cedd Posted April 9, 2013 Share Posted April 9, 2013 I was fortunate enough to be invited to a training day hosted by Pro Audio Systems in Leeds today with Meyer's Mauricio Ramirez (AKA Magu). Had an excellent day and had a good few "lightbulb moments". What I found particularly fascinating was his ability to describe a set of circumstances (delay, EQ, Polarity...) he was about to feed in to the speaker system, then demonstrate it, take a measurement mic and show us in real life exactly what he'd theoretically predicted. I shouldn't have been too surprised, but I think all too often we separate what theoretically should happen, from what actually does. He demonstrated that the theory is not only sound but essential. So firstly a big thanks to Magu and the guys at Pro Audio Systems for putting the event on, but secondly to really suggest that anybody interested in system design and measurement keep an eye on Meyer's website for any dates coming up. Magu's a great teacher and his practical demonstrations were a real highlight. The content is reasonably heavy so don't go without a reasonable grasp of phase, and don't expect a day of pressing buttons, it's a day of physics! Magu's sense of humour punctuated things nicely though. I particularly enjoyed his opening comment that he was used to speaking to groups of 15 or so people, but today he had about 9dB's more than usual! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whisky-zulu Posted April 10, 2013 Share Posted April 10, 2013 Magu is a great teacher when it comes to the theory and I second your thoughts, Cedd, on his sense of humour! I've had the pleasure of sitting through two sets of his week-long courses about sound theory and line array function. IF anyone gets offered the chance to take one of his courses I would definitely urge you to take it up! But yes, as Cedd says, his courses are theory led, and there is verry little button pressing (except for when playing around with MAPP Online Pro, and building and running your own line array setups in some of the more advanced courses). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilflet Posted April 10, 2013 Share Posted April 10, 2013 I was there too cedd,Agreed about Magu- he's got quite the talent for making subject matter thats not intrinsically entertaining very engaging, after 6hrs I was still hungry for more, somthing that Id never have said about any of my university lecturers (well maybe one or two).Only slight downside is it took me a little while to work out what he was saying in places (for the benifit of those who wernt there, he's mexican)- having never really had much contact with Spanish speakers and having gone to school that didnt offer Spanish the way they say some things throws me a lot, but my other half didnt notice he was saying things funny (she did spannish at school) so maybe it was just me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Lewis Posted April 10, 2013 Share Posted April 10, 2013 I went to a Meyer session a few years ago and found it to be very good. However, the first hour or more was the historical development of SIM (interesting if you lived through the development of Hewlett Packard analysers; relatively meaningless if you are of the generation where your phone can do the same job). Also, the mix of spanish accent, reverberant environment and (my) shot hearing meant that understanding the event was hard work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cedd Posted April 14, 2013 Author Share Posted April 14, 2013 Only slight downside is it took me a little while to work out what he was saying in places (for the benifit of those who wernt there, he's mexican)- having never really had much contact with Spanish speakers and having gone to school that didnt offer Spanish the way they say some things throws me a lot, but my other half didnt notice he was saying things funny (she did spannish at school) so maybe it was just me.It did take me a while to work out what "smoo" meant. It was only when he clicked on a button in the spectrum analyser labelled "smoothing" that he was saying "smooth". It's funny but I think I listen and learn far better when somebody has an accent. Maybe it's because your brain is having to work that bit harder to work out what's being said, so you're concentrating on what's being said more. I often also find some people's voices mildly hypnotising, especially if they're monotone. Certainly can't accuse Magu of that! As an aside, I suspect you were sat on the table behind me Wilflet. Right hand side next to a pillar about level with his speaker stack? I only say that because you mention your other half, and there were only 4 females there, 2 of whom I knew so it narrows things down a bit. I was the one in his late 20's with the receeding hairline if that helps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave C Posted April 14, 2013 Share Posted April 14, 2013 We regularly host a 4 or 5 day Meyer Sound seminar in Oxford around easter time every year. I'll try to post up details when dates are confirmed for next year (mods is this ok?). It's NOT for the faint hearted - it is basically a physics and electroacoustics based course. Practically NO button pushing, but LOTS of listening, adjusting, measuring, listening, etc. Magu is a great instructor and does have the ability to keep you interested IF you are interested in the subject. It's not the kind of course to go on if you just want to get out of the office or warehouse for a week on the company credit card... Lots of folks take the Meyer courses a couple of times. I've never heard anyone say they didn't learn at least as much the second time around. Magu really tailors each instance to the crowd that he has to work with. Keep an eye out around December or January for the dates for easter time 2014. It depends on venue availability, but it's worked out OK for the last few years... Dave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilflet Posted April 18, 2013 Share Posted April 18, 2013 As an aside, I suspect you were sat on the table behind me Wilflet. Right hand side next to a pillar about level with his speaker stack? I only say that because you mention your other half, and there were only 4 females there, 2 of whom I knew so it narrows things down a bit. I was the one in his late 20's with the receeding hairline if that helps! That is making the assumption its not a same sex couple there Cedd...no I was on the opposite side of the room with what by process of elimination was the other girl in the room. (Im the one with the platted beard) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cedd Posted April 18, 2013 Author Share Posted April 18, 2013 The same sex couple thing had crossed my mind, but you did say "she'd" when referring to your other half and I'm pretty sure you're a bloke! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilflet Posted April 18, 2013 Share Posted April 18, 2013 The same sex couple thing had crossed my mind, but you did say "she'd" when referring to your other half and I'm pretty sure you're a bloke! Ah so I did (serves me right for trying to be a smart arse) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livelifetotheverymax Posted April 22, 2013 Share Posted April 22, 2013 I too found it really engaging and highly recommend attending the sessions. I've started working my way through the files he passed around, hopefully at some point I will get round to going on one of the full courses. I'm a bit of a geek for understanding why things sound how they do and how to correct/make that happen which I'm hoping will now feed back into work. My only issue is I now would quite like a decent RTA and reference mic. I have a very strong feeling that my phone is lying to me with what it shows on the screen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.