Stuart91

If it's loud enough to give you tinnitus, what chance do you have of hearing a guitar anyway? <_< I can see where he's coming from, though. The first time there was a mistake it would automatically be blamed on the plugs. It does highlight the need to change working practices and come up with more imaginative solutions to problems.

There's a relevant article in this month's TPI magazine. (Focussing on the sleep/fatigue issue rather than noise exposure) What's stopping him from wearing plugs when he's working? I appreciate he may need to take them out for certain tasks, but surely it must be possible to significantly reduce the overall exposure?

For arena-scale comedy, most of the punters are watching the IMAG screens. You'd almost be better off with the DVD at home.

Within the space of six months I saw a well-known comedian perform in a ~200 capacity comedy club, and an ~8000 capacity arena. Sound systems in both venues were absolutely fine, but there's a huge difference in the way the performer works with the audience. Of course it's all being driven by economics - the payday for bigger venues is massive. And audiences don't seem to be voting with their feet.

What sort of signal loss are these adaptors likely to add? (I've always tried to avoid them, but based on hunch rather than concrete knowledge)

I suppose the argument here would be the likelihood of encountering the hazard elsewhere. If you were employed in a brake pad factory for twenty years, but lived a normal live outside work, then the probability of you developing your asbestosis anywhere but that factory is slim. With noise, it's far more prevalent in other areas of life, and especially for players who are musically active elsewhere, so I suspect it would be harder to prove that balance of probability. It might be in the employers interest to gather evidence of noise exposure elsewhere, e.g. social media photos of the player in a rock concert or in a nightclub.

SVC have come up trumps, they seem happy to process a small order for a single grille with next day delivery to boot.

One of my Audix I5 microphones needs a new grille, courtesy of a clumsy drummer. I was assuming this would be an easy thing to pick up online, but can't find spare parts listed anywhere. It's not the most expensive microphone in the world, but it would still be a shame to have to write it off because of this (or pay half its value to import a grille from the US) Does anyone know of a source for replacement parts in the UK?

With phone videos, often the level of sub bass present triggers a limiter on the microphone, which squashes all other frequencies down too.

Maybe they should just have used a huge C4 rig like they did last time around...

It seems like you might benefit from something other than Excel to process all this information. I'm no more than an enthusiastic amateur at this kind of stuff, but I've used Filemaker in similar circumstances, however there are definitely other packages out there which may be better suited to the task. In fact, it would be a great service to the industry if someone came up with a specific app for noise logging - there's probably a market for it.

Going forward from here, acoustic shock could potentially be classified as "foreseeable" because it has been established as such by this case. If it really can occur as low as 82dB, then all sorts of sectors are going to have problems, not just music/entertainment. For example, good luck re-engineering the London Underground so that trains keep below that level as they enter stations...

Although some Par 56 models do have the cable coming out of the back, and the OP hasn't been clear which exact type of lantern he's working with. Most of the problems I've come across with Parcans haven't been to do with heat and cables, but rather failure of some kind at the gland. Either the gland coming away from the lantern shell, or the cable insulation breaking at the point where it flexes.

Can you position your amplifiers in the middle of the line, so you run two lines of 800m rather than one at 1600m? (Even if you need a long run of balanced line level into it from elsewhere) That might simplify things somewhat.

We've had similar problems trying to play video files on USB sticks directly on some flatscreens. The Mac icon files are treated as images in their own right, so each photo in a slideshow, for instance, is followed by a GIANT icon image stretched to fit the screen. Blueharvest looks like a great solution - thanks for suggesting it.

I've seen some CCTV cameras using the newer digital formats (TVI and AHD) where they run a HD-resolution signal down standard 75ohm coax, and have a decoder box at the end of the run. The models I used on one job offered VGA, HDMI, and composite output. We were converting to HDMI to go into a vision mixer and the latency wasn't bad at all. Might be a bit out of budget but a lucky eBay find could hit the spot.

That's certainly achievable for many large, well funded venues. I'd worry about the "chilling effect" that this might have lower down the pecking order. "Elf 'n' safety" is a very convenient excuse for bean-counters wanting to get rid of pit bands from pantos and musical theatre. It would be nice if there's some clear guidance for people - even just a "tip sheet" that explains how layout changes affect noise levels would be a really useful resource. Of course, when it's all based upon interpretations of case law, it's difficult to come up with definitive advice that isn't going to land the writer in the dock themselves... I have this image in my head of a Glasgow Subway Train barrelling across the room and clearing the stage if it gets too loud. But joking aside, is there an obvious measurement package for this specific purpose that venues can buy off the peg? Or are people having to come up with their own bespoke solutions?

We received some new LED fixtures from what I would think of as a reputable manufacturer - not one of the big names, but not a random Chinese brand either. They were supplied with "Seetronic" branded True 1 connectors on the power leads, Neutrik connectors on the units themselves. Not sure if it's just a way to save some cost, or if they are keen to avoid the issues that Neutrik have had.

The precedent that this case sets could make for some interesting scenarios outwith the orchestra pit too. The descriptions reminded me of a particularly challenging gig I had with a function band. They had been hired to play a wedding reception in a venue that was too small. (I suspect the management had done the usual of getting an occupancy limit set, which they then treat as their capacity, without taking into account a dancefloor or stage area for the band). We had a seven piece funk/soul band, with a full drumkit, and quite extensive keyboard setup. They were allocated 8x8ft to perform in, with tables crammed in tightly around them. We shuffled tables around as best we could, but still ended up with the business end of the brass section pointing straight at a table. I remember trying to get management to move or strike the table but they refused. There was one unfortunate guest who had their ear about a foot from the business end of a trumpet. I suspect they'd have a pretty good case for claiming for acoustic shock. They fled after the first few notes but I'm sure damage could still have occurred. It would be interesting to see who is deemed liable in those circumstances. The venue, for overselling the room and allocating the seating? Someone in the band who decided the layout of the musicians? The trumpet player himself?

That's the very one. We quite seriously considered them when we were doing a lot of speaker-on-stick gigs with Meyer UPAs.

The K&M tilts are certainly useful. It's worth bearing in mind that they shift the centre of gravity, so it helps to be using tripod stands that have a decent footprint. I vaguely remember someone on ProSoundWeb who built a tilt that kept the centre of gravity directly over the pole. It was a very impressive piece of engineering but quite expensive.

We looked into it briefly a few years back, after one customer had gone bust and left us out of pocket. My impression after talking to a couple of firms was that any customer that you could afford to insure against was unlikely to be a risk anyway. For us, it made more sense to double down on chasing invoices as they fell overdue, and sacking a couple of the worst offending customers. Where credit insurance might be good is for industries like construction, where you are dealing with large firms who will generally pay up eventually, but (Carillion aside) are less likely to go under. One other thing to consider is that suddenly starting with a factoring arrangement screams "cashflow problems" and may set alarm bells ringing amongst some of your customers, especially if it's badly handled.

I've seen a similar concept to this, where a boyband had MIDI cues alongside their backing tracks. These were fed to an autotune unit, so that each of the four members could be kept in harmony with one another. I didn't get much of a look at the actual software - they were being quite furtive about it all - but I'd see no reason why the same cues couldn't advance a stack on a lighting console.

There's been many requests here for an IEC version of the T-line too. Yep - my first (serious) digital desk was a Roland VM7200 system and whilst I can see the drawbacks of that kind of approach, the flexibility was really useful for us. I recently saw an installation where they had opted for an M32 desk, but had a remote stagebox with identical preamps. If the big selling point of the M32 is the preamp quality, then why not just buy an X32? (It's sitting in one spot and being used a couple of times a week so it's not as if the upgraded build quality would make any difference either)

Mid-range audio consoles that have plenty of faders but limited onboard preamps. It always bugs me to have to buy, say an X32 or A&H QU, which is being used with a remote stagebox, but there's no option but to have 32 onboard preamps which aren't being used.