New Website!

I have moved my blog to my new independent website at www.nosoundcheck.com

I will no longer be making blog posts here so please click the link above to see my updated website and be sure to re-bookmark and re-RSS if need be.

Thanks!

-Matt

The Cavern in Dallas TX

We played in the teeny club called The Cavern in Dallas a couple nights ago. The first thing I noticed was the placement of the sound board. Its placed under the stairwell of the upstairs of the club, and its literally right in front of the stage. Regardless of the placement of the board, the PA was surprisingly crisp and loud. I am really enjoying mixing in these small rooms on this tour. It makes you follow the rule of "sound reinforcement". Step back and listen to the drums and guitars and bass and judge it as a whole. What needs to be louder? More defined? In small rooms there's no sense in putting a mic on everything and blasting it through the sound system. If everyone can hear the snare drum, don't make it louder.

Meet John Mudd. He's the sound tech at the Cavern. My first impression of him was "Wow, I wish I could be as relaxed as this guy". Thanks John for putting up with all of our gear in your way and my many demands. Ha ha!

Inward Eye / Nico Vega / Neon Trees Tour

Here we go again!

I'll be leaving this Friday to start a U.S. tour with Inward Eye, Nico Vega, and Neon Trees. I'm not going to lie I'm getting a tad excited.

Here's a map of the dates were playing.

View Larger Map

Rena's LA Audio PC80 Phase Checker

A few days ago I ended up using the LA Audio Phase Checker to test the sound rig that gets used at MacEwan Hall at the University of Calgary. This thing is pretty cool.

Its a send and receive based system. The "emitter" sends a pulse through the whole PA and the "receiver" picks up the pulse after it leaves the speaker and instantly tells you if something is in or out of phase with either a green or red LED. You can also check phasing in hard wired situations with the built in XLR mounts whether its a reversed cable, or input, or anything that passes a balanced signal. Its a great feeling knowing that the speakers and components you are using in a rig are perfectly in phase. The kit also comes with a cable tester.

You can get all the details in the LA Audio's data

sheet HERE.

A big thank you to Rena Kozak for showing me this incredible tool. She is the House Audio Technical Co-ordinator at the University of Calgary. She had me in for a couple days of testing and repairing her frequently used sound system. We phase tested every speaker and component in the rig, and now we know that everything is working perfectly. On any given day you can expect Rena to be setting up her rig in either MacEwan Hall, or the smaller Ballroom upstairs. She uses a Meyer rig including 8 MSL-4's for the mains, 2 CQ-2's for audience fills, 4 UPJ-1P's for front fills, and 10 18" Sub cabinets (20 drivers). She has a Yamaha PM5D-RH at Front of House, and a Soundcraft SM16 for Monitors, currently being operated my Mike Rowland.

In picture to the left is Rena is displaying the LA PC80 in front of her pimped out, pink screened PM5D in MacEwan Hall. But don't let the pink fool you, she is a solid Sound Engineer with years of studio and live audio experience and training. She's taught me a lot during my stay in Calgary this month.

Thanks Rena!

Zoom H4n

I just picked up my new Zoom H4n Handheld recorder. Its the newer better version of their already successful Zoom H4.

After having my old recorder stolen in Montreal a few months ago, I decided to buy a new one. I heard rumours a while ago that a better version would be available, and I'm glad I waited. The new recorder boasts plenty of better features, at a cheaper price than I paid for my first H4!

The biggest improvement in the H4n is its ability to simultaneously record with using both its built in stereo microphones, as well as its 2 XLR or 1/4" inputs. That means I can record a live show at the sound board and all in one shot be able to record the room and sound system, as well as a board mix. Awesome.

The other feature that I like is its ability to be used as an external sound card. With 2 available inputs, I am able to potentially use the H4n to set up a Smaart Live rig for Real Time Analysis (RTA) of sound systems!

Some other improvements are a better SD card slot for easier removal without worrying about the batteries coming out, a stamina feature for longer battery life, and a variable mic degree pattern to change from 90 degrees to 120 degrees. It also has a built in speaker for quick reference, and a sturdy case which will definitely help when its bouncing around in my bag.

I've barely scratched the surface on the H4n's abilities but you can go to the official site HERE and see check it all out.

KISS

I was lucky enough to get passes to go see KISS in Calgary a few nights ago. It was nothing less than awesome. Special thanks to Steve Shaw (Tour Manager and Sound for Buckcherry) for getting me into the show. We got a quick tour of backstage and got the privilege to watch the show from the very front of the stage. I don't usually get excited for many concerts but this show was incredible. It was full of pyro, explosions, confetti, fire breathing, and a flying Paul Stanley through the audience.

Front of House had 2 Midas XL4's for sound, and 2 Grand MA's for Lighting. Buckcherry has a Digidesign profile. I was surprised how little outboard effects were used.

Here's some pics.

Holz Kick Drum Ring...Thumbs Down...

You may have read my blog HERE about how to properly install a "Holz" Kick drum ring. My advice is don't even bother buying the thing in the first place. We only had it installed for three shows before the ring came off. I followed the directions perfectly and it still managed to pop off. Its hard to get your $10-20 worth when the thing only lasts a few shows...

We even have photographic proof of the ring falling off. You can see it in the below picture. Special thanks to Vanessa Leclair for taking the pictures of Inward Eye that night. If you ever need an amazing photographer to come take pictures of your show, Vanessa is the top pick. She has photographed pretty much every band that rolls through Quebec. You can contact her at www.vanessaleclair.com and you can see some of her photo's HERE

Cheers,

Matt

The Knobless Bass!

Behold! A bass guitar with no knobs at all! Dave of Inward Eye's bass has been causing problems lately. We took out the tone knob which was great, but when he pulled out his bass at the next show, the new volume pot we put in started acting up. The fastest fix was to rip the sucker right out! I soldered the input jack to the pickups, and soldered all the grounds together and presto. We were a little nervous to plug it in and test it, but when Dave plucked that first string and a growly full bass tone rang out, we were quite pleased. We taped a few picks over the holes to avoid and sweat and dirt from getting into the wiring. I think it looks pretty rock and roll! It's a good temporary fix until the bass gets some attention. It needs to be completely overhauled. I want to make a new pick guard for it possibly in the future. I love custom stuff.

After the show Dave was amazed at how much better of a show he had. He said he didn't even realize how much he fiddled around with the knobs during the set and how much it distracted him from the show. The knob-less bass gave him full freedom and attention to playing, and being a complete maniac on stage. The only downfall is that I have to keep a closer eye on his bass at the sound board, muting it in between songs if need be to avoid the dreaded low rumble of open strings. Its a small price to pay for a solid instrument that sounds 10 times better than it did a few weeks ago.

Full credit for the idea to remove the knobs goes to Steven "Badger" Agnew (Guitar Tech/Stage Manager for Flogging Molly). He recommended it, we did it, and shit did it ever work. Thanks Steve for the advice. I'll be sure to e-mail you when something else breaks and/or needs improving.

Cheers

Matt

Bass Guitar Fix

So Dave of Inward Eye's bass stopped working a few days ago. After having a broken off volume knob, and a no longer working, rusted out, tone knob, as well as a crackly input jack, it was time to open it up and do a little "road-surgury". We were talking to Flogging Molly's Stage Manager "Badger" and he recommended just removing the tone knob all together. So we did. We also bought and installed a new volume pot which turned out being the wrong size, but 15 minutes before the show it went in anyways. The next step that Badger recommended was removing the volume knob too. Dave is game, and so am I.

I was really impressed at how much better the bass tone was after we removed the tone knob. It makes sense though. You are removing a component that causes resistance in the circuitry of the instrument. The signal has a shorter more direct path to travel resulting in better current and voltage, which means a cleaner, fuller tone. Amazing.

-Matt

Another Entertaining Night

So we were packing up the gear after a show and out of nowhere this drunk guy appeared and started throwing punches at the security guards. He tripped and fell into our drums and the security dudes eventually helped him out of the club.

Dont Drink Near The Board!!!

I experienced my worst nightmare in Winnipeg a couple nights ago. I was mixing Inward Eye as happy as can be when all of a sudden the entire sound system turned off. It turns out there was a drunk guy sitting in front of the sound board and pulled out the power cord to the processor for the sound system. I was lucky enough that it occurred during the last 30 seconds of the set. It is the best part of the show though...

Killing Time...

Is This Real?!

I found this set list taped on the wall in Amigo's in Saskatoon. If anybody knows what band this is, or if they even exist, please tell me!

Pilot Speed

I just recently finished a tour with Pilot Speed from Toronto, Ontario. We had a great time on the tour through western Canada. It was a one and a half week, 6 show tour going from Calgary AB to Victoria BC, and back to Saskatoon MB. It was interesting going from mixing a 3 piece power trio to a 4 piece band with keyboards, acoustics, and fancy microphones. The lead Singer Todd Clark used a Shure 520DX "Bullet Mic" in a few songs. It was originally designed for harmonica playing, designed to be held in a cupped hand while playing. On its own it had a top end and midrange-ish "AM radio' kind of sound. It sounded great in the songs he used it in. He modified the mic by screwing a rubber mic clip on it which came in handy in the encore of one of the shows when he decided to mount it on his mic stand. He used it through most of the song "Wooden Bones" which is also the name of their latest album. Check it out on iTunes. Do it. Right now.

Here's some pics...

Appearance on Breakfast Television in Edmonton, AB

Waiting for the ferry to Victoria BC

A hilarious doodle that Ruby made.

Thanks for reading!

Matt

Modified SM57

So I barely had my SM57's for an hour and I had already cut one to pieces...

Here's a rundown of what I did. I melted the hot glue that holds in the transformer by sitting on top of a steaming kettle. I pulled it out, cleaned the glue up, and cut the two end pieces of the aluminum body off with a rotary tool. It took a while due to the XLR side being so thick. I resoldered the XLR connector directly to the + and - on the mic then taped the freshly cut pieces together. If I like the modded mic I will JB weld the two pieces together to make it look nicer. Ugly electrical tape will have to suffice for now though.




I made it smaller so it could fit on a snare drum clamp and not look too huge. Also the smaller the mic is the less chance there is that its going to get hit with a drumstick. It sits a little higher than I would like so I am going to go on the hunt for a different clamp.

Without the transformer, the mic is supposed to be 10dB quieter and have more lows and mids. We'll see when I use it tomorrow!

SM57's!!!

Well I just got my 2 Shure SM57's delivered in the mail today! I bought both of them of of eBay for $130. Pretty sweet deal if you ask me! So why did I get them? To modify them of course! I am going to take the transformer out of one of them and maybe cut the body of the mic down a bit. Bob Strakele (FOH Billy Talent, Simple Plan, Bouncing Souls) told me about how people used to do it in the 70's, and there are numerous articles about it all over the internet so why not! From the articles ive read, removing the transformer attenuates the mic my 10dB and gives it a little more low end, and mids, giving it a darker sound. We'll see!


I want to make the body shorter so I can mount it on a rim clamp or claw or something along those lines and put it on a snare drum. It will also be a nice conversation peice it I make it look good.



Matt

How to Install a "Holz" Kick Drum Ring

The Holz "Snapperz" ring allows a a drummer to put a protected hole in their kick drum skin to allow for the placement of a microphone. A common problem with kick drum skins is that almost all common replacement skins don't come with a hole pre-cut. This means you have to cut it yourself. This is scary because even the smallest flaw in the cutting of a hole will eventually (and usually quickly) evolve into a huge tear, meaning you just wasted $40-$60 on a skin. Also, even if you manage to cut a perfect hole, it is still a weak spot and the smallest abrasion like the skin rubbing up against a poorly placed drum mic can make it eventually tear. The Holz "Snapperz" allows you to not only cut a perfect circle, but also protects the edge of the hole from damage. Its not hard to put these in either. I installed the following one in a hotel room in under 15 mins.

Here's how to install a Holz "Snapper":

1. Clean all surfaces the ring will be touching with alcohol. Peel the wax paper off of the adhesive backing on the "female" ringin the package and stick it carefully onto the back of the drum skin making sure the rim is facing up. Make sure the "Snapper" edge is at least 2" awayfrom the rim of the skin.



2. Carefully begin cutting the hole from the opposite (front) side of the skin by using the pre-stuck ring as a guide. make sure to cut smoothly and consistantly and hold the knife at aprox 2o degrees as shown. Make sure you dont cut into the plastic ring, or cut away any of the adhesive tape.

3. Remove the wax paper from the "male" ring in the pack and place it on a flat surface. You want to start press fitting the female ring over the male ring. Make sure you line up the ring first. You dont want to have to peel off the adhesive tape to start again. Its foam and it will rip. Take your time an make sure the thing is snapped in properly.

4. Admire your work!


Cheers,
Matt

Time Off!

So we have 2 days off in Chicago! Inward Eye played a show at House of Blues in Chicago and we ended up staying here for a couple days before a show in Lansing, MI.
Yesterday we went to the Lincoln Park Zoo, and today I want to go to the Field Museum and see the pirate exhibit. Its nice to have days off in big cities. It seems far to often you end up in a middle of nowhere town with nothing to do for a few days.

Subkick in Action

Well I finally tried out my Subkick! I tried it out at the WasagaDome. Probably not the best place to try it out. The acoustics were FAR from good. It's an echo chamber. Its a big metal and plastic dome that reflects every bit of sound made within its walls. It was weird. I could hear the conversations of people across the dome perfectly. If you stand in the middle and talk, I swear it makes you want to fall over. It sounds like your talking behind yourself! The truss structure seemed a little out of place too. Here's a pic of The Trews soundchecking in the dome of doom.



I wasnt overly impressed with the performance of the subkick. It seemed to lack a lot of the lows I was hoping for. I am going to try and find a bigger speaker, and mount it differently. I think the mic stand I was using may have had a little too much movement/play in it which was taking away some of the punch of the speaker.

It was neat to try it out at Wasaga because Tod Cutler (Sound and Tour Manager for The Trews) was using his homemade Subkick that night too. He was the one who inspired me to make my own subkick actually. His mounting system was far more solid than mine, and naturally his setup sounded significantly better than mine as well. He was telling me that this is his second creation. His first one actually got stolen, and he said his first one sounded better than his current one.


I am going to make a totally new Subkick when I get the time and mount it properly. Eventually I would like to mount one inside the kick drum and test that out.

Stay tuned my fellow sound geeks!

Matt

Inward Eye and Our Lady Peace

I tried the Digi Design Venue today. I didn't like the layout. The profile is way easier to use. Everything is in front of you. The Venue's features seem to be more buried in the software. I admit though that once I got the hang of it it wasn't too bad.

Bottom line, Inward Eye put on a kick ass show...as always.

Homemade Subkick Mount

It's been a while, but I finally figured out a way to mount my Homemade Subkick. I was considering using drum hardware to mount it but I came up with a few drawbacks. A drum stand would be fairly big, and heavy which isn't good for airlines, and if it were to break, or get left behind somewhere the Subkick would be rendered mountless. I decided to mount it using a standard mic clip. That way I could use any standard mic stand and not have to travel with one.

I had a Sennheiser mic clip laying around so I took off the clip part, drilled a hole in the the metal bracket part of the speaker, put the bolt through it with a couple washers, tightened it all up, and DONE. Now I just have to try it out! I am going to use it this weekend in Wasaga Beach at an Inward Eye show. Wish me luck!

Self Tuning Guitar

Last weekend I got to try out the Gibson Robot Guitar. This handy guitar tunes ITSELF! Dave Faber of Faber Drive has the guitar on loan from Gibson, and naturally I couldn't resist playing with it.

The guitar has special tuners with motors and servo's that work with a built in computer to tune the strings in a matter of seconds. All you have to do is pull out the fancy knob on the body, select the tuning you want, push the button, and strum the guitar once. The lights on the knob start blinking like crazy, the tuners turn themselves, and when all the lights are green you're ready to play!
Check out the direct link HERE.

Faber Drive in Ottawa and Toronto

I spent the weekend working for Faber Drive. I went back to my roots as a guitar tech and tuned some guitars, changed some strings, and drank a lot of beer. I hadn't seen the guys in almost a year and it was awesome to meet up with them again and do a couple shows just like the old days. The band flew in from BC for the 2 shows so there wasn't much gear which is always nice. It was also really great not having to tour manage for a couple shows. As much as I enjoy it, its nice to give the old brain a break from the stress and impair it with alcohol...

We pulled a sweet prank on The Latency too. We made a bunch of bright signs that had rude (and hilarious) things on them, and we got a group of fans to help out and hold them in the crowd during their set. They didn't seem to get it at first until they saw us side stage laughing our asses off.

We had a day off on Saturday so we decided to take Faber Drive's new guitar player JP on a small tour of the city. It was his first time in T.O. so we took him to the Hard Rock Cafe, and the Eaton's Center at Young and Dundas, then went to Sneaky Dee's for some cheap pitchers.

I also met Murphy! He is Faber Drives new Tour Manager/Guitar Tech. There isn't much to say about him other than he is an awesome mother fu%&er! cheers Murphy!

Good times.
Check out the whole Album HERE

From Faber Drive

From Faber Drive

From Faber Drive

The Greatest Invention Ever...The Pooter!

Watch the video below...


He's using a "Pooter" Its a rubber tube thing that perfectly emulates the sound of a fart. Amazing!
I already ordered one and its sitting at home waiting for me. You can order them at www.thepooter.com.

I know its a bit off topic, and a little juvenile but you cant watch that video and not at least crack a smile!

Matt

Social Code

While you're here, check out Social Code. They are a hard working, great sounding band from Edmonton, Alberta who have been touring their asses off all over the damn place for a long time. Their new album "Rock 'N'Roll" is being released in stores on Sept 1st, and listen for their new singles on the radio now called "Satisfied". Check out their youtube channel HERE.

Buckcherry Tour

O.K . so I've been slacking lattely. Sorry. I was supposed to give daily updates of the Buckcherry tour but to be honest, I've been having too much fun to care. Buckcherry brings in a very rowdy crowd every night! Its been a tour of crowds drinking, fighting, and screaming "Crazy Bitch" all damn night. We've done a mixture of small arenas to large clubs and the shows have been awesome every night. Its been very nice to tour in Canada again and not have to wake up at 8:30 every damn morning like on Warped Tour.

Buckcherry has some awesome crew too. Everyone is so helpful and down to earth. Its amazing how much better a tour can be when you are working with great people. Thanks to everyone involved in this tour!

Like the last day of every tour, I'm going to try and take a bunch of pictures to make up for the lack of photography over the whole tour prior. I'm going to try and find a good free online photo album to post all my pics. If you know of a good one let me know please!

Best,
Matt

Inward Eye - Day After Day

Here is the video for Inward Eye's new single Day After Day. It was filmed in Winnipeg in China Town. This is currently their newest single and is playing in Canada and the USA. You can see that the guitar I fixed for kyle is still going strong as well. Its been through 2 tours now with no sign of breakage.

Their new album named "Throwing Bricks Instead of Kisses" has just been released (as of August 18 2009) in North America and you absolutely have to buy or download it! Its available in all music stores and on iTunes.

Inward Eye Buckcherry Tour

Here we go again! Today is the first day of our 5 day tour opening for Buckcherry. It looks like its going to be a fun time!

Here's the dates:

18 Aug 2009 19:00	South Okanagan Events Centre w/Buck Cherry, Social Code	Pentiction, British Columbia
20 Aug 2009 19:00	Dawson Creek Event Centre w/Buck Cherry, Social Code	Dawson Creek, British Columbia
21 Aug 2009 19:00	Kooler w/Buck Cherry, Social Code	Lloydminster, Alberta
22 Aug 2009 19:00	Cold Lake Energy Centre w/Buck Cherry, Social Code	Cold Lake, Alberta
24 Aug 2009 19:00	Exhibition Park w/Buck Cherry, Social Code	Lethbridge, Alberta

I get to mix on a D-Show Profile (my favorite digital console) with a full Meyer Line Array rig. I just pee'd a little.

A few short days off...

I just spent the weekend in Minnedosa, Winnipeg with The guys in Inward Eye and their family. They have a house there which is right by a scenic river in the shield area of Winnipeg. Its a small town so you get the feel of being in nature with all the perks of being in a city, like a grocery and beer store located less than a 5 min walk away from. The front door. On saturday night we had 18 people circled around a camp fire with guitars and shakers. It was definately a great way to wind down after Warped Tour. Thanks Sue and Martin for having me over!

It's back to work now though. We are currently driving 24 hours west to Penticton, BC to start off the bands tour opening for Buckcherry starting on the 18th of August.

More to come soon!

Warped Tour is OVER

Sorry for the delay folks, I've been recovering.

Our last show was in Denver, CO and boy was it tough! They had warned us about the elevation but it still hit us like a tonne of bricks. I cant believe Inward Eye managed to finish their set. The lack of oxygen in the air just seemed to suck the life right out of you. I drank about 5 cups of coffee that day just to stay functional. We had a great crowd for the last show, and even with the hot weather and thin air, Inward Eye played thier best show on the tour in my opinion. I made sure the band and crew all got a farewell photo, which promplty got ruined by our merch guy. You'll see.

Overall this tour sucked ass, but I wouldnt have missed it for the world. Hopefully if we get a slot next year, we'll be on a BUS. Trying to do this tour in a van makes a hard tour harder. Sure there was terrible weather, hoards of emo fans, long drives, and almost no sleep, but nobody remembers that in the long run. I'll remember the great people, bands, crew, and memories that I made along the way. I have to extend my thanks, and gratitude to everyone who made Warped Tour 2009 possible. Everyone who worked on the Kia Kevin Says Stage were amazing. Special thanks go to Brooklyn, Stu, and Tom, who are hands down the most fun group of guys I've ever worked with on a tour. Cheers.

Warped Tour Bonner Springs KS

Well we got our van fixed and it stops perfectly. Today was the best overal day on the tour. We got to park the van super close to the stage, we had a great time slot, and a lot of people showed up. I admit I've been slacking on the picture taking. I am going to force myself to take lots of pictures over the last 3 shows.

The best part about today was the fact that we get 2 days off. We have had to drive to the next city right after our shows every night which really sucks, but today we finally got to stay at a hotel for the night and unwind. We got some cheap American beer, sat on the patio, drank and went swimming. We ate at a fantastic Mexican restaurant and I went right to bed. Amazing!

Doing Warped Tour in a van really makes you appreciate the little things in life. ;)

Chicago IL and Shakopee MN

Im sitting in a Hooters as I type this. Just for the record.

Chicago was pretty uneventful. It was just another show in the rain. Same as Shakopee.

The most eventful part of the past two days was when our brakes stopped working on the highway just before our exit to the hotel. It was 5 am when we hobbled into the parking lot and we had to call AAA to get the van towed to a dealership. Turns out the brake pump failed and will cost $860 US to fix. So were stranded at the hotel waiting to cab it to the show and the only restaurant in walking distance is a Hooters. That's my excuse. Hopefully we can get it fixed today so we can make it to the show tomorrow. Cross your fingers!

Warped Tour Chicago IL

Chicago crowds are crazy! Inward Eye played their best show yet today and the crowd loved it. There were a bunch of punk rockers doing a circle-march-dance-walk dealie in the "mosh pit" which was a first for me. We got a sweet merch booth location too which meant really good merch sales as well.

Remember the white guitar I fixed? Well its still going strong. Its been played hard, hit with drum sticks, and knocked over a few mic stands and the head is holding strong. I'll try to get some pictures up soon.

I'll leave you with a video of the oldest security guard we've ever seen... enjoy!

Warped Tour Detroit MI

Finally a day without rain! I tried my Heil PR40 on a kick drum taday. Tom and I played around with the positioning a little bit and my favorite spot was having the front grill of the mic in line with the drum skin facing the beater. In comparison to other kick mic (Audix something) I noticed more low end in the 80 - 150Hz range, as well as a little more high end. The Heil was even a little more sensitive than the Audix, and was really crisp and tight sounding. I was a little concerned about the mic being able to handle the SPL's from the kick, but it held up fine. Tom let me mix a few of the other bands which was sweet. He was happy to have a break and I was happy to mix a band with more than 3 members in it!

Sorry for any non-audio people reading this post, most of this must seem like a foreign language...

Pics later...I'm tired...

Warped Tour Milwaukee, WI

Another one bites the dust! Today was pretty uneventful. It rained on and off for most of the day and we ate some deep fried cheese at catering for lunch. I finally got some pics of the front of house setup on our stage. We play each day on the solar powered Kia "Kevin Says Stage". 

Meet Tom McNabb! He is the Systems Tech, or better known do-it-all sound tech for the Kia Stage. After more than 6 weeks of touring so far he seems to be on auto-pilot mode. The way he walks around setting up the sound system is almost hypnotic. He could probably do it blindfolded by now, no problem. By the time the band shows up him and the rest of the Kevin Says crew have set up the stage, backline, and PA. Tom is more or less ready to roll by 9:30am and is either either plugging in the last of the

 microphones or powering up the console, which is a Yamaha M7-CL. The first thing I noticed on our first day was Toms setup of the User Keys.

 Its the best mixing setup I've seen so far on those handy little keys. 

He also uses the top bank of faders for a "flip to fader"  monitor system using 4 separate mixes, and the bottom row for mixing. 

It completely eliminates any confusion between which mixing mode you are in, so you are never caught trying to raise the lead vocal in the PA, but accidently end up sending it all to the lead singers wedge and getting a nasty look. Awesome! The Rack, Tap, Delay, Mute All, Talkback, and In-Ear send keys are well thought out too. Everything you need is right in front of you. 

Warped Tour Cincinnati

Although it rained for most of the day, as well as our bedbug incident in the morning, today summed up to be a pretty good time. Inward Eye played an awesome show and we met Down With Webster from Toronto. I also snapped a great pic of Dallas Green (singer/songwriter for Alexisonfire, and City and Colour) in his undies watching a show through the fence. If this pic gets huge let it be known that it came from here! The crowd seemed a little more "playful" here than in Atlanta. Special thanks go to a lovely guest for letting us snap a revealing pic. It was $2 for the conventional viewing, and $5 for a picture. Naturally I invested in the latter for your viewing pleasure...

Warped Tour! Atlanta, GA

I am currently on Warped Tour with Inward Eye. Today was Atlanta, GA. A little too toasty for us Canadian boys. It was a nice 35 degrees Celsius (95F).

Here's the dates:

Day After Day Video Premiere (07-28-2009)

WarpedTour.com is offering fans the exclusive premiere of Inward Eye's new video for "Day After Day". Still on the road with the Warped Tour, be sure to check out this great video and don't forgot to pick up your digital copy of Inward Eye's new album Throwing Bricks Instead of Kisses today!

Inward Eye's New Album Digitally Available Today! (07-28-2009)

Inward Eye's newest album Throwing Bricks Instead of Kisses has been released to all digital providers today! Their new album features 11 tracks from the group including "Shame", "You Know I Know" and "Day After Day". Be sure to download your copy at the Inward Eye store Today!!!

• Throwing Bricks Instead of Kisses - Inward Eye Store

You can also pick up a digital copy of the album at the following sites:

• Throwing Bricks Instead of Kisses - iTunes
• Throwing Bricks Instead of Kisses - Amazon

New Video: "You Know, I Know" (07-20-2009)

Check out Inward Eye's Latest video "You Know, I Know" in their video section!

Inward Eye to tour with Flogging Molly (07-21-2009)

Beginning October 14th, Inward Eye will be on tour with Flogging Molly! Check out the tour section for a full list of dates.

Altpress Exclusive: Inward Eye video premiere for "You Know I Know" (07-21-2009)

Check out the video premiere for "You Know I Know" at Altpress.com. This video will have you jumping in your seats, so take a look at the new video here!

Inward Eye: Shame video + song (07-21-2009)

Inward Eye has just finished their new new video for "Shame" and it's amazing. This entirely animated video is full of great images and scenes, plus we get to see the band like never before! Click here to check out the music video for "Shame".

Canadian Rockers Inward Eye Are Set To Conquer The US This Summer (07-21-2009)

Check out starpulse.com's preview of Inward Eye's American tour this summer. This is a tour you definetely don't want to miss! Click here to read the article.

Inward Eye - Eye America (07-21-2009)

Inward Eye is set to conquer the US this summer and antimusic.com's got a preview of Inward Eye's tour schedule. Check out the dates of their electrifying club shows and be sure to catch Inward Eye this summer! Click here to see the full article.

Weekend Picks #26: 10 Free Songs to Check Out (07-21-2009)

Inward Eye's "Shame" is featured this week in My Crazy Music Blog's weekend picks. Take a look and see why "Shame" is 1 of 10 songs you should be downloading! Click here to see My Crazy Music Blog's weekend picks.

AWmusic Interview With Inward Eye (06-30-2009)

Check out AWmusic's interview with Inward Eye:

http://awmusic.ca/bands/inward-eye/

Live Review: Inward Eye - The Phoenix, Toronto, Ontario (06-30-2009)

Check out The Rock and Roll Report's review of Inward Eye in Phoenix, Ontario here:

http://rockandrollreport.com/live-review-inward-eye-the-phoenix-toronto-ontario/

The Bamboozle 2009 (06-30-2009)

Check out Inward Eye's scheduled performances at the 2009 Bamboozle Festival here:

http://winwab.com/2009/05/the-bamboozle-2009-scheduled-tour-dates-for-the-bamboozle-roadshow-2009/

The Sound of Fiction Tour (06-30-2009)

Check out Inward Eye videos from their "Sound of Fiction" Tour here:

http://exclaimtv.com/bloging/wpmu/soundoffiction/2009/03/27/videos-from-the-road/

Inward Eye Interview (06-30-2009)

Check out andPop's interview with Inward Eye here:

http://www.andpop.com/2009/03/21/inward-eye-interview/

Looking outward for post-punk Inward Eye (06-30-2009)

Check out Patrick Blennerhassett's review of Inward Eye:

http://www.bclocalnews.com/vancouver_island_south/victorianews/entertainment/41707467.html

Day 1 CMW @ Tattoo Rock Parlor w/ headliner Inward Eye (06-30-2009)

Check out Adrian's Day 1 CMW @ Tattoo Rock Parlor w/ headliner Inward Eye here:

http://awmusic.ca/2009/03/12/day-1-cmw-tattoo-rock-parlor-w-headliner-inward-eye/

Inward Eye on AWMusic (06-30-2009)

Check out AWMusic's review of Inward Eye headlining performance at Day 1 of the Canadian Music Fest.

07/28/2009	Atlanta, GA	Lakewood Amphitheatre
07/29/2009	Cincinnati, OH	Riverbend Music Center
07/30/2009	Milwaukee, WI	Marcus Amphitheater
07/31/2009	Detroit, MI	Comerica Park
08/01/2009	Chicago, IL	First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
08/02/2009	Shakopee, MN	Canterbury Park
08/03/2009	St. Louis, MO	Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
08/04/2009	Kansas City, MO	Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
08/07/2009	Boise, ID	Idaho Center Amphitheatre
08/08/2009	Salt Lake City, UT	Utah State Fairgrounds
08/09/2009	Denver, CO	Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre

View Larger Map

I am going to try and give updates every day. Here's a couple pics of the tour bus area and the stage were playing on.

K-Array

Ever seen/heard of the K-Array? Its a line array style speaker system that is super thin and totally flat. I stumbled across some pictures of these online and I had to investigate further!

I decided to take a look at K-Array's larger system, the KH4. Each speaker cabinet has a dimension of 44" x 23.62" x 6.29" and weighs 103.6 lbs. In

comparison, LAcoustics largest cabinet, the V-DOSC, weighs 238 lbs and measures 51 x 17 x 22

inches. Take note that I am in no way comparing the audio quality of the two systems, just weight and size. I can't comment on that until I have actually heard the K-Array system personally.

The website states the following:

"The KH4 use twelve 8" inches cone drivers for low-mid frequencies with 2.5" voice coil, powered by six power amplifier channels. The mid-high frequencies section use five 1.75" voice coil compression drivers, that drive 1"x4" constant directivity waveguides. The drivers form an array exactly in the centre of the speaker, a mechanical system can perform different vertical coverage, from 7° to 37° on each KH4."

Wait a second. Thats a lot of speakers crammed into a large (thin) box. I dont really know how to feel about that. Im going to be honest though, as soon as I read the "twelve 8 inch cone drivers" part I instantly got reminded of the old Bose cabinets that didnt seem to stay popular for very long due to thier crappy sound quality. Once again I cant really give any positive or negative opinions about the K-Array system until I have actually HEARD it, I am just expresssing some thoughts.

The K-Array is far more popular in Europe than here in Canada so until I score a sweet tour across the pond, I'll have to wait and see if these systems become more popular in North America. My only hope is that I can sneak a listen to the P.A. at a trade show in the near future, or stumble upon a K-Array rig in my travels.

I really know nothing about this whole setup to be honest. Some would say I should really research this system before making a blog about it but anybody can go to thier website themselves and look it up, and the only other way is to call the company or talk to other Engineers who have heard and worked with K-Array systems. Unfortunately at this point in my career I dont know many european sound engineers so I am hoping to get some e-mails from people around the world to give me thier opinions! That way I can post more blogs and hopefully get a good idea about the K-Array system, and where it lays in the Line-Array hierarchy. So send me an email at matt@nosoundcheck.com and let me know!

Thanks for reading!