An educational specialist at d&b audiotechnik GmbH, John Taylor is a perennial favorite at the Broadway Sound Master Classes. Get out your pens and paper, or iPad, as you’ll want to take notes as this master of the science of sound explores amplification of the human voice and what tools are appropriate for the task. Live Design asks Taylor exactly what he means:
Your session at the BLMC is called “What's in Your Toolbox?” What will you be discussing specifically?
My plan is to examine the fundamental question of what we're trying to achieve in theatre sound reinforcement: how one goes about the task and what tools you need in your toolbox to achieve that. We'll consider the source, in this instance the human voice, look at it's directivity and level and see what it can achieve before you need to start thinking about amplification.
What is the next step?
Once you've gone down the amplification route, in what way do you want your sound to affect the audience? We'll consider "The Suspension of Disbelief," a byword in the theatre, and see how it applies to many areas of sound reinforcement.
Where does the “toolbox” come in?
We'll look into our toolbox (the rental shop) and consider if a point source or a line array system is best suited to our goal.
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