Clifford A Henricksen: Difference between revisions

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Clifford A Henricksen

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Cliff Henricksen is a musician and musical-arts inventor and technologist. Self-taught as a

musician and educated at MIT in Mechanical Engineering, he taught himself how to apply

engineering basics to electroacoustics and a technologies for the musical entertainment fields.

He has invented and engineered a wide variety of technologies and products well-known in the

professional audio businesses and today maintains a steady balance between work in audio and

work as a musical artist.

He was born in Kew Gardens on Long Island (NY) on 12 July, 1943, son of Norwegian

immigrant Birger (“Bill”) and Alice (nee Totland) Henricksen. They lived in Elmont Long

Island NY until Cliff left home to attend college and find his way in the world. Formerly first

engineer on ocean-going ships for the Moore McCormack Company, Bill established a day job

working as a land-based mechanic and welder so he could have a better home-life. He was also

an accomplished musician, playing accordion, drums and fiddle. Bill later became both a well-

known square dance caller, using a live-musician country band called “the Ranch Boys”, played

drums in night club combo gigs and had his own “society orchestra” that played fancy events

in places like New York City’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel. His facility with things mechanical,

love of music and fascination with musical technological was probably the most important

single influence in Cliff’s formative years. Microphones, PA systems, home hifi systems and

tape recorders were a constant and ever-changing part of the Henricksen household. This

exposure became a permanent part of Cliff’s technical and artistic influences. By the time he

got to graduate school at MIT, Cliff was playing regularly with a Boston-based cover band and

still was able to make 8am lectures in Engineering. He also met his future wife, then Bonnie

Zimmermann, and started a family that today numbers 9 siblings (5 males, 4 females). Today

Cliff and Bonnie live in Framingham, their children living in a variety of American cities.

Cliff began his career in pro audio by starting a research group at Altec Lansing in Anaheim

CA in 1968. As a natural course of this work, he met and befriended Bill Putnam and Allen

Sides, both becoming important inspirations for achieving a balance between audio aesthetics

and engineering excellence, through Bill via work in and around the UREI Time Align studio

monitor loudspeaker and through Allen via his evolving Ocean Way studio business, then

in a garage in Santa Monica. Allen was a fundamental and profound influence in showing

Cliff how to listen diagnostically to all kinds of audio qualities of speakers, microphones and

electronics. The importance of “aesthetics first” has since then been a guiding principle of all of

his work. Because of this code of work, Cliff is one of the few audio professionals able to voice

major arena sound systems by ear and to develop L1 and T1 “Tone Match” presets for Bose

Corporation strictly by listening.

After a long career working for a variety of well-known US audio companies, Cliff is now

owner/operator of Cliff Innovations LLC, working on microphones, sound system technologies

and other inventions for the musical arts. Cliff is also, to this day, a very active performing and

==Background, Experience and Code of Work==

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-<br />
+Clifford A Henricksen
-<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />
+Cliff Henricksen is a musician and musical-arts inventor and technologist. Self-taught as a
+musician and educated at MIT in Mechanical Engineering, he taught himself how to apply
+engineering basics to electroacoustics and a technologies for the musical entertainment fields.
+He has invented and engineered a wide variety of technologies and products well-known in the
+professional audio businesses and today maintains a steady balance between work in audio and
+work as a musical artist.
+He was born in Kew Gardens on Long Island (NY) on 12 July, 1943, son of Norwegian
+immigrant Birger (“Bill”) and Alice (nee Totland) Henricksen. They lived in Elmont Long
+Island NY until Cliff left home to attend college and find his way in the world. Formerly first
+engineer on ocean-going ships for the Moore McCormack Company, Bill established a day job
+working as a land-based mechanic and welder so he could have a better home-life. He was also
+an accomplished musician, playing accordion, drums and fiddle. Bill later became both a well-
+known square dance caller, using a live-musician country band called “the Ranch Boys”, played
+drums in night club combo gigs and had his own “society orchestra” that played fancy events
+in places like New York City’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel. His facility with things mechanical,
+love of music and fascination with musical technological was probably the most important
+single influence in Cliff’s formative years. Microphones, PA systems, home hifi systems and
+tape recorders were a constant and ever-changing part of the Henricksen household. This
+exposure became a permanent part of Cliff’s technical and artistic influences. By the time he
+got to graduate school at MIT, Cliff was playing regularly with a Boston-based cover band and
+still was able to make 8am lectures in Engineering. He also met his future wife, then Bonnie
+Zimmermann, and started a family that today numbers 9 siblings (5 males, 4 females). Today
+Cliff and Bonnie live in Framingham, their children living in a variety of American cities.
+Cliff began his career in pro audio by starting a research group at Altec Lansing in Anaheim
+CA in 1968. As a natural course of this work, he met and befriended Bill Putnam and Allen
+Sides, both becoming important inspirations for achieving a balance between audio aesthetics
+and engineering excellence, through Bill via work in and around the UREI Time Align studio
+monitor loudspeaker and through Allen via his evolving Ocean Way studio business, then
+in a garage in Santa Monica. Allen was a fundamental and profound influence in showing
+Cliff how to listen diagnostically to all kinds of audio qualities of speakers, microphones and
+electronics. The importance of “aesthetics first” has since then been a guiding principle of all of
+his work. Because of this code of work, Cliff is one of the few audio professionals able to voice
+major arena sound systems by ear and to develop L1 and T1 “Tone Match” presets for Bose
+Corporation strictly by listening.
+After a long career working for a variety of well-known US audio companies, Cliff is now
+owner/operator of Cliff Innovations LLC, working on microphones, sound system technologies
+and other inventions for the musical arts. Cliff is also, to this day, a very active performing and
 ==Background, Experience and Code of Work==