Theatre Design & Technology - Spring 2012 - 14

Richard Bugg of Meyer Sound Labs working with
Meyer's D-Mitri System operating the Constellation
Acoustic System.

A Soundcraft Vi1 Digital Live Sound Console in the
Digital Mixing Station.
meet the needs of those sessions and their presenters, including staging, video, and sound. Our project was becoming more
than any of us originally imagined.
In November, calls started going out to additional manufacturers whose systems we wanted to feature in the Sound
Lab. Our international sound guest for Long Beach, German
sound and lighting artist Hans Peter Kuhn, had requested an
8.1 surround system for his session playback. I contacted Jason Waggoner at d&b audiotechnik, a USITT Sustaining Member and longtime supporter of the sound commission, to ask if
d&b would be willing to supply an appropriate system for our
guest. Thankfully, they replied quickly with their usual generous support. At the same time an e-mail arrived from Andrew
Nagle with L'Accoustics Loudspeakers, asking if we needed
any support from them, and we replied that their loudspeakers would be perfect for our Surround Sound Station. All three
companies were quick to leap at the opportunity to cooperate
in the lab. We were to see this again and again as the lab took
shape-audio manufacturers who immediately saw the benefit
of an environment where the focus wasn't competition but collaboration.
Meanwhile, we were busily refining our schedule and
working out the labor needed for an installation of this size. We
did more site visits, revised the ground plans, and continued
developing the lab's stations. As November gave way to December, our ambitious plans were paying off. We could see not only
the shape of the lab but the amazing potential for an exciting
week in Long Beach.
Soon, another manufacturer had joined us-Rational
Acoustics. Co-founder Jamie Anderson has been a longtime
Sound Commission supporter and agreed to help us in our
Measurement and Analysis Station. Our labor for setup and
operation of the lab was also starting to fall into place. Six UC
Irvine sound design students, four students from Michigan
Tech, four students from Pennsylvania State University, two
students from Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, and a student
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theatre design

& technology

spring

from Ithaca College, all signed up as sound lab crew. With the
holidays upon us, we took a bit of a break, but thoughts of the
Sound Lab still danced in our heads.
After the New Year, we set about getting the final details of
the schedule in order. We needed to find time for all the manufacturers to set up, test, and refine their systems. We were also
making sure that each presenter had time to experiment with
the system and tailor it to his or her presentations. We wanted
as much open lab time as we could arrange. We knew we were
onto something big, and we wanted to make sure that as many
people as possible were able to experience it.
USITT Executive Director David Grindle now extended his
almost magical influence and energy when he joined Mike on
a visit to Yamaha Pro Audio and Soundcraft International, part
of the Harman Group. Before we knew it, both companies had
agreed to provide digital mixing consoles for the lab.
As February arrived, we finalized the lab's stations. We
had SIM 3 from Meyer Sound Labs and Smaart 7 from Rational
Acoustics forming our Testing and Measurement Station. We
2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Spring 2012