Poster

Exactly what do bacon, Lego bricks, EDM, and PS&L have to do with each other?

Where might one find inspiration for the design and theme of an EDM dance party? Perhaps just a little fiddling around with some Lego(TM) bricks is a good start. That is how it happened with Baconometry, the fifth incarnation of BaconBall, an art-filled EDM party put on by some great customers of ours. Through a bit of collaborative goofing off between myself and their team, a little corner-set cube of the popular building toys led to a design concept that inspired a theme that was then brought to life.

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My reason to share this is simply to inspire. To encourage you to think outside of the box (or of the box up on it’s corner if that suites you). How might you update your same-old event? How can you change the mood, excite the guests, wow your client, bring it to a new level? Bacon Ball undeniably took their event up a notch while actually cutting their sound and lighting budget from prior events. They just got creative.

Show1

Pro Sound & Lighting  has a very large and growing assortment of event tools available to you. Whether you need everything for the show, or just a thing or two to augment your inventory, we believe that our stellar offerings and our unbeatable pricing structure can help you achieve a new level of wow without breaking your budget. So what do you have planned for your next event?

Show2

Event: Bacon Ball IV

  • Location: AudioCinema, SE Portland
  • Sound System: Double KLA/KW181 system; source equipment: customer supplied
  • Structure: Global 3m and 2.5m box truss segments and cornerblocks
  • Structure Lighting:American DJ Flatpar Tri 18’s and Flatpar Tri 7s
  • Ambiance: American DJ Eco UV Bar DMX Black Lights, 4(qty)
  • Intelligent Fixtures: Elation Platinum Beam 5R, 4(qty)
  • Atmospheric: Antari HZ300 hazer and American DJ VF1300 fogger
  • Show Control: Emulation Pro with ART-SSC interface and Midicon controller surface

 

Let us know if we can help bring your next creative idea to life.

Cheers!

David

(event photos by MJTdesign)

Challenges in Sound System Design and Installation

Churches, schools, and all event spaces have one big thing in common. They all need working sound systems that fit their specific needs. How do you define what size, quality, coverage, and type you need? Where do you start? The short answer is it depends on your specific situation. There are no one size fits all cookie cutter systems that will fit everyone’s needs and stay in everyone’s budget. That being said, figuring out what system or systems fits your needs can be accomplished with the following criteria in mind.

  1. Budget

Deciding on a budget for your sound system maybe one of the hardest parts of the process. You may not know what you need to budget to get your needs covered with a sound system. There may be different options on how much to spend and how to spend it but it’s important to create a budget at the beginning of the process. Even if you don’t stick to the budget completely it’s a great starting point. With so many ways to accomplish different objectives in sound system design, it’s important to decide how much you want to spend.

  1. Construction

Sometimes a sound system’s design and installation is both conceived and implemented before the walls are closed up in new construction. Most of the time this is not the case. You’re either upgrading / replacing a sound system or you’re past the point of construction in your new space and now you’re thinking about sound for the first time. If you happen to read this before the walls get closed up in your new space, STOP! You have a golden opportunity to design and install your sound system with construction in mind. Doing so could help you with keeping wiring covered up and out of sight, keeping sound from bleeding through your walls and into your neighbor’s space, and installing equipment in the ideal location.

  1. Using the Space

How do you use your space and what events do have or plan to have in it? This may be or seem to be very clear. However, every church does things slightly different, every school has different needs, and every room affects sound in a unique way. Defining how you plan on using your space is a very important step in designing and installing a sound system. Start by creating a list of the events you plan on having in the space. Add specific details of what each event would need concerning the sound system (ex. wired microphones, monitors for musicians, or microphones for speech, etc.). Then put these different events in order of frequency. How often would each event take place, monthly, weekly, or daily? Overall it’s better to design a sound system that works very well for the type of events you have most frequently. People often get hung up on expensive features that they would like their sound system to have but they may only need them once or twice a year. Depending on the specific situation these needs may be covered by renting supplemental equipment. Doing so may save you money and help keep your sound system as simple as possible for your most frequent uses.

Once you’ve answered these three big questions, we can help you with the technical part!

 

James Jacobsen

Pro Sound and Lighting / Technical sales

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can

“What did he say?”

I recently completed an installation of a small sound system in a church. That in itself is not remarkable by any stretch, but this church reminded me of an all too common occurrence. This church will remain anonymous, but many of you may think this blog is about your church. Read more

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A Blog is What I Need

Well, here I am writing my first post for my first blog. I never really understood what a blog was for until we started to put this new version of our website together. I wanted a place to write about gear, industry trends, tips and tricks, and other topics that came to mind. Then I had that Eureka / light-bulb moment “A blog is what I need!”. Read more

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Fireworks and Lasers

One of my favorite times of the the year is the 4th of July!  Why, because I like to blow stuff up!  So I was thinking in addition to lighting off fireworks, how can I integrate a laser and some other cool lighting effects into my husbands annual fireworks show?  Well, I dont need fog — all the smoke from the fireworks will take care of that and provide a backdrop for the laser to project on. Read more

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Hello Everyone,

I am going to take this opportunity to tell you a little about myself in the first blog ever written by myself.  Over the next few months of blogs, I am going to cover several topics including, digital vs acoustic drums, new gear coming out that I think is important for you to know about, and just some simple steps to help you when renting sound and light equipment from Pro Sound & Lightng.  Lets get started! Read more