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Boston area DemoFest - SMASHING success ! - Post Your Thoughts Here
Tom Young:
I just returned from Day-1 of the Demo/gear fest that David Nickerson spearheaded. Unfortunately I coud not stay for Day-2.
It far surpassed what I imagined it would be. Perhaps 50 folks were there today as well as a good number of manufacturers, some of whom travelled far to participate in this. More folks due tomorrow.
Everyone was of the "serious, passionate about live audio" ilk and (of course) many or all were LABsters.
The presentations were all VERY good. Today ended with Bill Hanley's recollections of starting out in the PA business and leading up to doing sound for Woodstock (the real one). His anecdotes were fascinating and inspiring. As it turns out, his motivations were no different than mine and everyone I know/respect in this business (he felt strongly that live sound could be improved and he did something about this). He just started doing it before we all did and managed to be involved in some of the greatest early (historical) events .... as well as many since.
The venue and its staff were all great. The acoustics of the conference room were far above average. The spirit of this entire endeavor was A+.
I suspect that this took considerable effort and planning on David's part and I personally want to thank him for doing all that it took to pull this off so well. For a long time I have envied what certain geographical areas across the US do as far as audio-related meetings, demos and facility tours (AES Pacific- Northwest chapter comes to mind) and I have wondered why we (in New England) seem to not be capable of doing this ourselves (all the while being guilty of not doing anything about it myself).
That is no longer the case.
So "hats off" to David, Jason Dermer, Bennet Prescott and Ales Dravinec from Eona-ADR Audio, Ivan Beaver and Danley Sound Labs, Chuck and JP from APB, Jamie and Karen from Rational Acoustics, Sennheiser, Shure, Soundcraft, EAW, the various reps in attendance and all the rest of those who went to great effort to pull this off.
Now, to sleep.
Bob Kenton:
Do you know Tom if anyone is planning on a "final thoughts" thread?
Dave Dermont:
Since this seems to be the first post about DemoFest, I made it sticky and added to the title.
I'll leave it here at the top of the forum for a while and let everyone who wants to post there thoughts on the event.
Of course, I'll have more to say, but right now I am just going to get some rest and prepare for day two.
Tom Young:
No.
But I won't be surprised if someone who is there for both days does this.
I would like to hear about Day-2.
Mike Christy:
Tom, I thought the day deserved an A+++.
It was especially valuable getting a complete understanding of the wireless situation, and specifically the potential issues that can cause problems. Both the Sennheiser and Shure presenters made different, yet significant contributions. Not owning (but working with) wireless, it is now very clear to me how to proceed with purchasing and optimally operating these devices.
Although Jamie from Rational Acoustics only briefly touched on some highly technical points, the scenario involving the reflection and the comb filtering really brought it all together, and it convinced me to purchase a license in the near future. The Spectrograph alone seems worth the price… there is a lot of info in that rolling screen...
What can be said about Bill? As I wrote in another post, he was mesmerizing. Apparently something's don’t change - no one wants to pay for sound, and you don’t get rich from it, as he attested. No one outside the industry seems to appreciate the passion we have for this. That was the quickest 2 hours of the day.
My only regret is that I could only attend one day, and not stay for the evening session.
Also, I was interested in a couple of products, and would have very much liked to have gotten a quick demo, specifically of the Minis, the EAW system, and the QSC Ks. I will have to rely on reports.
Oh yes, we cant forget the big 3 panel…Tom, Bennett and Ivan, from ground stacks to line arrays to horn properties, having three experts from the industry clarify and elaborate on their specialties was an invaluable experience. That one hour could easily be an entire day session.
Thank you David, the planning and organization of the event was outstanding, everyone that contributed, hauled in and set up gear, it is well appreciated.
You'd almost think it was put on by a group of pros!
Good meeting those I did,
Mike
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