or low light conditions so a light is absolutely crucial especially if you've got to fix something backstage in the middle of a show. The TwinTask has both LED and a Xenon bulb inside. The LED is great for showtime when you just want a good even wash without a distracting beam. I use rechargeable CR123s with these lights.

In my Domke pouch are a variety of tools - I got my trusty electrical screwdriver, a mini screwdriver kit with both straight edged and Phillips heads, one small Bahco adjustable wrench, one extra wide Bahco adjustable wrench, one Bahco ratchet wrench fitted with a M8 socket and a Visegrip tool. This particular kit is heavy; I only carry this when I'm doing flying and rigging work and assembling sets. Because they're all in a pouch, it's easy to just put it on in a jiffy when I need these set of tools.

Different people will have different preferences and opinions on various tools mentioned here; I'm just stating what works for me and hopefully, that will give an insight into some of the toys that is commonly used in this industry.

Consoles?

There are two kinds of live sound consoles to choose from nowadays - analogue and digital. Most of us are familiar with the analog consoles with its banks of knobs and sliders. However, in the last few years, the price of digital consoles have steadily gone down, making these consoles, usually lacking the massive amount of knobs and engendered with an LCD screen or two, an attractive option for replacing the analog console. Throw in all the bells and whistles like built-in processing and effects plus a small footprint.....one can see the future as a digital future.

While digital consoles seem to have a bit of a steeper learning curve than the analogue console, the principals remain the same. Advantages of using a digital console include instant recall with memories, small physical footprint, loads of audio processing and connectivity. Disadvantages include the user interface, dependence on a central processing unit and possible issues with AD/DA quality and interconnectivity.

My personal experience with digital consoles have always been positive. My first digital console was the Yamaha Promix01 which was released sometime in 1994. I remember seeing it in EQ magazine with Roger Nichols using it for the Steely Dan live tour. The Promix was very basic compared to what is out in the market today. It had 16 inputs, only three assignable dynamics processors, s/pdif output and no expansion slots. The EQ was pretty edgy and the converters were not the best sounding ones out there. But it had a few things going for it - instant recall, full parametric EQ on every channel, it was dead quiet and cost approximately just a tiny fraction of any console out in the market that had recall or was digital. I eventually ended up with two units daisy chained for 32 channels of mixdown from ADAT recorders and used them for some musicals. Unfortunately, the Promix units had an inherent problem with the circuitry that causes them to die after three years. I've got them in storage in Singapore at this point, just massive paper weights since they are worth close to nothing in the market.

Currently, Yamaha continues to lead in the development of digital consoles, especially in the lower cost end with the LS and M7CL series. Other manufacturers were a little slow off the block but are catching up with various incarnations in terms of interface. Some are a breeze to use, some are a total pain. Consoles that I've tested and used recently include the Yamaha DM2000, M7CL, 01V96, PM5D, PM1D, Digidesign Venue, Soundcraft Vi series and Digico D5. All of them are amazing in their own way and each manufacturer offer different interpretations of what they think a live sound engineer would like to see in a digital board.

The main enemy of digital consoles is obsolescent. While we can expect an analog console to last for seven to ten years; digital consoles generally become out of date within a couple of years. This doesn't mean that they're unusable after that time, just that newer models will come out costing less with more features and better sounding converters, making your existing digital console feel crappy, sound cheaper and basically junked overnight in terms of value, a victim of Moore's Law.

However, having said that, I will probably never go back to mixing on an analog console nowadays. When on tour, you carry a lot less in terms of processing racks. Installed in a venue, the smaller footprint allow for more seats, which usually translate into money paying punters. Having recall capabilities, processing on all I/Os, remote control and backup capabilities has convinced me that the digital lifestyle is definitely worth living :-)

Singapore

I was in Singapore over the weekend for client meetings and also to catch up with some friends. I managed to zip by Books Kinokuniya at Takashimaya and managed to pick up two excellent books - Sound System Engineering, 3rd edition by Don Davis and Dr Eugene Patronis, Jr; and, Sound Systems : Design & Optimization by Bob McCarthy. You can pick them up online at Amazon or Barnes and Noble.

The first two editions by Don and Carolyn Davis are considered to be the bible for sound system engineering. I have the second edition and this was one of the books that put me on the right path towards the pursuit of design excellence. The latest edition offers the insights of Dr Patronis and is updated to be a little more relevant in relation to latest developments and trends.

McCarthy's book on system design and optimization completely humbles me. I really believe it's the missing link for sound system designers everywhere. He starts with basics and moves on to design issues and measurement techniques in a very systematic and logical manner.

If you're even remotely interested in sound system design, then these two books are must reads and should be kept within arm's reach for reference. I'm still recovering from my trip, but I'll give a slightly more detailed review once I have the time to run thru these two books.