Jason Geshelin

Jason Geshelin worked closely with EAW during the beta testing of the KF760 Line Array, and pushed Mass AV to become the first company to purchase the system. Their purchase included twenty KF760’s, four KF761’s, and twelve EAW SB1000’s. Below, Jason shares his insight regarding what the system has done for Mass AV, and points out some of the advantages of line array systems in general. –Sven Anderson

What originally triggered your interest in the EAW KF 760 Line Array?

We knew we wanted to make an upgrade to a bigger sound system. I’d been pushing for a line array setup for quite a while because a large part of what we do is corporate work that involves a lot of video. With venues that require a powerful PA and large projection screens, we’ve been running into problems fitting everything in without visual obstructions. So there was a big push for us to look into line arrays not only because of their sound quality but also because of their visual aesthetics. A line array is much less obtrusive than a conventional system - you can just put the screens right next to the PA.

Once I decided we needed an upgrade, I had to plant the idea in all the executive ears at Mass AV. Nobody was paying too much attention to me until I came back from AES last September, when the whole idea of working with EAW on this project came about. That’s when we arranged to let EAW come in and test the system with our setup at the Rhode Island Convention Center, where Mass AV is the in-house vendor.

We set it up at the convention center for two days and did a whole bunch of tests. From what we heard, we made the decision to go with the system. The testing really worked out great for everybody.

Did you have trouble convincing the executives at Mass AV that the new system was necessary for the company’s development?

Trying to get everyone used to the idea of dropping a large chunk of change for an audio system was without a doubt a difficult process. I was looking for over $300,000 to come through with this project, which is a lot of dough. It took a lot of convincing, a lot of research, and a lot of homework. I had some help from a couple of good friends trying to push it through. Chris Gasbarro, Mass AV’s marketing manager, played a huge part in the process, coming up with some PR support and footnotes showing how the purchase would generate new revenue for the company. The company’s monitor engineer Howard Rose also contributed to the transition. He kept track of most of the documentation, right from the beginning of the process. And Aaron Raymond, one of our most knowledgeable audiovisual technicians also put a lot of time into it. Both he and Howard were lifesavers helping me build the system.