[Mark Payne]

Hi All

I am planning to deliver 4 new courses at SFL (ok the first one is the same as it has always been...! The principles of Acoustics have not changed since I last looked!) If you put these 4 days together you have a masterclass in modern audio systems design.

These are the courses,

1. Acoustics for Live Sound Engineers
2. Line Array Theory (d&b and L-Acoustic systems considered)
3. Line Array Practice and Rigging (d&b and L-Acoustics systems rigged and tuned)
4. Networking and Control Workshop for Sound Engineers

I am looking at starting the first run of these on Monday April 23rd.

I would like to add a 5th day which will be all about systems measurement techniques using WaveCapture's Tuning Capture and Smaart V7. That will come later as I need to write it!

Here is the detail..... Feel free to comment here or email me mark@sflgroup.co.uk
If you are interested, hold the dates, 23rd to 26th April 2012.

1. Acoustics for Live Sound Engineers

Who?
Anyone involved in sound re-enforcement, sound system engineering and music technology. This is a great course for band sound engineers, corporate sound engineers, theatre technicians, church volunteers, school teachers and live performing musicians.

What?
The objective of this seminar is to learn some practical acoustic theory that will help you to justify good habits, destroy bad ones and develop a better approach to choosing and using speaker systems. We will discuss why the speaker system is the most important part of any sound reinforcement solution. This will be a hard hitting and technical session but you will also spend moments running around with your eyes closed holding an SPL meter!

Agenda
• Understanding Loudness: The dB SPL scale
• Relating system power to dB SPL
• Speaker space relationships
• Quantitative and qualitative listening
• Understanding acoustic wavelength and frequency ranges
• Mapping level drop over distance
• Defining intelligibility
• Speaker System Design Fundamentals
• Target for speaker system sizing
• Mapping control of dispersion
• Understanding Comb Filtering
• Understanding Driver Interaction
• How does horn size effect dispersion?
• What is a "Long Throw System"?
• Narrow dispersion systems
• Quantifying level drop over distance
• System arrays and box interaction
• What is a line array?

Prerequisites
There are no prerequisites for this course!

2. Line Array Theory

Who?
SFL are providing a unique course which covers the theory behind the world’s two most popular professional speaker systems providers.
This course is aimed at more experienced sound engineers and systems engineers wanting to expand their knowledge of high end audio system design.

What?
We will cover everything you need to know in order to understand the deployment of Line Array Speaker Systems.
This course will be based around case studies, principles and examples using:

L-Acoustics Kiva
L-Acoustics Kara
d&b Q1 Series
d&b J Series

Students will learn how to use d&b ArrayCalc and L-Acoustics SoundVision software tools to model basic venue spaces and deploy systems.

Agenda
• Review of traditional PA systems and clusters
• Review of dispersion rules, pattern control and SPL efficiency
• Review of best practices with speaker system design
• Understanding Line Array Theory
• Spherical and Cylindrical Wave front models
• Introducing the d&b audiotechnik Q and J series speaker systems
• Introducing the L-Acoustics KIVA and KARA speaker systems
• Investigating real world line array designs
• Plotting and calculating SPL distribution with d&b ArrayCalc and L-Acoustics SoundVision

Prerequisites
There are no required prerequisites for this course but students will find the “Acoustics for Live Sound Engineers” a helpful introduction to the topic.

3. Line Array Practice and Rigging

Who?
SFL are providing a unique course which teaches the practical skills needed to install and tune the leading edge sound system solutions from both d&b audiotecknik and L-Acoustics. This course is aimed at the more experienced sound and systems engineers wanting take on practical responsibility for line array system rigging and tuning.

What?
We will cover everything you need to know in order to understand the installation and alignment of Line Array Speaker Systems.
This course will be highly practical including physical rigging and systems build and listening tests. Bring your steels!
We will be looking at worked examples and case studies of a range of audio solutions.

We will be practically using the following systems:

L-Acoustics Kiva
L-Acoustics Kara
L-Acoustics LA Series amplifiers
d&b Q1 Series
d&b J Series
d&b D Series Amplifiers

Agenda
You will learn how to:
• Rig and fly L-acoustics KIVA and KARA speaker systems.
• Rigging and fly d&b Q and J Series speakers.
• Using d&b D12 amplifiers and L-Acoustics LA Series Amplifiers.
• Design and implement Cardioid Sub Arrays (CSA).
• Consider outdoor rigging systems.
• Obey system coupling and alignment rules.
• Measure and align systems in situ using best practices and acoustical measurement techniques.
• An introduction to TuningCapture.

Prerequisites
This will be a practical hands on session relying on the platform of the “Line Array Theory” course.
Unless you have had a good deal of exposure to d&b and L-Acoustics modelling and design concepts already it would be a good idea to follow the Line Array Theory course before embarking on this practice session.

4. Networking and Control Workshop for Sound Engineers

Who
In the modern era it is almost impossible to get by in the world without understanding basic computer networking and system data interconnection protocols. The latest audio mixing desks, amplifiers and processing devices all invariably include methods of remote control and monitoring requiring an audio expert to also be a networking expert!

What
In this course you will learn the techniques used by audio system engineers at SFL to interface and control products from L-Acoustics, d&b audiotechnik, Yamaha and Roland. We will start by teaching the classic OSI 7 Layer Network Model. The primary aim of this course is to familiarise students with the two main speaker systems control protolcols from d&b (R1 Remote) and L-Acoustics (NetworkManager).

This is a primarily a speaker systems control workshop but along the way we will be discussing TCP/IP, EtherSound, AES/EBU, REAC and Can-Bus.

Agenda
• Understanding the OSI 7 Layer Network Model
• What is TCP/IP: what is an IP address and that pesky netmask? What is a MAC address?
• Using wireless control in the real world
• Why go digital AES/EBU for Audio transport? Examples and limitations.
• Using L-Acoustics Network Manager to configure and control LA series amplifiers
• Using d&b R1 control software to configure and control D6, D12 and EPAC Amplifiers
• Contrasting Roland’s REAC protocol with the EtherSound (ES) Standard
• REAC and Ethersound Live Recording demonstrations
• Contrasting Can-Bus and Ethernet for amplifier control and monitoring

Prerequisites
This is not an acoustics or sound systems design course. The focus will be on the networking, interconnection and control of audio systems.
A good knowledge of the material in the Line Array Theory and Line Array Practice and Rigging Courses will be beneficial.