FAQ

Mainly South Texas, but we don't mind taking a plane if needed.

That being said, some problems just need a phone call to be fixed.

It depends. We don't know until we sit down and talk about what kinds of problems you are looking to solve.

P.S. 

If money is an overwhelmingly limiting factor for you, we understand, send us an email anyways.

All jobs begin with a conversation regarding the client's needs, the ways we can help, and the ways we can't. We work together to make a plan on how we can meet those needs and come to a solution that works within the scope of the situation. Once we estimate a final quote (if possible) we would draft and sign a contract specifying the terms of the agreement, and get to work. 

It may be the case that a client needs a one time solution. Once the job is finished, and the client is satisfied with the results, the client would make the final payment to successfully close the job. However it may also be likely that a client needs something closer to a recurring service. In this case, we would create certain milestones to aim for. As the milestones are reached, the client would submit their payment until we fulfill all goals we set out to reach.

For example: 

Let's say you want to build a live streaming setup for your church. This is good. To do this, we need to know what your current audio system looks like so we can better understand how to route the audio signal you want to broadcast. Chances are, if we are getting a signal straight from FOH, that signal won't sound very good for the online audience. We would come up with a solution to mix the live service and add the necessary processing (ie: reverb, delay, compression, etc) to make the raw signal sound as if the online audience is in the room. Then we tell you what we think the best solutions are (ie: connect to a DAW) and we would come to an agreement on pricing and timelines to have this done by. Once the install is complete, and you are happy with the results, you submit the payment and we successfully close the job. 

...But wait! 

You have a working live streaming setup without no one who can properly operate it. This is not good. To fix this, similar to before, we would make a plan to build a team and develop a training plan for the new production volunteers. This could include ear training to identify frequencies, match their mix to a reference, or learn about common strategies for mixing an online service. Since we can't predict how long you would want us to train your volunteers, we might work on an hourly basis until you believe you have a self sustaining group.

This is best in most situations. 

Email works too.

Nope. There are many great companies and knowledgeable people who can do what we do. We try to learn from each other as much as we can.

"Anyone CAN COOK!"

- Chef Gusteau

Yes.

Usually feedback is the result of microphone "listening" to the same signal coming out of the main or monitor speakers. To fix this issue we can try a combination of solutions ranging from changing speaker/microphone placement, switching the type of microphone used, or adding corrective EQ to certain problem frequencies for example.

P.S.

Not all feedback is the same, if the feedback you are dealing with is higher pitched (think 4kHz tone for example) then the problem is more likely directional. If its much lower in frequency (think 100Hz tone) then directionality isn't as big an issue as distance from the source.

Short Response:

Always buy a digital sound board. Try to buy one with at least 32 channels, depending on your budget. 

Price range for a decent board: $3k-$6k

P.S.

Yes, you can find a sound board cheaper than the range presented that will work fine for some situations, some that we even recommend under certain circumstances. To find the most appropriate sound board for your context, you need to know what the intended use will be, the skill level of the person that will be running the board, the budget limitations, and the physical space limitations where you plan to place it.

Short Response:

It depends, but probably yes.

A More Helpful Response: 

When it comes to working with room acoustics we always try to help no matter the situation. All rooms are different, so to be able to speak directly into your situation we would need some more information such as room dimensions and the RT60. We would also want to take sound recordings of the room to see which groups of frequencies/modes are causing issues. Pictures can help as well. 

However, physics wins in the end, we don't think about it in terms of "fixing", but in terms of "managing" the issues in the room. There is no such thing as a perfect room, only imperfect rooms exist. All rooms have issues, but that doesn't mean all imperfect rooms must sound poor. That's just not true. So our goal is to improve the sound as much as we can within the budget limitations of the client.

We'd love to train others.

There are different training techniques for each possible scenario. For example, if a volunteer wants to learn how to mix better, we would listen to their current mixes and speak with the volunteer on the things they are doing well and the things they should improve. We could also make "mixing templates" so they mix with a target in mind and after enough repetition those skills will transfer to other mixes. In conclusion, what is important is to understand where someone is at skill wise and where they would want to be in the future, knowing this helps us make a training plan for each situation.

Yes, we highly recommend this over a traditional monitoring system.