C.K.: I am not a SMAART operator, but in watching the display during the show, there seemed to be an extraordinarily close relationsip between what the desk was putting out and what the reference mic was seeing in the room. Was I correct about that, and are you therefore justifiably proud of the performance that you are offering with this system?

D.L.: Absolutely. One of the other new line array manufactures called to invite us out hear their system at a show, and once he found out I was an Adamson guy, he admitted he had not heard the Y-axis, and from his experience we (Adamson guys) were “fanatics.”

C.K.: What kind of amps do you drive the house with? Are those recommended by Adamson, or your own choice? Also, did you arrive at your own crossover settings, or does Adamson supply them?

D.L.: Crown/XTA. Brock was not specific, we discussed different amps, and he would have been fine with a few choices. Brock supplied the x-over programming; I’ve changed a few things, not much.

Don Lind with “Jr.” - the Adamson SX-18

C.K.: Please describe the smaller trapezoidal Adamson boxes that you used for front fill, they reminded me of the old Sound on Stage Cutlass design, that also have an 18” in them. Do you use these smaller Adamsons as mains for small shows? D.L.: Sweet box, the SX18. It is used, as you saw as an infill-out fill under the Y-Axis, and as mains for smaller shows. We’ve nicknamed it “Jr.”. When I told the FOH guy from a popular, black, dance/party band that I was sending him “Jr.” for 1800 people he said “No way. Don’t want no system named “Jr.!” Well, talk to him now. He wants it in his truck. C.K.: What are some of the other memorable, or challenging, shows you have done in the year since we last wrote about you?

D.L.: The Oakland Symphony with Isaac Hayes. We were in the Paramount Theater (the symphony home); Isaac Hayes was to play with the Symphony for the second half of the program. I had two consoles and 84 mics on stage. The Symphony was very wary of us and spoke of screeching violins from previous experiences.

I put my mix up discreetly. I brought the Executive Director and Production Manager from the symphony out in the house to listen, they didn’t realize the system was on. Then I pulled the master fader down and they were stunned. The decision was made to leave it on for the classical portion of the program, as well as Isaac Hayes.

The “Theme from Shaft” with Isaac conducting was thrilling.

Macpherson wedges

C.K.: What time did you get home that night after the show I saw? Did you park the truck still packed, or unload it at the shop first? D.L.: Out at 1:00am (75 min out) at the warehouse at 2:00am, unload, return Ryder (90” truck pack) on my couch with a frosty (beer) at 3:00am. C.K.: What is your advice to young people who wish to enter live sound? D.L.: You better enjoy it.

C.K. – One of the reasons I moved to the Bay Area in 1986 was its long tradition of honoring live music. Part of me was still the starstruck kid from Maryland who had made the pilgrimage to stare at Moby Grape in 1971 at the Fillmore West. In Los Angeles, if you are not a record engineer, you more or less don’t exist.

I had little idea that one day I would be making a living by standing in the sun with two speakers on sticks, in Richmond, CA, as the mayor dedicated a baseball field, or in Emeryville with stacks of Harbinger cabinets, as that mayor spoke at the groundbreaking for a biotech reseach facility, or at the Ritz Carlton with JBL Arrays, amplifying Willie Brown. So, in closing, I would like to ask you a two-part question.

Condenser mics

C.K.:Have you, like most sound companies, had to diversify into non-music accounts to survive, and secondly, how has the sound provider scene in the Bay Area changed in the four years since I moved away? D.L.: Of course there are other uses of quality sound. We do a number of charity auctions throughout the year, air shows, etc. We have a useful inventory of Apogee that handles a variety of events.

I don’t think the scene has changed at all. UltraSound/Promedia still do their thing, SOS has their V-Dosc rig now (Golden State Sound had the first line array in the Bay Area), there are perhaps six or eight other companies my size plus or minus, and I’ll bet another 20 to 30 smaller companies. We have our bottom feeders/ankle biters just like any other area. There are productions/promoters who support them, as well as those that want it right.