International Bluegrass Musicians Association: Difference between revisions

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~~IBMA~~ - ~~International Bluegrass Musicians Association~~- ~~October 26 2005~~

Steve-at-Bose (Steve Skillings), Ken-at-Bose (Ken Jacob) ~~, Rich Stillman reported the outcome of the [[L1™ Traditional Music system]] at the~~ [http://www.~~ibma~~.~~org~~/ ~~IBMA - International Bluegrass Musicians Association- October 26 2005~~]. This is the ~~report portion of the discussion that appears here:~~

This is a report from the [http://www.ibma.org/ IBMA - International Bluegrass Musicians Association] - October 26 2005]. This chronicles the results of using the [[L1™ Traditional Music System]].

Submitted by:

* Steve-at-Bose (Steve Skillings)

* Ken-at-Bose (Ken Jacob)

* [http://www.waystation.net/ Rich Stillman]

This originally appeared in the Bose Community Message Boards.

[http://bose.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/4806048934/m/4051010562?r=4051010562 IBMA -- Int'l Bluegrass Musicians Assoc. -- update]

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I'm at the IBMA event in Nashville, TN, USA and thing are really cooking. Thanks to an invite from bluegrass lover, Rich Stillman, we decided to come down and see what's happening with the system and the Bluegrass folks. With Rich's help we outfitted a few "showcase rooms" with systems and decided to see how thing would work out.

I'll let Rich (Stillman) cover the "how we set it up" stuff in detail, but basically we've set up two microphones (each going to a system) a couple feet apart for doing these showcases. Now if you've never been to one of these read then next paragraph, otherwise skip one.

I'll let Rich (Stillman) cover the "how we set it up" stuff in detail, but basically we've set up two ~~mics~~ (each going to a system) a couple feet apart for doing these showcases. Now if you've never been to one of these read then next paragraph, otherwise skip one.

Here's what happens at a showcase event. A room is run by a venue, or an association or a manufacturer, and bands or individual artists come in and play a 20~25 minute set. Then, you've got 5 minutes until the next band is on. It is rapid fire and very interesting to observe (and stressful to work).

We've had to {{L1 CR}} set up in a few rooms and I've got to say I'm pleasantly surprised at how well they are working. Last night I left one of the Bose powered rooms and wandered. I wanted to see if we were better than other rooms (sound quality wise) or about even or worse. I quickly found out why the Bluegrass musicians were flipping out over the Bose sound.

We've had to Cylindrical Radiator(r) speakers set up in a few rooms and I've got to say I'm pleasantly surprised at how well they are working. Last night I left one of the Bose powered rooms and wandered. I wanted to see if we were better than other rooms (sound quality wise) or about even or worse. I quickly found out why the Bluegrass musicains were flipping out over the Bose sound.

The easiest way to describe what I heard was this. It sounded like there was no amplification ... until someone walked away from the microphones and spoke. Amazing. Even I was surprised at how well our little speaker sounded.

The easiest way to describe what I heard was this. It sounded like there was no amplification ... until someone walked away from the ~~mics~~ and spoke. Amazing. Even I was surprised at how well our little speaker sounded.

With Bluegrass they are far more concerned with quality of sound over volume. I had one room that during setup the host said, "let's turn down" and I (the dumb rock/blues guy) thought, wow, this isn't even loud yet. Then I went to speak and realized that my voice was quite loud. We had a nice level for about 50~75 folks to enjoy the music without being blown away.

I've got to share that the feedback from listeners and musicians has been shocking. They see "Bose Corporation" on my badge and start gushing. Great complements and great questions: "How does it do it?" "I can't believe how good it sounds." "Yey, I love that new speaker of yours."

I've got to share that the feedback from listeners and ~~musicains~~ has been shocking. They see "Bose Corporation" on my badge and start gushing. Great complements and great questions: "How does it do it?" "I can't believe how good it sounds." "Yey, I love that new speaker of yours."

It's been a fun trip so far and I'm gearing up for my third late shift. The running joke is IBMA means I've Been Mostly Awake. Sleep is a rare commodity.

Oh, no. I've gotta fly. sorry for the quick post. More to come. Ken's here today and he was smart enough to bring a camera. More to come.

For those in the Bluegrass community we're planning on doing a trial with Rhonda Vincent tonight at 10:30 in room 207 ... shhhhhh ... Wink if you're nearby come on by and I'll let you in.

I guess she heard the systems last night and said something like, "That sounds fantastic. Can I bring the band in for a trial." We said "yes, of course." We're excited to hear her try the systems out.

Gotta fly,

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Hi Everyone,

I just got into Nashville yesterday and the place was already SMOKIN'. There's about 2500 professional bluegrass players here and as you can imagine, all heck is breaking loose. These are the big boys and girls, and the fabulous assortment of up and coming acts.

I just got into Nashville yesterday and the place was already SMOKIN. There's about 2500 professional bluegrass players here and as you can imagine, all heck is breaking loose. These are the big boys and girls, and the fabulous assortment of up and coming acts.

This music is totally happening and totally alive. There's tons of musicians of all ages here and you can easily see the next gen coming up through the ranks.

It's a total blast to be able to hear well, and really appreciate the cookin' string licks and fabulous vocals.

~~It's a total blast to be able to hear well, and really appreciate the cookin string licks and fabulous vocals.~~

I was very pleased with the performance of our Traditional Music configuration of two wide-area condenser microphones, each connected to one {{L1 CR}} pushed downstage and to the side. As a reminder of the technical details of our new setup see: [[L1™ Traditional Music System]]

I was very pleased with the performance of our Traditional Music configuration of two wide-area condenser ~~mics~~, each connected to one ~~Cylindrical Radiator(r) speaker~~ pushed downstage and to the side. As a reminder of the technical details of our new setup~~, you can click HERE to read a thorough description.~~

The rooms could hold about 100 people each, and most performances were stuffed to the rafters.

What's utterly wonderful about the new configuration we worked out is that it's a walk on and play solution for the groups. There's nothing for them to plug in. This creates a beautiful and relaxed environment.

Players use a kind of choreography already worked out for single mic technique commonly used in this genre. When it's your turn to solo, your bandmates make room for you to move in on the mic. Our new system makes it possible for this to be much more relaxed because there's two mics, although the main reason for the two mics to have glorious spatiality to the music out in the audience (the acoustic ensemble on stage gets this "for free".)

I'll post a few photos from last night (late late late) with apologies for the moment in not being able to name the bands (if I were anybody, I'd know instantly who they are as they're all touring pros.)

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Here's a picture of how a lot of bands are set up for showcases. There were LOTS of problems with this system last night. Guess what was the biggest? Yup, you got it, feedback. Ear splitting and lots of different frequencies. It was very hard for the musicians to relax.

[[Image:BluegrassOldway.jpg]]

<!--

http://bose.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/ga/ul/1541052562/inlineimg/Y/old_way.JPG

-->

Here's one of the groups ([http://www.grasscals.com/ The Grasscals]) that played on our new system. These guys TOTALLY ROCKED. Killer players. Many are multi-time champions in their instruments.

[[Image:BluegrassNewWay01.jpg]]

<!--

http://bose.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/ga/ul/9251052562/inlineimg/Y/P1020443.JPG

-->

Here's another group on the system. Note the "dummy mic" in the center. This was used to give the players a familiar target while they got used to the dual mic system.

As you can see, the tightness this new approach allows is real back-porch stuff. This is the way these guys learned how to play and love to play and this system allows them to play that way. It's totally lovely and naturalistic. Look at the expression on the guitar/vocalist's face. That's the deep living structure of live music performance. There ain't nothin better.

[[Image:BluegrassNewWay02.jpg]]

<!--

http://bose.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/ga/ul/8161052562/inlineimg/Y/P1020448.JPG

-->

I add this shot because it shows you one of the young up and coming professional bands. The fiddle player was about 11 years old and the others were in their early twenties I'd guess.

Look at ~~thhe~~ guitar player on the right. Again, here you see the bottomless power of music. These guys and gals were totally down into the thing. You could have seen some of this stuff from space, that's how big an energy field was being created.

Look at the guitar player on the right. Again, here you see the bottomless power of music. These guys and gals were totally down into the thing. You could have seen some of this stuff from space, that's how big an energy field was being created.

[[Image:BluegrassNewWay03.jpg]]

<!--

http://bose.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/ga/ul/8271052562/inlineimg/Y/P1020450.JPG

-->

== Report - Rich Stillman ==

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We had a couple of variations on the theme during the week. One showcase presenter hosted five bands using a traditional multi-mic setup, connecting the PAS systems to their mixing board and sending a separate monitor mix through standard floor monitors. The engineer in that room had problems with gain before feedback until he turned off the monitors entirely. Once that was done, everything worked fine.

Our second odd setup involved adding a separate mic for Michael Cleveland, two-time IBMA fiddle player of the year, who sat in with a showcase band playing mandolin. Michael is blind and needed to stand still in front of a ~~mic~~. We activated the dummy SM57 from the center, moving it to the side. Mike’s mandolin was coming entirely from one side of the stage, but that’s where he was standing so it didn’t sound odd at all. However, without the center mic to focus on, the band’s lead singer began singing directly into one of the KSMs. The lead singing very obviously came from one side of the stage, and the extreme separation of the voices made their blends difficult to listen to.

Our second odd setup involved adding a separate mic for Michael Cleveland, two-time IBMA fiddle player of the year, who sat in with a showcase band playing mandolin. Michael is blind and needed to stand still in front of a microphone. We activated the dummy SM57 from the center, moving it to the side. Mike’s mandolin was coming entirely from one side of the stage, but that’s where he was standing so it didn’t sound odd at all. However, without the center mic to focus on, the band’s lead singer began singing directly into one of the KSMs. The lead singing very obviously came from one side of the stage, and the extreme separation of the voices made their blends difficult to listen to.

One band that hosted their own afternoon showcase had an unusual setup: three seated musicians, two playing through amps, and a standing fiddler/singer. To get everything heard, we used an extra dynamic mic aimed at the unamplified singer/guitarist/banjo player. The two KSMs were quite far away from the other seated singers and their amps, but by aiming those mics differently we got a balanced sound out into the room.

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Rich continues his report here: [http://www.waystation.net/PAS-IBMA http://www.waystation.net/PAS-IBMA]

----

[[Category:Bluegrass]]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-IBMA - International Bluegrass Musicians Association- October 26 2005
+<!-- Please do not edit this page. If you have recommendations for changes, please add them to the discussion page. Thank you!-->
+{{Editorial}}
 <table><tr>
 <td valign="top" width="250">__TOC__</td>
 <td valign="top">
-Steve-at-Bose (Steve Skillings), Ken-at-Bose (Ken Jacob) , Rich Stillman reported the outcome of the [[L1™ Traditional Music system]] at the [http://www.ibma.org/ IBMA - International Bluegrass Musicians Association- October 26 2005]. This is the report portion of the discussion that appears here:
+This is a report from the [http://www.ibma.org/ IBMA - International Bluegrass Musicians Association] - October 26 2005]. This chronicles the results of using the [[L1™ Traditional Music System]].
+Submitted by:
+* Steve-at-Bose (Steve Skillings)
+* Ken-at-Bose (Ken Jacob)
+* [http://www.waystation.net/ Rich Stillman]
+This originally appeared in the Bose Community Message Boards.
 [http://bose.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/4806048934/m/4051010562?r=4051010562 IBMA -- Int'l Bluegrass Musicians Assoc. -- update]
@@ Line 16: / Line 24: @@
 I'm at the IBMA event in Nashville, TN, USA and thing are really cooking. Thanks to an invite from bluegrass lover, Rich Stillman, we decided to come down and see what's happening with the system and the Bluegrass folks. With Rich's help we outfitted a few "showcase rooms" with systems and decided to see how thing would work out.
+I'll let Rich (Stillman) cover the "how we set it up" stuff in detail, but basically we've set up two microphones (each going to a system) a couple feet apart for doing these showcases. Now if you've never been to one of these read then next paragraph, otherwise skip one.
-I'll let Rich (Stillman) cover the "how we set it up" stuff in detail, but basically we've set up two mics (each going to a system) a couple feet apart for doing these showcases. Now if you've never been to one of these read then next paragraph, otherwise skip one.
 Here's what happens at a showcase event. A room is run by a venue, or an association or a manufacturer, and bands or individual artists come in and play a 20~25 minute set. Then, you've got 5 minutes until the next band is on. It is rapid fire and very interesting to observe (and stressful to work).
+We've had to {{L1 CR}} set up in a few rooms and I've got to say I'm pleasantly surprised at how well they are working. Last night I left one of the Bose powered rooms and wandered. I wanted to see if we were better than other rooms (sound quality wise) or about even or worse. I quickly found out why the Bluegrass musicians were flipping out over the Bose sound.
-We've had to Cylindrical Radiator(r) speakers set up in a few rooms and I've got to say I'm pleasantly surprised at how well they are working. Last night I left one of the Bose powered rooms and wandered. I wanted to see if we were better than other rooms (sound quality wise) or about even or worse. I quickly found out why the Bluegrass musicains were flipping out over the Bose sound.
+The easiest way to describe what I heard was this. It sounded like there was no amplification ... until someone walked away from the microphones and spoke. Amazing. Even I was surprised at how well our little speaker sounded.
-The easiest way to describe what I heard was this. It sounded like there was no amplification ... until someone walked away from the mics and spoke. Amazing. Even I was surprised at how well our little speaker sounded.
 With Bluegrass they are far more concerned with quality of sound over volume. I had one room that during setup the host said, "let's turn down" and I (the dumb rock/blues guy) thought, wow, this isn't even loud yet. Then I went to speak and realized that my voice was quite loud. We had a nice level for about 50~75 folks to enjoy the music without being blown away.
+I've got to share that the feedback from listeners and musicians has been shocking. They see "Bose Corporation" on my badge and start gushing. Great complements and great questions: "How does it do it?" "I can't believe how good it sounds." "Yey, I love that new speaker of yours."
-I've got to share that the feedback from listeners and musicains has been shocking. They see "Bose Corporation" on my badge and start gushing. Great complements and great questions: "How does it do it?" "I can't believe how good it sounds." "Yey, I love that new speaker of yours."
 It's been a fun trip so far and I'm gearing up for my third late shift. The running joke is IBMA means I've Been Mostly Awake. Sleep is a rare commodity.
 Oh, no. I've gotta fly. sorry for the quick post. More to come. Ken's here today and he was smart enough to bring a camera. More to come.
 For those in the Bluegrass community we're planning on doing a trial with Rhonda Vincent tonight at 10:30 in room 207 ... shhhhhh ... Wink if you're nearby come on by and I'll let you in.
 I guess she heard the systems last night and said something like, "That sounds fantastic. Can I bring the band in for a trial." We said "yes, of course." We're excited to hear her try the systems out.
 Gotta fly,
@@ Line 53: / Line 50: @@
 Hi Everyone,
+I just got into Nashville yesterday and the place was already SMOKIN'. There's about 2500 professional bluegrass players here and as you can imagine, all heck is breaking loose. These are the big boys and girls, and the fabulous assortment of up and coming acts.
-I just got into Nashville yesterday and the place was already SMOKIN. There's about 2500 professional bluegrass players here and as you can imagine, all heck is breaking loose. These are the big boys and girls, and the fabulous assortment of up and coming acts.
 This music is totally happening and totally alive. There's tons of musicians of all ages here and you can easily see the next gen coming up through the ranks.
+It's a total blast to be able to hear well, and really appreciate the cookin' string licks and fabulous vocals.
-It's a total blast to be able to hear well, and really appreciate the cookin string licks and fabulous vocals.
+I was very pleased with the performance of our Traditional Music configuration of two wide-area condenser microphones, each connected to one {{L1 CR}} pushed downstage and to the side. As a reminder of the technical details of our new setup see: [[L1™ Traditional Music System]]
-I was very pleased with the performance of our Traditional Music configuration of two wide-area condenser mics, each connected to one Cylindrical Radiator(r) speaker pushed downstage and to the side. As a reminder of the technical details of our new setup, you can click HERE to read a thorough description.
 The rooms could hold about 100 people each, and most performances were stuffed to the rafters.
 What's utterly wonderful about the new configuration we worked out is that it's a walk on and play solution for the groups. There's nothing for them to plug in. This creates a beautiful and relaxed environment.
 Players use a kind of choreography already worked out for single mic technique commonly used in this genre. When it's your turn to solo, your bandmates make room for you to move in on the mic. Our new system makes it possible for this to be much more relaxed because there's two mics, although the main reason for the two mics to have glorious spatiality to the music out in the audience (the acoustic ensemble on stage gets this "for free".)
 I'll post a few photos from last night (late late late) with apologies for the moment in not being able to name the bands (if I were anybody, I'd know instantly who they are as they're all touring pros.)
@@ Line 80: / Line 69: @@
 Here's a picture of how a lot of bands are set up for showcases. There were LOTS of problems with this system last night. Guess what was the biggest? Yup, you got it, feedback. Ear splitting and lots of different frequencies. It was very hard for the musicians to relax.
+[[Image:BluegrassOldway.jpg]]
+<!--
 http://bose.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/ga/ul/1541052562/inlineimg/Y/old_way.JPG
+-->
 Here's one of the groups ([http://www.grasscals.com/ The Grasscals]) that played on our new system. These guys TOTALLY ROCKED. Killer players. Many are multi-time champions in their instruments.
+[[Image:BluegrassNewWay01.jpg]]
+<!--
 http://bose.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/ga/ul/9251052562/inlineimg/Y/P1020443.JPG
+-->
 Here's another group on the system. Note the "dummy mic" in the center. This was used to give the players a familiar target while they got used to the dual mic system.
 As you can see, the tightness this new approach allows is real back-porch stuff. This is the way these guys learned how to play and love to play and this system allows them to play that way. It's totally lovely and naturalistic. Look at the expression on the guitar/vocalist's face. That's the deep living structure of live music performance. There ain't nothin better.
+[[Image:BluegrassNewWay02.jpg]]
+<!--
 http://bose.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/ga/ul/8161052562/inlineimg/Y/P1020448.JPG
+-->
 I add this shot because it shows you one of the young up and coming professional bands. The fiddle player was about 11 years old and the others were in their early twenties I'd guess.
-Look at thhe guitar player on the right. Again, here you see the bottomless power of music. These guys and gals were totally down into the thing. You could have seen some of this stuff from space, that's how big an energy field was being created.
+Look at the guitar player on the right. Again, here you see the bottomless power of music. These guys and gals were totally down into the thing. You could have seen some of this stuff from space, that's how big an energy field was being created.
+[[Image:BluegrassNewWay03.jpg]]
+<!--
 http://bose.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/ga/ul/8271052562/inlineimg/Y/P1020450.JPG
+-->
 == Report - Rich Stillman ==
@@ Line 131: / Line 128: @@
 We had a couple of variations on the theme during the week. One showcase presenter hosted five bands using a traditional multi-mic setup, connecting the PAS systems to their mixing board and sending a separate monitor mix through standard floor monitors. The engineer in that room had problems with gain before feedback until he turned off the monitors entirely. Once that was done, everything worked fine.
-Our second odd setup involved adding a separate mic for Michael Cleveland, two-time IBMA fiddle player of the year, who sat in with a showcase band playing mandolin. Michael is blind and needed to stand still in front of a mic. We activated the dummy SM57 from the center, moving it to the side. Mike’s mandolin was coming entirely from one side of the stage, but that’s where he was standing so it didn’t sound odd at all. However, without the center mic to focus on, the band’s lead singer began singing directly into one of the KSMs. The lead singing very obviously came from one side of the stage, and the extreme separation of the voices made their blends difficult to listen to.
+Our second odd setup involved adding a separate mic for Michael Cleveland, two-time IBMA fiddle player of the year, who sat in with a showcase band playing mandolin. Michael is blind and needed to stand still in front of a microphone. We activated the dummy SM57 from the center, moving it to the side. Mike’s mandolin was coming entirely from one side of the stage, but that’s where he was standing so it didn’t sound odd at all. However, without the center mic to focus on, the band’s lead singer began singing directly into one of the KSMs. The lead singing very obviously came from one side of the stage, and the extreme separation of the voices made their blends difficult to listen to.
 One band that hosted their own afternoon showcase had an unusual setup: three seated musicians, two playing through amps, and a standing fiddler/singer. To get everything heard, we used an extra dynamic mic aimed at the unamplified singer/guitarist/banjo player. The two KSMs were quite far away from the other seated singers and their amps, but by aiming those mics differently we got a balanced sound out into the room.
@@ Line 147: / Line 144: @@
 Rich continues his report here: [http://www.waystation.net/PAS-IBMA http://www.waystation.net/PAS-IBMA]
+----
+[[Category:Bluegrass]]
+<references />